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OK, i don't think i have as much experience as most of you guys but here goes, i have be doing magic for relo's for about 3 years, and was asked to entertain my niece and her friends at a party, which i did and very much enjoyed it, a couple of weeks later i took a phone call from my sister asking if i could attend her friends daughters party, which i did, with some success(i hope that doesn't sound big headed ), then again a couple of weeks later another party, all of which i did for free, i just got the enjoyment of seeing the amazment on the kids faces, that was good enogh for me. I started to think about this as a career. whilst all this was happening i also started show my friends close up card magic, the trouble with that was that most of the tricks i knew were blaine's so had been revealed rather heavily, so i looked for more tricks to do, and so on and so on.

i have recently done paid childrens parties, which again i feel went rather well and have had a couple more bookings from them.

ok. now for the questions;

i am interested in making a full time career and am exploring different avenues to take, one being large stage magic (see previous topic), my buget is not to much problem for smaller items, but would have to save for the large stage props and various other things that would be required (again see previous topic), i know i may be jumping ahead but i am keen to decide on a dirrection to go, then i can put all my time into that field.

i know i have gone on a little but i wanted to give you a good idea about myself and where i am at, if more info is need i will gldly make a another posting, just one other thing, i do tend to come over a little over enthusiastic, this is because i like to take thing to the highest point i can ie be the best as i can at what ever i set my mind to.

anyway, thankyou in advance for any help you give.

okjey dokey grasshopper:-

find yourself a trick you can do without thinking to much mine happens to be the haunted key, this is the trick you will be practiseing when your out and about like at a pub or resturant.

this is you attention getter, then when people come up to you and say are you a magician, you can do a trick for them and give them your bussines card, thease you can print up yourself or have made.

most of your first work will be by word of mouth and an impressive trick will stick in thier minds and psychologicly give you an edge.

let me know if you want more ideas.

Just as a point of interest, I guess we all have that one trick which we feel 1000% confident about performing so we do it to the best of our ability as an opener and thus get the big impact.

Mine is the one called by various names such as (on Bicycle stock) Mysterious Kings, (on Royal Card Stock) My Favourite King, or (on Jumbo cards) Predict the King. Basically the idea is that you claim to be able to implant an image of one of the 4 kings into the spec's mind - on the count of 3 they blurt out the suit of first king they think of, you extract 4 face down cards from the envelope which has been on the table all along and show that 3 are face down, one is face up and it's their card. You further blow their minds by showing that the card has a different colour back to the other 3. I've had this and used it often for about 5 years and the cards are almost worn out but it's always been good to me. Am now getting more cards printed up specially so I can be assured of carrying on with this little mentalist's gem!

So what sure fire effects do others start off with?

I practise / show the haunted key practicaly every place i go.
i use this trick as a psychological hook to real in customers, i get on average about 50% of my bookings useing this method.

as mr shadow is interested in going comercial i'd like to help him avoid some of the pitfalls i fell into, like wasteing hundreds of pound in the dailys on adds.

i make my own bussines cards and laminate them so that i can use a further psychological hook by saying that my cards have thier own binliners so its ok to chuck um, the second bonus to laminating your cards is that they often get chucked in a draw and found six months later just in time for a birthday, in mint condition, they also tend to be passed around.

"this guy did my party give him a go".

i personaly carry a close up kit in my taining sporen (bumbag worn round the front), along with my bussiness cards.

Well, no matter where I go or what I do - the effect that always GUARANTEES to knock people for six is the vanishing lit cigarette... it's so impromptu, so clean, and works every time... just as someone's about to stub a cigarette out, grab it and offer to extinguish it in their clothing... awesome!

The other effect I get absolute pleasure out of performing is the old 'card under mat' (my pub rendition of card under box) where a spectator selects and signs a card, which then appears beneath a beermat on the table only seconds later. Easy to do - albeit with a bit of the dreaded 'palming'!!!, brilliant.

i don't have a favourite trick as such, but i do tend to do ALOT of card magic, sleights and alike, i feel confident with my cards and have a variety of new tricks and flourishes that have not been on tele that much (i think), Do you think i should get my self a new Trick to have this 1000% confident trick? or just stick with the cards. I am always on the lookout anyway for new tricks to add to my rep. but am struggling as there or so many on offer.

the point about the trick was that it should be something your cinfident about doing, simple but can be seen at a distance and preferably repeatable.

ok better give you a good example, you could hold a £2 coin cliped between your indexfinger and middle finger.
pretent to through it in the air thumb palm it and make it vanish, then reverse the moves to make it appear.

the idea is to attract your customers by doing a trick as if you where the only one there, like a coin roll that is sometimes done by palming enthusiasts when their out and about to keep thier hand in (pun intended).

people notice it and are impressed even though its not actualy done for show, i hope you get what I'm trying to say.

then you hit them with a trick or two from your repotoire in your case mr shadow or can i call you silver, some card tricks maybey incorperateing an appearing bussines card to hand out??

Do you not think that that might make people think that you are trying to attract their attention? I always shy away from that sort of 'just something to do' type of display because I feel that it will discourage as many peole from watching you as it will encourage, I would much rather just approach someone and show them a quick trick than just hope they notice me and don't think I'm a prat.

when your relying on people for your bread and butter you want people who are interested to come to you.

yes i give out my cards to people i meet if i think they may want a party in the future, but i use this taktic to ensnare people who want a party soon.

because they come to you it meen subconsiousely thier already thinking about you and what you do, one leads and others follow you get a small groud, do some tricks hand out your cards and wait for the calls, iv'e even taken bookings thier and then.

ok, fair enough, I just feel uncomfortable with it myself.