Tricks to carry?

Apr 5, 2009
96
0
i really need help on how to carry tricks and what tricks to carry. I have a very large amout of tricks and with alot of them you always need a gimmick or something and I dont want to just waste the money i spent on it by not doing it. Most of the time i find myself stuffing my pockets completly full with everything i can and i really think its a problem and i want to see if anyone has some advice. thank you
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
I would say you should carry only what you want to perform that day. Maybe take 3 or 4 effects and do them over and over and over for a few weeks to perfect them and then pick 1 or 2 more to add and so on and so on.

You'll eventually like some effects more than others and stick to those.
 
Apr 5, 2009
96
0
I would say you should carry only what you want to perform that day. Maybe take 3 or 4 effects and do them over and over and over for a few weeks to perfect them and then pick 1 or 2 more to add and so on and so on.

You'll eventually like some effects more than others and stick to those.

but(now trust me i know this is going to sound insane)i have like 50+ tricks that im willing to preform some gimickless most require something though and i dont even know were to start trying to pick out ones that i really want to do
 
Jun 6, 2010
796
0
Nashville, TN
I usually walk around with a deck of cards, a sharpie, a few rubberbands, and an extra deck in my back pocket (to replace signed cards and for dupes)

This can usually keep me going pretty long in a normal environment. But, if I'm doing a walkaround gig or something like that, I'm usually armed to the teeth with props, gimmicks, decks, and sharpies. :)

My advice to you is to learn some more impromptu tricks. Also, look into some tricks that you can do with regular objects. Nothing's better than borrowing something and doing something amazing with it.
 
Jan 10, 2009
150
0
University Park PA
Then pick a few randomly, possibly ones that have some common prop or theme, and take those out one day, or for a week or so. Then, if you find you don't like some of those, try switching them out for others, or change everything and pick a new theme and go with that for a while. As RikAllen said, you'll find some you like more than others, so try to keep those around and perfect them, while testing out the rest of your material.
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
3,637
471
46
Louisville, OH
You guys are nuts loading yourselves down with all that. I only carry a deck...a sharpie...wear some rubber bands...and carry a mismade bill. All you need is like 3 or 4 things for unpaid gigs and some business cards.

Even at a paid table hopping or strolling gig I roll with like 9 effects total.

Pocket management is crucial and imperative.
 
Aug 22, 2011
1
0
94
Naples FL
Joey, just to help out, when you say you have 50-plus tricks, why not list just ten of them here and maybe we can narrow down what you should be equipped with. It's like the old gag, I can make 100 different balloon animals, but most will look like dogs. If you have 20 or 30 card tricks or 10 or 15 coin tricks, believe me, you might think they are all different but the crowd will start moving away very soon.
 
Sep 1, 2007
723
2
What does performing for someone mean to you? David Blaine style walking up and doing one effect and walking away?? It seems like you don't have a set of material. Professionals call a set an "act". It's a series of effects that are structured and feed into one another in one way or another. They are structured and scripted for maximum impact.

It sounds like the problem you're running into is that you have too many effects and no concept of how to structure a routine with the effects and props you have. Do you have patter? Have you rehearsed the effect? Which is different than just practicing the sleights.

*TV announcer voice*
"TONIGHT! When Magic Consumption Goes Bad"
 
Jan 10, 2009
150
0
University Park PA
It's like the old gag, I can make 100 different balloon animals, but most will look like dogs. If you have 20 or 30 card tricks or 10 or 15 coin tricks, believe me, you might think they are all different but the crowd will start moving away very soon.

Well put Dondunn. A lot of people know quite a few card tricks, as an example, but at a certain point the plot just blurs together for all of them, and while the methods might in fact be quite different, the effect from the spectator's point of view is pretty much the same. So figure out what you want to make happen, and try not to have repetition. I'm not saying that repetition is a bad thing, because it isn't to a certain extent (a well done ACR is proof of that) but when you aren't doing repetition intentionally then that's bad. Just like an ACR can't have too many phases or it gets boring, you shouldn't have too many tricks on you that are similar.

Also, if you have that many gimmicks, put some in a drawer and come back to them in a while. It's been said on these forums many times, quality is much more important than quantity. Spend the time to perfect a few of your favorite effects, and perform those, rather than trying to fit everything you own into your performance.
 
Apr 5, 2009
96
0
Joey, just to help out, when you say you have 50-plus tricks, why not list just ten of them here and maybe we can narrow down what you should be equipped with. It's like the old gag, I can make 100 different balloon animals, but most will look like dogs. If you have 20 or 30 card tricks or 10 or 15 coin tricks, believe me, you might think they are all different but the crowd will start moving away very soon.

yea i pretty much just have a bunch of card tricks like i have pretty much everything put out by wayne houchin,danny garcia exept the dg project,dan hauss,dan white, robert smith,calen morelli,richard fergason,richard sanders and eric ross and matt sconce...as you can see thats why i have soo many gimmcked tricks
 
Apr 5, 2009
96
0
What does performing for someone mean to you? David Blaine style walking up and doing one effect and walking away?? It seems like you don't have a set of material. Professionals call a set an "act". It's a series of effects that are structured and feed into one another in one way or another. They are structured and scripted for maximum impact.

It sounds like the problem you're running into is that you have too many effects and no concept of how to structure a routine with the effects and props you have. Do you have patter? Have you rehearsed the effect? Which is different than just practicing the sleights.

*TV announcer voice*
"TONIGHT! When Magic Consumption Goes Bad"
and yes i do tend to do more of the "one trick things" like david blaine but i do more than one trick before i walk away
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,238
3
You guys are nuts loading yourselves down with all that. I only carry a deck...a sharpie...wear some rubber bands...and carry a mismade bill. All you need is like 3 or 4 things for unpaid gigs and some business cards.

Even at a paid table hopping or strolling gig I roll with like 9 effects total.

Pocket management is crucial and imperative.
Not everyone who is into magic is doing it professionally though. Most are hobbyists who are just doing it for the love of the craft--which is awesome. And hobbyists too want to do more magic than what they can accomplish with just a deck of cards, a thumb tip, and some rubberbands when they go out to do their thing. The majority of magicians buying effects right here on this site fall into that category. They buy Smoke, Psypher, Distortion, Spreadwave, Dresscode, etc., etc. because they want to perform the effects and enjoy them, not leave them in a drawer waiting for a paid gig. And I think part of the problem Joey is having is knowing which effects he should be taking out and enjoying and which ones he should leave at home, because he probably doesn't know which ones he'll get more opportunities to enjoy performing.

Joey,

It does sound like you have more material than you need. My suggestion is this: decide the effects you want to be permanent staples in your repertoire--effects that are diverse and you will get a lot of use out of and can manage carrying without any trouble on a daily basis. Write these down. Get comfortable working with just those effects for a couple months.

All the others you have become special effects--effects you can change up depending on what you think you'll be doing that day and who you think you'll be around. You only need add one, maybe two of these at a time.

This will give you the freedom to have a regular working repertoire to rely on when you go out, and at the same time allow you to throw one or two special things in your pocket to change it up every now and then.

When I go out I naturally always have my wallet, keys, rubberbands, iPhone, and a ring. These are things that either don't take up any pocket space or that I have to carry anyways. Just with those I have more than enough magic on me to entertain, and that doesn't even include all the impromptu effects in my repertoire. The first magic things that go in my pockets are a deck of cards, Sharpie, lighter (Branded), and my Quantum Bender. After that I still have an entire pocket (actually I usually have three more because I usually wear cargo pants) free to throw in anything I want that I think I might want to make use of that day (for a while now it's been a small notebook pad set up for Psypher).

I think, though, that you are now seeing the reason effects that either pack flat, are impromptu, or offer some diversity to them are so valuable. There are lots of cool effects out there, but before you click the "Buy Now" button it's always best to consider if it's something you're really going to put to use. It's better to have a few effects you do very well, can perform in any situation, and that you'll get a lot of use out of than it is to have a bunch of effects you can do OK and have trouble managing and remembering even exist.

Feel free to post some of your favorites here and I'm sure you'll get some advice on designing your "every day repertoire."

Hope that helped.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Apr 5, 2009
96
0
Not everyone who is into magic is doing it professionally though. Most are hobbyists who are just doing it for the love of the craft--which is awesome. And hobbyists too want to do more magic than what they can accomplish with just a deck of cards, a thumb tip, and some rubberbands when they go out to do their thing. The majority of magicians buying effects right here on this site fall into that category. They buy Smoke, Psypher, Distortion, Spreadwave, Dresscode, etc., etc. because they want to perform the effects and enjoy them, not leave them in a drawer waiting for a paid gig. And I think part of the problem Joey is having is knowing which effects he should be taking out and enjoying and which ones he should leave at home, because he probably doesn't know which ones he'll get more opportunities to enjoy performing.

Joey,

It does sound like you have more material than you need. My suggestion is this: decide the effects you want to be permanent staples in your repertoire--effects that are diverse and you will get a lot of use out of and can manage carrying without any trouble on a daily basis. Write these down. Get comfortable working with just those effects for a couple months.

All the others you have become special effects--effects you can change up depending on what you think you'll be doing that day and who you think you'll be around. You only need add one, maybe two of these at a time.

This will give you the freedom to have a regular working repertoire to rely on when you go out, and at the same time allow you to throw one or two special things in your pocket to change it up every now and then.

When I go out I naturally always have my wallet, keys, rubberbands, iPhone, and a ring. These are things that either don't take up any pocket space or that I have to carry anyways. Just with those I have more than enough magic on me to entertain, and that doesn't even include all the impromptu effects in my repertoire. The first magic things that go in my pockets are a deck of cards, Sharpie, lighter (Branded), and my Quantum Bender. After that I still have an entire pocket (actually I usually have three more because I usually wear cargo pants) free to throw in anything I want that I think I might want to make use of that day (for a while now it's been a small notebook pad set up for Psypher).

I think, though, that you are now seeing the reason effects that either pack flat, are impromptu, or offer some diversity to them are so valuable. There are lots of cool effects out there, but before you click the "Buy Now" button it's always best to consider if it's something you're really going to put to use. It's better to have a few effects you do very well, can perform in any situation, and that you'll get a lot of use out of than it is to have a bunch of effects you can do OK and have trouble managing and remembering even exist.

Feel free to post some of your favorites here and I'm sure you'll get some advice on designing your "every day repertoire."

Hope that helped.
hey mat that really did help and my favorite effects are with rubberbands coins and bills and i keep any gimmicked bills in my walet and then and rubber band tricks i just the put rubberbands on my wrist and the only 2 gimmicks in the little pocket in most jeans so then i have 3 pockets left for card tricks and like random item tricks. some of my favorite tricks are election by eric ross,distortion,smoke,lit pressure flow and then pretty much anything made by danny garcia wayne houchin and calen morelli and tagged by rich fergason(witch takes up alot of pocket space) and psypher/universal impression
 
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