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I use a packet of marked cards when I do card magic, regardless of whether the trick needs them. I use the Fournier cards because you can spot the mark from a mile away, without having to directly look - they are excellent, and if something goes wrong, I can see straight away, before the audience. I get the opportunity to realise it's all gone tits, and the clear markings let me see the correct card in an overhand shuffle and put it back where it should be.

I always make sure, when possible, that the card that is selected is shown to one other person, so if the person forgets what they picked, they have a back up.

But the best example I saw recently was Stephen Mulhern, doing a magic trick with Denise Van Outen. The trick involved Denise sitting on a chair throughout, choosing a card, replacing it into the deck, then the chair made her levitate and the card was under her bum. My first reaction was "wow, that chair must have been expensive".

However, the trick obviously needed a card to be forced beforehand, to match the duplicate under her bum. He did this well, and the card was the 5 of clubs. They showed the audience, and replaced into the pack. The chair rose, and the card was revealed under her *rse. She stood up and the card was face down on the seat of the chair. Mulhern asked Denise to name the card she picked, and the silly girl said "4 of clubs". Ooops.

So Mulhern has a predicament, the card he's about to turn over does not match the one she named. He knows it's gone wrong, but he can't say anything because in theory he doesn't know what card she picked. So he needed an out quickly.

There was a momentary look of panic on his face, but not that anyone would notice. The audience were silent, but this did not matter. Mulhern pretended to hear someone in the audience shout something, and said, "What was that? I think someone's disagreeing with you there..."

This quick thinking prompted the audience to join in with the imagined conversation and they all started to shout out that she'd named the wrong card and it was the five of clubs. Mulhern then revealed the card on the chair, everyone applauded. The show went without a hitch, and Denise Van Outen was never hired for a magic show again.


So what stories do you have of the show going wrong on stage, and what are your magical tips to bring it back on track?

I did a tossed out deck a couple of years ago where one of the 'catchers' didn't sit down when I named the cards. They then stated they had seen the ace of spades (which wasn't even in the deck !).

Luckily I had all the aces in order in my pocket from a close-up set I'd done in the interval so I was able to magically produce it

However, I did have an ID on me also which I could have used for the occasion

I tried to improvise when something goes very wrong. The public doesn't know what routine you are doing, so you can just move forward or switch to another routine whenever possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0wgEZoW2c
Definitely this is the wrong way of doing it.
( I really enjoyed this video, you will as well )

If I were him I would have continued showing the cards, then pretend that it was a selection. After the participant selects one of the four cards, make her sign it, then move to another routine.
It would have been much more natural than trying to fix it in the way he did.

sandokan wrote:I tried to improvise when something goes very wrong. The public doesn't know what routine you are doing, so you can just move forward or switch to another routine whenever possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0wgEZoW2c
Definitely this is the wrong way of doing it.
( I really enjoyed this video, you will as well )

If I were him I would have continued showing the cards, then pretend that it was a selection. After the participant selects one of the four cards, make her sign it, then move to another routine.
It would have been much more natural than trying to fix it in the way he did.

Oh how I loved watching that! I think I may add that to my favourites.
Thanks for sharing. He didn't deal with that at all well! He would have been better off just admitting he screwed up.

sandokan wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v0wgEZoW2c
Definitely this is the wrong way of doing it.
( I really enjoyed this video, you will as well )

If I were him I would have continued showing the cards, then pretend that it was a selection. After the participant selects one of the four cards, make her sign it, then move to another routine.
It would have been much more natural than trying to fix it in the way he did.

oh boy that was so painful to watch. Yeah, making it into a selection process illustrating a free choice would have been a much better way of doing it. You really have an advantage if you don't tell them what's going to happen before it happens (or fails to happen in this case).

The best tip of all, at least where card tricks are concerned, is to purchase a little book ($6 in my local magic shop) called "Outs, Precautions and Challenges" by Charles Hopkins.

It is a book which was published decades ago and it has an out for virtually every situation. The advice is invaluable and you will never have to worry ever again about a card trick going wrong.

mark lewis wrote:The best tip of all, at least where card tricks are concerned, is to purchase a little book ($6 in my local magic shop) called "Outs, Precautions and Challenges" by Charles Hopkins.

It is a book which was published decades ago and it has an out for virtually every situation. The advice is invaluable and you will never have to worry ever again about a card trick going wrong.

That sounds very interesting... a quick Google shows that it's available as a £1.25 PDF from Trickshop.com - can't really go wrong with that! Just purchased, and it's an instant download straight from the site.


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... AND there's a free download with it - "Be Deceived" by Louis Lam.

Nice.


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... AND it contains the word prestidigitateur.

My new word of the week.


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Not a tip, but an amusing story. A local magi from BC was going to vegas and got front rowish seats for Lance Burton.

Lance Burton asked this magician to pick a card. My buddy, my friend is an idiot and was so excited he forgot the card. Lance Burton was doing his card on sword. My friend was praying that Lance Burton would not ask what his card was, he was hopping that he would simply tear the card off the sword and show my friend the card asking if 'this' was your card.

Now the card was on the end of the sword, Lance had the card in his fingertips and looked like he was about to rip the card off the sword, but he stopped, (perhaps for dramatic purposes) who looked at my friend who looked back at Lance and just sort of shrugged.

My friend doesn't know if Lance picked up on the problem or if that is how he had planned the show, but Lance smiled at him, tore the card from the sword and said, to my friends relief, "Is this your card?"

In the end I don't think it would matter because I think in Lance's version of the effect the card is signed, but not sure.

The thing I love most about that masked magician clip, is he pulls a deck of cards out, take a look at the top card, realises it's not the deck he needs, so puts it away and gets another deck out of another pocket.

LOL!! Thanks for the link to the youtube video was great. Was nice to see him fail so so bad. Couldn't of happened to a nicer peep

Arkesus wrote:The thing I love most about that masked magician clip, is he pulls a deck of cards out, take a look at the top card, realises it's not the deck he needs, so puts it away and gets another deck out of another pocket.

Yeah I noticed that. It's truly a painful fail from start to finish. If you get the wrong deck out, just do a quick trick with that deck and then put it away and say "ooh, shall I show you my favourite one?" and pull the other deck back out again!

Well I think with TV you can't really do that type of thing where you move on. Because of things like time frames and how much time the show gives you to perform or actually be there, before they bring on the next guest.

The main problem with the Masked Magician one, was that he was dealing with people who didn't speak English. Now weather or not he could speak Spanish, didn't matter because they seemed pretty bored by him being there in the first place. Plus him doing something a beginner would do for their mum.

Haha, that was Portuguese...
And correct me if I'm wrong, but HIS instructions in English were wrong from the very beginning.