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The following are descriptions of some of the original tricks I created. I wrote the descriptions sort of like an advertisement(e.g. sprinkling in the "No Funny Moves" line) but just see what the effect says and judge from that. Just tell me if these are effects you would like to see in person because I am trying to see if maybe I can make a PDF or pamphlet to sell for cheap at my local magic store or on a website. The journal would be aimed at intermediate magicians that want some new tricks to spice up their repirtoire so for those of you that have been in the game for a while the methods might seem obvious. Thanks for your time.


Defiant

The deck is shuffled and then handed to the performer who removes three mates(e.g. four of hearts, four of diamonds, and four of spades) from the deck and hands them to the spectator to hold onto. No funny moves. The performer places three indifferent cards on the table and asks the spectator to place on mate on top of each one. To make it more impossible, the performer places one indifferent cards on TOP of each of the three mates. The three piles are gathered up and placed on the deck, the deck is shuffled and the top three cards revealed... the three mates have pulled through all the cards to come together, unseperated.
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Failed(Highly Unlikely)

The deck is shuffled and a card is chosen and signed by the spectator then replaced. The deck is shuffled again and the performer shows a card to the spectator- it is not the spectator's signed card though. The performer looks disappointed- he has failed. In a fit of rage the performer throws the deck down onto the table and while everyone is watching a card has suddenly appeared face-up, on top of the deck. To their astonishment it is the spectator's signed card.
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Your Number

The spectator freely selects a pair of cards from the performer's deck. The performer has the spectator add the value of her two cards up and remember that value. The the cards are put away and the mind reading begins. Nothing funny has happened. The spectator selected her cards at random and the performer never looks or peeks at the spectator's cards in any way- the performer looks into the spectator's eyes and simply tells her what her number was.
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Attention Mr. Conjurer!

The spectator selects a card and it is placed back into the deck. The performer tells his audience how one night he discovered that there was always this one card that tries to get his attention. The performer shows the spectators what he means by spreading through the deck and it is found that one card has turned itself over. However, it is not the spectator's card. The performer claims that the card is trying to tell him something. The performer puts his ear closer and 'listens' to the card and then tells everyone what the spectator's chosen card was. But the trick is not over yet. The performer claims that after this is done another card tries to get his attention even though the trick is already done. The performer looks through the deck and finds another reversed card. This time the card crying for attention is the spectators originally selected card!
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In Your Hands

This is a quick "spectator finds his own card" effect that requires no unusual moves. The spectator selects his card and it is shuffled into the deck. The performer places the deck onto his palm and has the spectator cut the deck a few times. The performer then claims that as the spectator cut the deck he actually located his own card. The performer says that one card has turned over and although it is not the spectator's card it is a marker for where the spectator's card is. He shows that this is true and finds that the spectators card is underneath the 'marker!'


NOTE: "Attention Mr. Conjurer" is my presentation and handling of another trick and Defiant is a more convincing method and presentation of the "three inseperable cards" plot.

By the descriptions they do not sound original: certainly there are already existing methods which accomplish the same results just as well. What's more, in many instances they have been expanded upon and made more substantial and, ultimately, more effective.

Defiant - look up any Ace Assembly plot. At some point the method you use has probably been published before. This is somewhat less structured and the shuffling is detrimental to the effect because who knows what you could be doing in that shuffle? Consider this: would an Ambitious Card Routine be as effective if the deck was shuffled after the card was inserted into the deck it was shuffled? No.

Your Number is an old, old idea but one often used in the context of a book test. Here the emphasis is not on how you knew what number they would choose (which, given the involvement of the deck, is not as effective as, say, a bit of NW) but how you knew what word they are thinking of. The cards are secondary and almost inconsequential. Here they are pressed right up against the method.

In Your Hands is a classic in gambling routines. It also appears, as is, in many beginners books on card magic. Not new either I'm afraid.

It's great that you're creating - but it's a process which is always benefited by experience. The more you learn the more the process will become refined. As it is I don't think there is anything new here and so they would not be suitable for release.

Thankyou very much for your honest reply Cardza. You pretty much nailed "In Your Hands" and "Your Number" as far as I can tell(without exposing the method). My family is a bit low on money so I'm trying to find ways to earn my own money to buy my own things which is why I came up with this.

On a sidenote the method in Defiant is different than what you may think(although you may very well have it nailed down as it seems you are pretty good at detecting the methods).

Thanks for your opinion Cardza.

dChan

dChan wrote:Thankyou very much for your honest reply Cardza. You pretty much nailed "In Your Hands" and "Your Number" as far as I can tell(without exposing the method). My family is a bit low on money so I'm trying to find ways to earn my own money to buy my own things which is why I came up with this.

On a sidenote the method in Defiant is different than what you may think(although you may very well have it nailed down as it seems you are pretty good at detecting the methods).

Thanks for your opinion Cardza.

dChan

Whilst we would all admire your entrepeneurial spirit, there is a protocol on this forum that prohibits this kind of advertising.

Nonetheless, your effects look nice.

dChan wrote:Thankyou very much for your honest reply Cardza. You pretty much nailed "In Your Hands" and "Your Number" as far as I can tell(without exposing the method). My family is a bit low on money so I'm trying to find ways to earn my own money to buy my own things which is why I came up with this.

On a sidenote the method in Defiant is different than what you may think(although you may very well have it nailed down as it seems you are pretty good at detecting the methods).

Thanks for your opinion Cardza.

dChan

No worries! You're certainly off to a good start, as I say just keep working at it It might be worthwhile seeing if perhaps any local establishments are interested in a table-hopper?

Well, DrTodd, I'm not exactly trying to advertise anything here. I am just seeing what people would think if they saw these effects advertised in a booklet at a magic shop(I have not actually created the booklet, these are pretty much just descriptions). Thanks for your kind words though.

I am trying to get a press kit and business card and stuff ready but it seems the fastest way to make a little bit of money would be a small booklet which is why I am trying to see if you guys here would like to learn these kinds of effects that way I can tell if local magicians would also like to do the same.

More comments would be nice on what people think of the effects that way I can try to work on something better.

dChan

dChan wrote:it seems the fastest way to make a little bit of money would be a small booklet which is why I am trying to see if you guys here would like to learn these kinds of effects that way I can tell if local magicians would also like to do the same.

Actually the fastest way to earn money from magic is to perform it.

Getting into the market to sell effects is very difficult especially for a non established magician. Also all the people I know that sell magic books/pdf's etc are performing magicians. This gives their work a certain amount of credibility.

I am not saying that your ideas are bad, just that even if they were fantastic it is a difficult area to do well in.

Believe it or not,many of us come up with our own ideas. It is only after many tears of performing them that I would even consider putting something out. And then I wouldn't expect to make much money from it.

There is so much magic being sold at the moment - your material really has o be strong and a little different.

Good luck though.

bananafish wrote: Believe it or not,many of us come up with our own ideas. It is only after many tears of performing them that I would even consider putting something out. And then I wouldn't expect to make much money from it.

Indeed, indeed...

dChan wrote:Well, DrTodd, I'm not exactly trying to advertise anything here. I am just seeing what people would think if they saw these effects advertised in a booklet at a magic shop(I have not actually created the booklet, these are pretty much just descriptions). Thanks for your kind words though.

I am trying to get a press kit and business card and stuff ready but it seems the fastest way to make a little bit of money would be a small booklet which is why I am trying to see if you guys here would like to learn these kinds of effects that way I can tell if local magicians would also like to do the same.

More comments would be nice on what people think of the effects that way I can try to work on something better.

dChan

Okay, these are all a good start, but as Cardza said, there are well known methods for producing each, and they are not yet sufficiently 'new' or impossible that they would have an appeal in a way that would earn you a lot of money.

Better value for money could come from Fulves Self-Working Mental Magic (in which many varieties of 'Your Number' appear) or The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks.

'Failed' is a good premise that appears in Sankey's 'Nailed', which plays well and your version could end up being a sort of 'card on ceiling' (or wall), but you would need to think of a stronger finish than you currently have and that is sufficiently different from existing material.

Chris Power has a lovely routine called Your Card, My Card, Anybody's Card, where the actual signed card ends up folded inside the card box that has been sitting on the table in full view the whole time. It is that kind of impossibility that grabs the attention of your potential market.

So, I agree with Bananafish....work the tables and clubs, learn what works for an audience and design your effects accordingly.

The boys are right on this one. It's good to see that you're thinking but all those ideas are just your own slant on tricks that are donkeys years old and can be picked up in many basic books. There's nothing wrong with that for your own perfomances, in fact it's a very good thing to be doing. But if you want to sell ideas then they really have to be origianal and different otherwise you'll just end up getting a name for yourself as someone who rehashes old ideas, and that's not going to do you any favours in the future.

You are on the right track and probably have a lot to contribute to the magic world. You are doing a great job. There is an, ‘however’, sorry. However, based on the description there is nothing new. I’m not even seeing anything new presentational wise. You would have to see who the creator is of these effects, although I am sure they are long past living, so you would have to see who has the rights if they are, in fact still owned. Possibly not which would leave you free and clear to publish. However I still would refrain. Why? Because all these are pretty basic effects which can be found in a myriad of other published material. Hence you would paint yourself if a bad light and any future endeavors in this business would be compromised. What would I do you may be asking? Or may not? No matter I’ll tell you anyway.

I would, (and I type this with great trepidation) routine the effects, go out and perform them every chance I had. Hone the routine with each lesson learned. Make it smooth and polished then and only then I would submit the routine, (not sell but submit) to various magic trade magazines. If you belong to the IBM I would start there they have a section called ‘parade’ and you can submit your work there they often have ‘one man parades’ and if they think its good enough they will, ‘publish’ your routine for you in that space. Also submit to other places such as Magic, or Genii or whatever you get. The idea is to get your name out there and associated with good tried and true stuff. Make people wonder, “Hey who is this guy? Where can I get hold of him? He has some great ideas let me see if he is selling stuff….etc. Once you are there then you are off and running…well perhaps jogging but you get the idea.

Right now ask yourself this? Who would buy this product? A magic shop? Nope, they would take one look at it and ask themselves should I pay somebody for this when I can go to any book on card magic and do the same thing and eliminate the middle man. Or you would get the evil magic shop who will just out right rip it off and there would be nothing you could do to stop them. Or you could set up a web page and try to sell it yourself to the masses. But who would buy it? Who are you? How would anyone even know to look for you or your effects? When starting out in this business it is brutal, ego shattering and because of the extremely small magic community it can get vicious, but keep pushing it’s the only way.

Thanks everyone. I do perform but not for money so I guess I could start getting into the 'paid-performance' game. The tricks I showed here are the quick ones that get a reaction whenever I perform but I guess they might not be that original after all. I don't read too many magic books or websites so I don't know all the tricks out there which probably accounts for my ignorance[with these tricks].

I just got my sister to take some pictures of me yesterday(she's an 'aspiring' photographer) so hopefully I can take your guys' advice and start performing. Thanks everyone for your comments and tips!

dChan

You don't have to get into the 'paid performance' thing. The effects don't know any different. However it is fun to get paid as well.