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Ok few ideas.

Best effects for stand up magic,
that can play to a reasonable crowd, and can have lots of 'magic',
lots of 'banter' - for want of a better word.

and i also like effects that i can build together with things around the house, but it's not absolutely necessary.

I'll kick off first, for me... I like professors' nightmare - or rather, Sanders' Fibre Optics... all you need is three ropes, yet it can play for three minutes or fifteen mintues.

What do you think?

If you like rope routines then it might well be worth having a look at Tabary's DVDs. His routines are just brilliant.

I'm a big fan of miser's dream, lots of magic, only uses a couple of handfulls of coins and a container, and there can be as little or as much patter as you want

lets see.....
there are millions of great effects out there, so lets try and narrow the field a bit.

Firstly are you looking for an effect that you perform solo, or are you after something that you need to get someone up from the audience to assist?

fifteen mintues

Please tell me your joking right?

Talking of ropes, although i dont perform it, Whit Haydns Mongolion Popknot is a great stand-up rope routine jim

oh seconded! I love that routine. Mind you just about anything he does in stand up, is top knotch. His transporter is a hoot, his torn and restored newspaper is the best, and his linking rings are very funny.

and that reminds me, when it comes to quality stand up, a routine involving a borrowed bill to impossible location is well worth considering. Particually if you do an up the garden path routine.. Which is the heart of Paul D's bill in nut/egg/orange/ect.

Obvoiusly, as stated, there are many out there.
One that gets tremendous results from me is HOLD IT BUSTER by Dan Harlan.
This is basically a 4 phase routine with loads of laughs where a card changes places 3 times and you then show it end up inside an supposedly empty envelope. I use normal cards as well as the envelope from Regal's special delivery because it makes the ending far more magical.
The last show I did, I got a round of applause after all 4 phases.
That will be tought to beat.
This is normally the 2nd effect I do.
As far as ropes, do not overlook doing rope tricks. Finney has a nice presentation for professors nightmare.

Cards across, tossed out deck, ID, all get great reactions for me. So does swallowing a balloon. Lots of fun, good bit of magic. If you like rope stuff, try Mike Finney's rope routine - packed with laughs.
And if you can get fifteen minutes out of the professors nightmare you are either Paul Daniels or deluded!