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Hey Guys,

I haven’t used card gimmicks before and have just been practicing sleight of hand techniques. There does seem to be some good gimmicks out there and I wouldn’t mind brining just one or two into my routine. I just do tricks on my mates etc.

I was just wondering could any of you please recommend any good card gimmicks for me? I know there are lots and they all seem to look good on the advert videos so I was just hoping that you guys could recommend any that you have purchased and have been very pleased with.

Again, any help greatly appreciated

What kind of effect do you want to do with gimmicks?

Ah anythhing really, revleations etc. The likes of david stone tool looks pretty cool, or nestorizer. Im willing to look at at anything to be honest Lawernce so any reccomendations would be great thanks

Save your money, stick to the sleights for a while.

I don't know about gimmicks per se, but I recently had a woderful reaction using a gaff. Look up a routine called the aniversary waltz, I performed it for my parents (it was their ruby anniversary this year) and it left them utterly speechless. I learnt it from a Doc Eason DVD, but I believe it can be bought standalone. I agree with heckler though, you should still focus on sleights. Gimmicks are not a sure fire route to instant wizardry, they're usually used as part of a longer routine for end reveals or transformations.

-Stacy

I used to love my "your card" routine with a card saying "YOUR CARD", a stripper deck so I could find it, and an ID for the real revelation of the actual card. A cheesy groan followed by a silent moment of "what the...?"

i reccommend rough and smooth decks.

I'll sell you an ILC deck if you like

The4thCircle wrote:I don't know about gimmicks per se, but I recently had a woderful reaction using a gaff. Look up a routine called the aniversary waltz, I performed it for my parents (it was their ruby anniversary this year) and it left them utterly speechless. I learnt it from a Doc Eason DVD, but I believe it can be bought standalone. I agree with heckler though, you should still focus on sleights. Gimmicks are not a sure fire route to instant wizardry, they're usually used as part of a longer routine for end reveals or transformations.

-Stacy

So how would you duplicate Anniversay Waltz with sleights?

I love how magicians always tell newbs to learn sleights whereas the reality is if they had a trick deck or a gaff, they could do miracles with almost no effort or practise. This would allow them to establish confidence performing as they could concentrate on the acting, not the mechanics.

To the OP, my favourite gaffs are DF cards to perform a routine called MacDonald's Aces. Brilliant effect. And miles MILES better than doing it with sleights, imho. You can achieve a certainly clarity that is impossible. Even Jennings' 4 ace routine is not as good as MacDonald's Aces. I reckon, anyway.

Dye Vernon wrote:I love how magicians always tell newbs to learn sleights whereas the reality is if they had a trick deck or a gaff, they could do miracles with almost no effort or practise. .

Pack of bikes £2.00, number of tricks possible - infinite

Packet trick with gimmick £15-30, number of tricks - one

Nothing wrong with having a gimmicked deck or two but the confidence you have in knowing that you can perform miracles with a dog eared deck of the pub's own cards is much more fulfilling. Effort and practise are not dirty words, little of any value was ever gained without them.

Lawrence wrote:i reccommend rough and smooth decks.

I'll sell you an ILC deck if you like

Yay! And an Oracle deck.

To be fair the only one I use is the ID but I dont use it very often. As said above, gaff deck one trick, set of bikes unlimited.

Im not suggessting only using gimmicks, I have been practicing sleights everyday for ages now and have improved an awful lot. I was just thinking of purchasing a gimmick or two as well, not as a replacement to sleights, just an addition to my routine like.

There are some great gimmicks out there so just looking for any reccomednations. Thanks for any input so far guys and thanks in advance for anymore

Dye Vernon wrote:So how would you duplicate Anniversay Waltz with sleights?

I love how magicians always tell newbs to learn sleights whereas the reality is if they had a trick deck or a gaff, they could do miracles with almost no effort or practise.

Strictly speaking I'm something of a newb myself, and although someone recently posted a video of an impromptu signed face and signed back Anniversary waltz, the short answer is that you couldn't. However a DF isn't exactly a self working gimmick, it's a gaff card which requires some handling. I may have come accross as being completely anti gimmick, which isn't my stance at all. I'm an advocate of gaff cards which I thought I mentioned.

The point I was trying to make was that the gimmick alone will usually impress no one without decent handling, it's hard to contruct a meaningful routine with one very specific effect. When I see the trailers for gimmicks like Tool and The Shark, the gimmick is used as part of a longer routine, which does require some handling.

And contrary to the 'gaff deck one trick' statements made by some folks here, whilst that's fairly true of something like an ID, I'd say that the right set of gaffs can open a world of possibilities, if you mix them in with solid handling and sleights.

-Stacy

Concept82 wrote:Hey Guys,
I haven’t used card gimmicks before and have just been practicing sleight of hand techniques.

Hello Concept82,

I started with lots of gimmicky type stuff, but quickly realised most spectators like to have a look at the cards once the trick is over.
Pretty much the same with coins. I spent a fair few quid on gaff coins, but quickly realised that most of the viewing public are well aware
of shell coins, & such, & if there not, & want to look at them, your pretty much up the river without a paddle (so to speak)

I decided to learn slights. There's nothing better than being able to hand the deck over to the spectator once the trick is over, & smile,
knowing all they are going to find is a straight deck.

My advice. Save your money, & learn the art.

CArl...

CArlight1958 wrote:I started with lots of gimmicky type stuff, but quickly realised most spectators like to have a look at the cards once the trick is over.
Pretty much the same with coins. I spent a fair few quid on gaff coins, but quickly realised that most of the viewing public are well aware
of shell coins, & such, & if there not, & want to look at them, your pretty much up the river without a paddle (so to speak)

I decided to learn slights. There's nothing better than being able to hand the deck over to the spectator once the trick is over, & smile,
knowing all they are going to find is a straight deck.

There are of course some routine using gimmicks that are either never seen or get switched out for the genuine article as part of the act, so at the end the audience is never aware a gimmick was used and will assume they ARE examining everything at the end. That, in my mind, is how shells should be used. If it's ostensibly a four coin trick, and they never see more than four coins, unless they already know you used a shell, they have no reason to assume you used more than the four coins infront of them.

-Stacy