What is the best impromptu card trick(s)?

Jun 7, 2008
21
0
Texas
Hello fellow card trick enthusiasts, as the title of this thread clearly states I want your opinion on what is the best impromptu card trick(s)? I am the type of magician that doesnt like to carry around alot of gimmiks so I want to see what kind of effects you guys (or girls) are fond of. Feel free to share any trick that you think is worth sharing and lets just share insight and grow as performers. To start things off I have personally grown fond of DMs Half Vanish, if not the trick just the vanish itself, it is very powerful and very versitile.... Well thats mine, whats yours???
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Haven't posted this response in a while.

...Why?

Typically, "best of" threads are posted so that the OP can look up powerful tricks from other people and copy them into their repertoire with minimum effort or research, as a shortcut. Ultimately, this is counter productive, as will be explained below.

However, if you really want an answer, I'll give you a trick, but you'll have to do some research yourself if you want to find it. It's called Artificial Intelligence.

But here's an idea. Look for them yourself, find the ones that work for yourself, and make them "hard hitting"! In all honestly, looking for the shortcut by asking for "best of" effects isn't gonna do you any favours, and 95% of the time will not get you the most hard-hitting effects you can perform. That's right, asking for good tricks will actually, the majority of the time, get you tricks that, when performed by you, will be second rate and common. So you'll be performing the same old stuff and probably not as well as you could be.

Rather than ask "Where can I find the best effect", ask "Where can I find effects (possibly of x plot or from x magician)", go out, look through everything, and find what works for you. You want average material, ask for "the best" effects. And if you're satisfied with decent, go ahead. Some people are happy with being decent, and that's fine. But if you want to be better than that, with the best material and the highest possible impact? You'll have to work harder than that.

The main reason for this is that the strongest effect in my arsenal, in all honestly, would probably not work at all for you. This is due to many reasons - personality, presentation, and just the effect in general. So why would I give that to you? Why would I a) give out something that will probably be inferior for you and b) give out what I've been working on for two years plus? Many, many people for example list Stigmata as their strongest effect, and many people buy it. You wanna know the truth, 95% of people's presentation of Stigmata is ****. Stigmata could be so, so much more. but no, they rely on the effect, rather than relying on themselves as a performer, and this separates the chaff from the wheat. I read a thread just yesterday of a Stigmata performance which was terrible!

If you really want strong effects, you need to tell us what you're interested in, specifically, a plot or an author. Then you need to go look at everything by that author or on that plot, and decide what works for you, use that knowledge to mix the effects together, and base a presentation on what appeals to you, not what appeals to us. My favourite effect happens to be Zamiel's Rose, and yet I barely know anyone who has the personality to pull it off, so I never suggest it, it would be a travesty, the epitome of ruining magic. I mean what do you want me to say - follow your instructions exactly, and give you an effect that won't suit you and you won't be able to make the most of? I'd rather say this, the truth.

See, ultimately, if you're told that in this book, there are three tricks that are good, then you'll (hopefully) buy the book, and go straight for those three tricks. In doing so, you are undermining your own search because you are going by what other people's standards! Instead, if you open a magic book, with absolutely no recommendations, then you are forced to evaluate, for yourself, each and every entry in that book.

This is not to say we (or I) don't want to help. This is to say, rather, that it should be the right help, if you really want the best magic.

Go buy a book or something, that's where the good stuff is.
 
Jul 12, 2010
18
0
Sweden
To me I'd probably say search and destroy by Aaron Fisher, a good Ambitous Card Routine or 2 Card Monte. Quick card transpositions are great as well, my favourite being French kiss.
Then one that really blew my mind when I saw it, but that I've never been good enough to perform is Danny Garcia's White or Wheat. Frickin' crazy...
But all that is personal taste, and depends on wether you want something simple, hard hitting or slow and beautiful etc. It also depends on wether you want it as an opener, what kind or audience you're performing for, your skill, your mood and so on.
That's what I think at least.

By the way I'm new here \o/
 
Feb 16, 2009
217
0
South Bend, IN
Seriously, just listen to Praetoritevong's advice. You are essentially asking for everyone to tell you their best impromptu tricks. What works for them isn't guaranteed to work for you.
 
Oct 13, 2008
46
0
I think it's a fair question, 'What is the best impromptu card trick?', as card tricks are - by their very nature - designed to look impromptu. No-one sees a card trick presented by someone who says "Just hang on while i fish the gimmick from my pocket." Of course many of the best card tricks involve the use of a gimmick at some point, however the pursuit of the purity of gimmick free magic is to be applauded.

I suppose your question centres around what would happen if you were handed a deck and requested to perform a trick. I should posit the notion that things that are probably very boring to those on this Forum such as an ACR, would in fact work wonders with a lay audience and as such should not be discounted.

I have two effects i'm very fond of that i go to in an impromptu situation, but i choose to reveal neither here. I'm a magician, allow me the luxury of having some secrets. Before i learned those two though, i would always perform my version of Here Then There, and i got some very strong reactions from that trick.
 
Sep 10, 2008
915
3
QLD, AUS
I think it's a fair question, 'What is the best impromptu card trick?', as card tricks are - by their very nature - designed to look impromptu. No-one sees a card trick presented by someone who says "Just hang on while i fish the gimmick from my pocket." Of course many of the best card tricks involve the use of a gimmick at some point, however the pursuit of the purity of gimmick free magic is to be applauded.

I'll have to completely disagree with that point.

I believe that card tricks - by their very nature - look premeditated in almost every single situation. If you really were capable of doing real magic, why would you have to use 54 pieces of paper? You wouldn't. You'd be able to do magic wherever and whenever you wanted, regardless of whether you had props or not.
If someone knows you're a magician and says to you "show me some magic", it would seem much more magical to read their thoughts, or to do magic with something just lying around rather than fishing through your pocket for your deck. Because if you really could do real magic, you'd be able to do it without a deck of cards.

But yeah, in regards to the topic, I second what prae said. I'm fairly sure that your magical persona wouldn't do the same tricks that my magical persona would do impromptu.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,880
2,946
I agree with everything praetoritevong said.

Also, Prae, Zamiel's rose is one of my favorite tricks as well. I don't perform it, though, because as you said, it doesn't really fit me.
 
Oct 13, 2008
46
0
I'll have to completely disagree with that point.

I believe that card tricks - by their very nature - look premeditated in almost every single situation. If you really were capable of doing real magic, why would you have to use 54 pieces of paper? You wouldn't. You'd be able to do magic wherever and whenever you wanted, regardless of whether you had props or not.
If someone knows you're a magician and says to you "show me some magic", it would seem much more magical to read their thoughts, or to do magic with something just lying around rather than fishing through your pocket for your deck. Because if you really could do real magic, you'd be able to do it without a deck of cards.

But as i said later in my post, i believe that Giovanni was talking about card tricks one performs when handed a deck and challenged. To this end, they cannot possibly be pre-meditated. Of course cards are a prop, used to achieve magical effects.

And let's face it, if you could really do magic....why on earth would you be bothering to show it to strangers on the street?
 
But as i said later in my post, i believe that Giovanni was talking about card tricks one performs when handed a deck and challenged.

If I have a deck thrust into my hand and I am 'challenged' to do something then I don't perform.

1) I'm not a performing monkey, I'm not going to perform just because someone insists i should. I respect myself and my magic more than that

2) By responding to a 'challenge' you can only go down the road of 'See, I CAN do something, I'm better than you. You lose' which is no basis for amazement, astonishment and/or entertainment.


Just my thoughts.


Rev
 
Sep 10, 2008
915
3
QLD, AUS
But as i said later in my post, i believe that Giovanni was talking about card tricks one performs when handed a deck and challenged. To this end, they cannot possibly be pre-meditated. Of course cards are a prop, used to achieve magical effects.

well then why did you say this:

...as card tricks are - by their very nature - designed to look impromptu.

And let's face it, if you could really do magic....why on earth would you be bothering to show it to strangers on the street?

I'm not a street magician. I don't know.
 
Jun 7, 2008
21
0
Texas
Hey Guys, I don't want you to think (as some where saying) that I'm trying to "steal" your tricks, I just wanted to know what impromptu tricks worked for you. I've been doing card tricks for a couple of years now and I have come across some good impromptu card tricks, but I certaintly don't use them all. All I wanted was the opinion of the magic community on what they thought was the best. I am sure some tricks stated may be tricks I don't even like, but I was just curious as to what kind of tricks would show up.


To clearify further, I am not asking about "real magic" and yes I do believe cards are a prop, but I was looking more towards the entertaining side of card tricks. I wanted to know what you, as a magician, would do if you wanted to entertain a group of people with a deck of cards and no gimmicks. I thought the opinions shared would be interesting.


So no I am not here to steal trick ideas in fact I have a good impromptu routine, if I can say so myself :p, I just wanted to see what kind of impromptu tricks worked for other magicians. hopefully I could clear some stuff up :)
 
Jul 13, 2010
526
34
The most powerful impromptu routines for me are the ones that make use of a memorized stack. It´s like a gimmick without a gimmick ;)

You can open a brand new (borrowed) deck and go right into memorized stack order.
And at the end of your routines/effects/presentation, you´re left with a deck in full new deck order! Never got any better reactions. That´s a jaw dropper every time.

Other than that, there´re some 'classics' that I really like:
1. ACR
2. ACAAN
3. Oil and Water
4. Triumph
5. OOTW
 
Apr 5, 2009
874
1
29
Illinois
Vegas Card Cheat (yeah i know brad christian, but hey, it works for me... and... i changed it!!)

Random, some times improv pick a card tricks... need to get away from this, but its become habitual. not good.

birds of a feather-ish routine...
 
Jun 20, 2009
627
3
near paris
the best impromptu trick is:
built a repertoire and work it everyday , choose simple effect with no set up and practice, practice, practice
write down all the tricks you know that doesn't requires any set up (abc,triumph,biddle trick etc...)
and learn them standing whitout table, sitting whith table and whithout table
 
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Jun 2, 2008
38
0
antioch Ca U.S.A
Like praetoritevong said (not to take away from his thunder or anything but) he is right. The reason people like Danile Garcia and Wayne Houchin are so good is because they put their OWN personallity on their tricks. Yeah they give you their effects but most of the time people don't perform it well because they don't add to it as in their personality. People rely on the trick. Now don't get me wrong i'm not saying don't buy their tricks or the trick doesn't have any effectiveness. They are called effects for a reason, but add your personallity to it.

basically for me I use a variations of ambitious card (good dvd is on ellusionist.com)
 
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