Whats your go to effect, when put on the spot?

Your friends probably tell stories about you to their friends of how awesome you are at magic (if they are not, they should be) and when you meet these people they will most likely ask you to do a trick. And ofcourse you are not prepared. (maybe you are though) So what trick do you do, when you are confronted without props or set-up?

For me, I either say 'No, piss off.' or do the twisting arm illusion thing that David Stone does.

J.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
If I am confronted without props or set up and have no cards on me I go straight to "Ring Thing" by Garrett Thomas.
Moral of the story: "Always have at least 3 go to effects on you and some business cards."
This allows you to do a short set at any given moment and then hand our cards for possible future gigs.
 
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Nov 8, 2007
1,238
3
Ring Thing (always wear a ring for this effect in case one is not available to borrow)
Ring Flight (Ring Flight Revolution on my keychain)
Signed Coin Bend (using QB2--never leave home without it)
SLR - Souvenir Linking Rubberbands (always keep these on my wrist)
Center Tear or Stigmata (always have some business cards with blank backs in my wallet)
Personal Lottery (lottery ticket prediction effect I always carry in my wallet--my take on a principle by Martin Gardner)
License to Astonish (Paul Harris's plot, but my handling using my Real man's Wallet that is my every day use wallet)
Pulse Stop (It has to be the right moment, but this is one of my favorite impromptu effects when the time is right)
Magic Square

Those are my usual go-to effects using the things I always have on me everywhere I go--wallet, keys, finger ring, rubberbands, and my Sharpie w/ QB2.
 
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i have a tic-tac-toe thing i do in my wallet. along with the 52 on 1 card just to mess with people. i try to keep rubber band or 2 on my wrists, if not for magic, then i use it for one of th other 1000 uses for it. its nice to have some mentalism under you belt too, so patrick Redford is pretty helpful haha. i used to keep Extreme burn in my wallet till i spent it.
 
Dec 23, 2007
1,579
4
36
Fredonia, NY
! coin routine. A sleeving routine/ re-capped using borrowed pen. Coin on shoulder, Watch Steal all those i can do with nothing on me.

If i have bare minimum i will do CMH or a hybrid ambitious, impossible location effect i combined.
 
Aug 14, 2010
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Electric Touch

Stigmata - My own version which is 100% bullet proof. Just ask the person to think of any number. To make it simple let's say from 1 - 10 then write it down. No center tears. No peeks. No impression device. Etc.

Breath Hold

Number Telepathy - I'm not really sure what to call this. It's something that I came up on my own. If this existed before please tell me the name of the effect. It's simple. You both think and write any number then they both match. It's a very direct effect.

Watch Stop - This is very practical, visual and so clean. The borrowed watch is in the spectator's hand the entire time and you never touch it. They see it moving then suddenly stops for a few seconds then it's back to normal again. Anywhere and anytime. No clothing restrictions.

Smoke
 
Mar 16, 2010
106
1
Lithuania
The trick where the spectator and you write the same number can be found in 13 steps to mentalism by Corinda. I think its called "great minds think alike".
 
Nov 19, 2010
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0
greed 2 dollar window 5 and 1 transpo all i keep in my wallet
raw linkage slink stairway got rubberbands on my wrist
ring thing always wear a ring
rising card app
this is if i dont have my jacket on which holds everything of mine
 
Aug 31, 2007
799
1
Electric Touch

No props necessary ;)

I usually wrap a few rubberbands around my wallet, so I usually do Stairway, Crazy Mans Handcuffs and Raw Linkage. However, if I really had nothing, I'd borrow two bills and do Ghost Bills by andrew mayne. Very, very underrated effect.

~Zach
 
Jul 13, 2008
382
0
A rubber band is not a prop, it's an everyday item that a lot of people have on them. Electric touch requires that you be prepared beforehand.
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
Which hand effects, a prediction effect on Corner Project by G (the principle anyway), and I've been playing with some billet work (3 questions and some other general stuff).
 
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