theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
I am very sad
- Thread starter Alarte
- Start date
Don't stop we all go through failers I once failed a trick in front of my entire class and I had no way of recovering. You must learn from these mistakes strive to be better than you were the day before and be the best magician you can be if someone knows all your tricks stop and tell everyone that you had something special in mind but you're going to stop because of that person. normally the audience will get really mad at the person then if you think they earned it and only if they earn it to do something like the Omni deck.
This experience will only help you as a performer it might sting now but give it time and you will only grow as a performer and as a magician.
Rember this failer is the greatest teacher.
Hope it helps!
C J
This experience will only help you as a performer it might sting now but give it time and you will only grow as a performer and as a magician.
Rember this failer is the greatest teacher.
Hope it helps!
C J
I'm sorry to hear about that man. That really sucks, but you shouldn't consider quitting magic just because of one a-hole in a performance. You shouldn't let one heckler bring you down. We all have bad performances before whether it's because of a heckler or not. We shouldn't let it bring us down, it should drive you to become a better magician and learn to deal with difficult situations like these.
Since you were in a bar, I assume he was drunk, right? Drunk people are notorious for being more annoying than a normal audience. They tend to not cooperate and purposely try to mess you up. It's also hard to do magic for them because they have shorter attention spans. They'll forget their card or go off and do something else midway through. So don't feel too bad about this guy.
There are plenty of ways to deal with these people:
1. Try to bring them to your side. Have them get involved with a trick or two. This usually works as a lot of hecklers just want attention and this allows you to give them some of the spotlight without having it ruin your act. They just become a part of it.
2. Address them kindly. Politely ask him to stop and explain that everyone wants to see the magic and he can ask you about the methods after you are done. Something like that. A lot of the time, people sort of heckle unintentionally.
3. Learn some heckler-proof tricks. It doesn't have to be something that makes them feel stupid or foolish (like a watch steal). This just has to be something with very little "dirty work" to catch onto. This could be something self-working or with little sleight of hand/gimmicks to catch onto. I've found that the Invisible Deck works well for this. Just introduce it after they catch one of your other tricks. Just be like "wow, you caught me. You're very observant. But this trick is even more impossible and I only show it to other magicians". Idk something like that.
4. I must emphasize very heavily that this last option is a last resort only. Only use this method if they're really being a jerk and none of the other methods have worked. And I mean REALLY being mean. Like continuously grabbing at your props after repeatedly telling them to stop and purposely trying to mess you up. Also, only use this if the rest of the audience is clearly against him too as it can make you seem like the jerk if done in the wrong situation. This method is to be a jerk back to them. This is when you just straight up call them out and tell them to stop or you'll stop performing. I'm also going to say, I've never had to use this. Usually just politely asking them does the trick, as most of the time they aren't trying to mess you up.
This is how I usually go about it. Also, keep in mind that drunk people are notoriously hard to do magic for. I've only had to on a few situations where I've had to do this and it's very different.
Michael O'Brien has a great video on the topic:
I'd ask for more experienced magicians' advice on dealing with drunk people as I've had little experience with this. Maybe like @RealityOne or @ChristopherT might have some better tips on the subject.
Time for reflection and really ask yourself why you didn't succeed. I do this after every performance regardless of how it went because I know it could always have been better.
-It could be an issue with your technique, maybe you didn't practice as much as you needed.
-Were you being challenging?
-Did you try to establish a connection with your audience members?
Often magicians get so caught up in what they're doing they forget to pay attention to those around them. That's why it's always nice to do something self-working, or that requires minimal sleight of hand, to really focus on your presentation and engage with everyone.
A "know it all" spectator can be a hassle, so my advice would be to have some trick ready that you know will fry him 100%(Something that is not available on YouTube). Or simply walk away. If you've identified someone who is out to spoil the fun or make your life difficult then dont do any more tricks in front of that person.
Dont give up! It's moments like this where our mettle is put to the test. Learn from this and bounce back.
-It could be an issue with your technique, maybe you didn't practice as much as you needed.
-Were you being challenging?
-Did you try to establish a connection with your audience members?
Often magicians get so caught up in what they're doing they forget to pay attention to those around them. That's why it's always nice to do something self-working, or that requires minimal sleight of hand, to really focus on your presentation and engage with everyone.
A "know it all" spectator can be a hassle, so my advice would be to have some trick ready that you know will fry him 100%(Something that is not available on YouTube). Or simply walk away. If you've identified someone who is out to spoil the fun or make your life difficult then dont do any more tricks in front of that person.
Dont give up! It's moments like this where our mettle is put to the test. Learn from this and bounce back.
Well, like we said. Dont let this one incident discourage you. Let it drive you toward becoming a better magician. There will always be hecklers and it’s important to know how to deal with them.
Please don't quit. It would be a shame if you let a jerk discourage you from doing what you love. Don't be afraid to fail and you will find more and more success as time goes on. If that ever happens again, the minute someone starts acting like that, politely thank the people and excuse yourself. Then go offer your gifts to people who will appreciate them.
I just realized a lot of these tips are in Michael's video haha.
Maybe it was and my fault...i went to the table and started to do magic (easy tricks with a sveggali deck and with doublelifting techniques) without to make a plot..and all the time the guy was "the card is there,ok can you open the deck and reveal your cards?" cause he new all the trick (he told me that). Even later when i did a made by me trick with cheektocheek deck i was too nervous and dissapoint that one girl on the table figure out what i did..but later i told to everybody this..."ok there is one guy here that knows the me tricks..why he didnt let the others to feel the magic? I am a performer not real magician doing this art to make fun with the people for their smile.." I have to tell you that this guy said that it was his fault and everybody told me that they like it (i dont know if they said that to make me feel good), and i left the table. It was my worst night yesterday and i think that it was my fault also..
Someone tried to bring you down?
Eff him.
And here's the secret...
Obviously being able to deal with hecklers is an AMAZING thing to be able to do and comes with experience and is quite a great quality in any performer, not only magicians.
HOWEVER...know what? If the guy was constantly heckling you, you did not see that alone,the rest of the audience saw it as well. And when they'll go home or ever in their WHOLE LIVES (and I swear, I am not exaggerating) when they recount what happened, they'll be saying on the lines of,
"Oh! We had so much fun that day! It was srsly cool! Also, a guy had come to perform something for us, prolly some magic trick, I dunno. But we were excited nevertheless. And THIS ANOTHER GUY kept completely RUINING everying! He would not let the magician perform! Man, I have never seen someone so desperate for attention!"
That's exactly what happens. Has it ever happened with you that in ur circle of frnds someone is just TOO ANNOYING? Like, he spoils the punchlines of others' jokes, constantly tries to be funny? You might like that guy, he may be ur frnd, but still you'd be like, "Hey man, calm down let the others speak atleast!"
Something like that.
So don't worry, he is the one everyone'd be blaming. And I also know for a fact (because I may have been that annoying frnd sometimes
) that the heckler would soon feel guilty or think he behaved a little too immaturely. He'd be the one embarassed.Basically, it's all him, none on you.
Finally, you might wanna think how YOU can avoid this situation as well. Like, what if something u said even as a joke triggered him? If anyone feels they are being put down, their inner heckler comes into play. So try and see if there's some problem on your behalf.
Otherwise don't pressurise yourself unnecessarily. Sometimes people are just what they are, desperate for attention.
If you wanna quit your magic because of this, well, I think it would be foolish. For all you know, it might be none of your fault. But if you wanna quit magic as in take a break and re-assess things and then come back, I'd say you can do that. Because I don't think these kind of reasons keep people away from something for long. Sooner or later, they bounce back, and that usually does not happen when they hear something inspirational. That happens when their own mind tells them,"Well, let haters be haters, I am not gonna sit and sob because of them."
So it's your call, do what you feel would be correct. If you take my suggestion however, you should just move on. I've had people stop me right before revelations of predictions or after the climax, pointing put some ''fault''. They think they won some sort of war? I reply them in my mind, "Good for you mate."
I mean everybody sees everything and trust me, you did NOT have your social image completely broken and so irreparable that you have a black mark on your character for ever.
I know it may seem difficult for you to come over. For any third person, all of us included, it is easier right now, because it is you who might keep remembering whatever that guy said, and your brain will keep recapping whatever happened. But we all have gone through it SOMETIME, so you can bank on us mate! Magicians are more closely bound to each other than any other community of artists. We face the same sort of things and hate the same sort of things and we all can say to each other "IKR!"
The point is, trust us, nothing's too bad. You've got it in your control.
PS:- This might not help you so much, but a good way to get over something is to be offensive. Saying cuss words actually triggers a fight response in you and you become a mental warrior. Just say it to yourself, "That guy is such a *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* kind of person, he deserves to be *beep* *beep* *beep*." It actually helps. You might wanna spice things up by looking up cuss words in some other language and tell him that when you meet him, with a smile. It'll be worth it, first hand experience again.
[This post contained offensive words. Regarding the fact that 3-year olds might be viewing this thread, the censor board has put beeps in place of the words, because we know ''nobody'' uses slangs in their minds and everyone is a unicorn. Thank you.]
Maybe it was your fault a li'l bit too, and if it was, you have already taken the first step in improving youtself accepting your mistakes.
But reading ALL that happened, I'd say the guy was kinda indecent too.
There is a lesson to be learned. You don't have to perform for people. You need to learn when to stop and when to move on. If you are performing and there is some guy who is revealing all the tricks, you need to take it under your control. You are the performer and YOU are doing those people the good deed of sharing your magic. Your failure may be due to lack of skill, however, it also sounds like its a lack of experience with people who are giving you trouble.
I don't have to perform. I have zero obligation to share my magic, but I enjoy doing so. If someone, who I am performing for, feels the need to stand above everyone else in a "battle of smarts", then I don't need to perform. I have been in similar situations where I do a trick and the guy keeps guessing methods or trying to take control of the trick and I have had to step up. For example. I am at a bar and one of the patrons was familiar with my magic and thought it was AWESOME. He tells the owner to come watch me do some magic. I borrow a deck from the bar and start doing some tricks. After every trick or sequence, the owner would make a comment about how the cards are not really shuffled, or that I "stole" the cards out. Some of his guesses were right, most were wrong, but it was inappropriate for him to keep calling out what he felt was happening. I eventually said, "I am trying to share something with you and everyone here, but you feel that it is your job to try to hinder, slow, and ruin the fun for everyone else, I see that you are not interested in the performance so I am going to stop and go back to my friends." I apologized to the people who were enjoying the trick and thanked them and left. I have better things to do in life than to have someone try to suck out the magic to fuel their own ego.
You probably should have stopped there or moved to a different group. It seems that you wanted to prove something to the guy who was calling you out which eventually ended in failure, hence, snubbing your pride, making you feel sad and wanting to quit. The best magicians became that way because they know failure and have learned from it. Do the same here.
I don't have to perform. I have zero obligation to share my magic, but I enjoy doing so. If someone, who I am performing for, feels the need to stand above everyone else in a "battle of smarts", then I don't need to perform. I have been in similar situations where I do a trick and the guy keeps guessing methods or trying to take control of the trick and I have had to step up. For example. I am at a bar and one of the patrons was familiar with my magic and thought it was AWESOME. He tells the owner to come watch me do some magic. I borrow a deck from the bar and start doing some tricks. After every trick or sequence, the owner would make a comment about how the cards are not really shuffled, or that I "stole" the cards out. Some of his guesses were right, most were wrong, but it was inappropriate for him to keep calling out what he felt was happening. I eventually said, "I am trying to share something with you and everyone here, but you feel that it is your job to try to hinder, slow, and ruin the fun for everyone else, I see that you are not interested in the performance so I am going to stop and go back to my friends." I apologized to the people who were enjoying the trick and thanked them and left. I have better things to do in life than to have someone try to suck out the magic to fuel their own ego.
You probably should have stopped there or moved to a different group. It seems that you wanted to prove something to the guy who was calling you out which eventually ended in failure, hence, snubbing your pride, making you feel sad and wanting to quit. The best magicians became that way because they know failure and have learned from it. Do the same here.
Thanks a lot to everyone...you help a lot...thank you from my deep of my heart...no i will not quit...i was in very bad situation when i wrote this article...but now when i read your posts and starting think different and more clear no i will not quit...(as i am writing this answer now i am doing search for some pdf books for card magic ). Thank you to everyone..i hope that this community keep doing this great work not only for magicians that have a lot of years in their back but also for new ones that love the art of magic and they want to share their questions and their answers...THANK YOU!!
). Thank you to everyone..i hope that this community keep doing this great work not only for magicians that have a lot of years in their back but also for new ones that love the art of magic and they want to share their questions and their answers...THANK YOU!!These guys have been very supportive, and I've held off on responding to let you get to a better place in your head.
So there's some points I'm going to address that might seem a little harsh. Just hear me out.
Performance is harsh. It's fun, but it's demanding, and it's not for everyone. I'm not telling you to quit - I'm telling you that you need to be ready to be chewed up and spit out occasionally. You have to learn to shake that off, or you won't make it in the performance world. There will be tough performances, and you will make mistakes. It happens to everyone, even the best of us.
Second - not everyone wants to see magic all the time. You didn't say anything specifically, but my guess is that you weren't hired to perform at this place? There's nothing wrong with performing for free if you want to, but you have to learn to recognize when people want to see what you have to offer, and when you're intruding. It sounds like maybe you kind of pushed yourself on these folks without first making sure they were interested, and it bit you on the butt.
Third - and this is the hardest to deal with, in my opinion - maybe your material just wasn't that good? It sounds like you were really focused on method. You mentioned you did "some stuff" with a "svengali deck and DLs". That doesn't sound like an engaging, entertaining performance to me, that sounds like someone who learned some things off YouTube wanting to try to show off and impress people. That only works if the audience doesn't know anything about magic, and this audience did know, so you got called out.
You said you're looking for PDFs on card magic. That means pirated material, most likely, and that's really frowned on in the magic world. Respect the creators and don't steal their work. You can find good resources for not that much money. Royal Road to Card Magic is around $10 USD online. I think I found my first copy for $8 on Amazon. Mark Wilson's book is anywhere from $15-$25 USD online. That's more than enough to teach you fundamental skills and get you going, and you won't be spitting in the face of the people who are trying to provide useful information to you.
Now, with the harsher stuff aside, let's wrap up this post on a happier note.
You've reached an important landmark of learning magic - you bombed. Everyone bombs at least once. What can you learn from the experience?
Also, remember this event. Everyone needs something to keep them humble.
You can learn from this experience and make your magic better.
So there's some points I'm going to address that might seem a little harsh. Just hear me out.
Performance is harsh. It's fun, but it's demanding, and it's not for everyone. I'm not telling you to quit - I'm telling you that you need to be ready to be chewed up and spit out occasionally. You have to learn to shake that off, or you won't make it in the performance world. There will be tough performances, and you will make mistakes. It happens to everyone, even the best of us.
Second - not everyone wants to see magic all the time. You didn't say anything specifically, but my guess is that you weren't hired to perform at this place? There's nothing wrong with performing for free if you want to, but you have to learn to recognize when people want to see what you have to offer, and when you're intruding. It sounds like maybe you kind of pushed yourself on these folks without first making sure they were interested, and it bit you on the butt.
Third - and this is the hardest to deal with, in my opinion - maybe your material just wasn't that good? It sounds like you were really focused on method. You mentioned you did "some stuff" with a "svengali deck and DLs". That doesn't sound like an engaging, entertaining performance to me, that sounds like someone who learned some things off YouTube wanting to try to show off and impress people. That only works if the audience doesn't know anything about magic, and this audience did know, so you got called out.
You said you're looking for PDFs on card magic. That means pirated material, most likely, and that's really frowned on in the magic world. Respect the creators and don't steal their work. You can find good resources for not that much money. Royal Road to Card Magic is around $10 USD online. I think I found my first copy for $8 on Amazon. Mark Wilson's book is anywhere from $15-$25 USD online. That's more than enough to teach you fundamental skills and get you going, and you won't be spitting in the face of the people who are trying to provide useful information to you.
Now, with the harsher stuff aside, let's wrap up this post on a happier note.
You've reached an important landmark of learning magic - you bombed. Everyone bombs at least once. What can you learn from the experience?
Also, remember this event. Everyone needs something to keep them humble.
You can learn from this experience and make your magic better.
John Bannon writes that he doesn't perform card tricks for people until they ask three times. Darren Brown writes about how he sat down at a table with Eugene Burger who looked at him and said in his deep baritone voice, "I want to show you something truly amazing." Darren said that he could tell that something special was going to happen. Think about how you can set the stage for performing magic.
To me, close-up magic is a conversation. Think about that for a minute.
Design your performance pieces to be a conversation. Start the conversation before you start the effect. Interact with the spectators and get them to like you. Let me give you an example (off the top of my head):
There is a great line from a Wayne Dobson effect where he asks, "do you believe in coincidences?" If the spectator says "yes" his response, is "what a coincidence, so do I!" If the say no, his response is "what a coincidence, neither do I!" You could ask a lot of similar questions depending on your effect... Do you believe in... luck, fate, destiny, love at first sight, ESP, premonition, intuition, existentialism, monogamy, etc. Listen to their answers and have something personal or insightful to share. If I ask about intuition, I'll mention Malcom Gladwell's book Blink or a personal story where I've had a feeling about something. Chances are they will respond with something more in-depth, intellectual or personal. Then I would transition to an effect that relates to what we are talking about.
Contrast that with walking up and saying "do you want to see a magic trick?"
Another issue seems to be the effects you are using for performance in a bar. If you are doing the typical Svengali Deck routine, I'd guess that 1 in 20 people will have seen it. There are some great effects you can do with it (see Encyclopedia of Card Tricks), but most performances scream "trick deck." I like to let spectators shuffle the deck. Cheek to Cheek is a great gaff, but you need to be able to switch it in after doing effects with a regular deck and show it to the extent you can to be a regular deck (but never say "this is a regular deck"). Better yet, learn Bannon's Play it Straight Triumph or the Slop Shuffle Triumph that can be done with a regular deck. A double lift is the most well known magic sleight and typically is done in a manner that is obvious to anyone who has ever watched a Youtube video. Also, many beginners have magician's guilt - the look at their hands when they do a sleight, they get nervous performing with a trick deck. Those actions "tell" the spectators that something has happened.
Use self-working methods. Get Scarne on Card Tricks, Fulves' Self Working Card Tricks books, Card College Light, Lighter and Lightest, Bannon's Destination Zero, Steve Beam's Semi-Automatic card trick series, etc. The Light, Lighter and Lightest have effects already routined together and are probably the best of the group for performing without any modification. If you are using trick decks and gaff cards, check out some uncommon presentations in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks. On the other end of the spectrum, seek out and learn more challenging sleight of hand.
Vary your props. There is a great Out of This World effect on Vanishing called French Postcards which uses tasteful antique-looking nude pictures and postcards of destinations. Do an effect with Zener ESP cards (check out The Card Magic of Nick Trost). Get an effect called Free Will (@RickEverhart recommended that to me) which uses round wooden chips. Do a packet trick with different colored cards (Bannon, Colombini and Walton have great effects like this). I have a close-up effect using worry stones. Do tricks with cards -- I like Houchin's Counterfeit and Sankey's Carbon Copy. My go to is card under glass.
Don't quit... use the experience to learn your craft more deeply.
To me, close-up magic is a conversation. Think about that for a minute.
Design your performance pieces to be a conversation. Start the conversation before you start the effect. Interact with the spectators and get them to like you. Let me give you an example (off the top of my head):
Hi, my name is David. What are your names? [spectators respond, "Bob, Sally and Harry"]. Good to meet you. Are you having a good time tonight? [spectators respond "we are, how about you?"]. I have been having a good time. I've been showing people some magic [notice I don't say tricks] and having a lot fun. Actually, I've been seeing if people are more receptive to subconscious suggestion after they have had a couple of drinks. Have you had a couple of drinks? [spectators respond "yes"]. Perfect. Would one of you like to be the subject for our study?... don't worry, I won't have you do anything you will regret in the morning."
There is a great line from a Wayne Dobson effect where he asks, "do you believe in coincidences?" If the spectator says "yes" his response, is "what a coincidence, so do I!" If the say no, his response is "what a coincidence, neither do I!" You could ask a lot of similar questions depending on your effect... Do you believe in... luck, fate, destiny, love at first sight, ESP, premonition, intuition, existentialism, monogamy, etc. Listen to their answers and have something personal or insightful to share. If I ask about intuition, I'll mention Malcom Gladwell's book Blink or a personal story where I've had a feeling about something. Chances are they will respond with something more in-depth, intellectual or personal. Then I would transition to an effect that relates to what we are talking about.
Contrast that with walking up and saying "do you want to see a magic trick?"
Another issue seems to be the effects you are using for performance in a bar. If you are doing the typical Svengali Deck routine, I'd guess that 1 in 20 people will have seen it. There are some great effects you can do with it (see Encyclopedia of Card Tricks), but most performances scream "trick deck." I like to let spectators shuffle the deck. Cheek to Cheek is a great gaff, but you need to be able to switch it in after doing effects with a regular deck and show it to the extent you can to be a regular deck (but never say "this is a regular deck"). Better yet, learn Bannon's Play it Straight Triumph or the Slop Shuffle Triumph that can be done with a regular deck. A double lift is the most well known magic sleight and typically is done in a manner that is obvious to anyone who has ever watched a Youtube video. Also, many beginners have magician's guilt - the look at their hands when they do a sleight, they get nervous performing with a trick deck. Those actions "tell" the spectators that something has happened.
Use self-working methods. Get Scarne on Card Tricks, Fulves' Self Working Card Tricks books, Card College Light, Lighter and Lightest, Bannon's Destination Zero, Steve Beam's Semi-Automatic card trick series, etc. The Light, Lighter and Lightest have effects already routined together and are probably the best of the group for performing without any modification. If you are using trick decks and gaff cards, check out some uncommon presentations in Encyclopedia of Card Tricks. On the other end of the spectrum, seek out and learn more challenging sleight of hand.
Vary your props. There is a great Out of This World effect on Vanishing called French Postcards which uses tasteful antique-looking nude pictures and postcards of destinations. Do an effect with Zener ESP cards (check out The Card Magic of Nick Trost). Get an effect called Free Will (@RickEverhart recommended that to me) which uses round wooden chips. Do a packet trick with different colored cards (Bannon, Colombini and Walton have great effects like this). I have a close-up effect using worry stones. Do tricks with cards -- I like Houchin's Counterfeit and Sankey's Carbon Copy. My go to is card under glass.
Don't quit... use the experience to learn your craft more deeply.
I was going to express a few more thoughts on this, but Reality One must have read my mind - well, it is light reading. There is so much wisdom in his post, and he has said it better than I could even attempt to do. The only thing I would add is that I suspect most of us got into magic because it is fun. Rather than thinking about how you can impress them or blow them away, always remember to have fun and to communicate that sense of fun to your audience, get them involved and make them part of the magic, and they will have fun too. A friend of mine said it well: "Magic is people!"
One more thing. I had originally missed Christopher T's post and it contains excellent thoughts and advice. Alarte, you were wise to turn to your friends here on the Forum, to openly let them know your feelings and to ask for their advice. I have been doing magic all my life - since my first show at age 6 at a party given by my aunt and uncle. More than half a century later, I am still learning, and I owe a lot to the people on this forum who generously share their knowledge, wisdom, and experience.
Hi there...
You sound like a guy who recently learned several tricks... quickly wanted to impress everyone, it didn't work, and now you are sad. If this isn't true, correct me... But I have been there too... I do not yet perform for strangers, but I used to do the same thing... Learn a trick and then quickly want to show everybody... So definitely keep practising.
As far as hecklers are concerned, always try to dictate the act...
If someone starts asking questions in front of everybody (e.g Can I shuffle?)... The BEST thing to do is comply (do what they ask), and then stare awkwardly, when they ask you to continue, you tell them that they seem to know more than you, so they should be telling you what to do...
This will make them feel awkward!
Never give up control of YOUR performance. How about saying, "Yes, before the next trick" or "Of course... in a bit." Better to design your performance so that the audience sees the deck is already shuffled, see that it appears to be a normal deck, etc.