Being Safe vs. Being Bold

[Reapx]

I was watching the trailer to stained skin tattoo on ellusionist. And on there ray talks about its hard to set up when you do "hit and run magic" by what he said. He also said being ballsy pays off. like setting a prop somewhere no one would notice and if they did see it wouldnt notice it.

So that got me thinking. how many magicians nowadays stay on the safe side of doing magic rather then do something daring or "ballsy"?

I know a lot of times i do something that is more safe then doing something daring. But sometimes ill set something up when i do bullet.

How about all of you guys. Would you do something safe or do something more bold?

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I love ballsy techniques. It is one of my great joys in life to pull something off right under the nose of my spectators. That being said, I also do a lot to make sure that the ballsy moves are as undetectable as possible.

 

[RickEverhart]

If it is a high paying gig and I cannot run the chance of getting "caught" in front of a big crowd...I stick to my bread and butter that I know inside and out.

If it is just me around friends or family...then I could care less if I get caught "trying" something new or being ballsy.

 

[DannyT]

Greater the risk, better the reward.
Like Rev, I'd play it safe if I were doing a paid gig. But when you're hanging out with friends or in a performance where there's no hot pressure on you to do well, then go for the ballsy tricks.

 

[AsherF]

If it's worth taking the bold route, then by all means. I don't do either for the sake of being safe or bold.

 

[r.zhang]

It really depends on the situation as those guys have already said. I am a fairly gutsy person so if an opportunity presents itself, I will more than likely take it. If their back pockets are exposed, I'll stick a duplicate card in there. If their wallet it sticking out of their back pocket, I will take it.

 

[D ICE R]

Why do they have to be one or the other?

A lot of the work I do is a combination of being bold and safe at the same time. Dual Reality is a perfect example of this for the most part. If you take a classic of mentalism in the blindfold routine 90% of the time the method is that you can see, is it bold? yes is it safe? yes is it the best method? YES.

 

[ZacEckstein]

You need to look at the situation. If you are getting paid to do magic then don't do something "ballsy". On the other hand if you are performing street magic and will never see these people again for the rest of your life, then by all means go for it!

 

[Justin.Morris]

If it is a high paying gig and I cannot run the chance of getting "caught" in front of a big crowd...I stick to my bread and butter that I know inside and out.

If it is just me around friends or family...then I could care less if I get caught "trying" something new or being ballsy.

I'm totally the same. I don't use anything that I can get caught doing. With friends and family, I get to try all the brave stuff.

 

[RikAllen]

You have to realize that different people see different situations as 'safe' and 'ballsy'.

A good example would be in the moves magicians use. I palm all the time. I use three or four different palms (classic, tenkai, a lateral palm, and the gamblers cop) in my routines. They're all used for different purposes and many people would say that palming (as much as I do, and holding out as long as I do) is ballsy. But I know I've practiced the moves and worked with the angles long enough to know when it's safe to use them.

Could I get called out? yes Does anyone ever think it's in my hand? frankly, no.

It's so bold, palming a card and then handing them the deck with the same hand (or some other move) that it dismisses palming as a method.

I have also been dabbling with a marked deck for the last 3 or 4 months, I do a few effects that rely directly on the marks. Bold? yes, many laymen have heard of the concept of marked cards, safe? yes-anyone who's seriously routined a marked deck learns to create effects that purposely direct attention away from the fact that you saw marks on the back of a card.

As far as setting up cards in advanced, having a card in a window behind someone for CTW is a great example. It's effective and works, but is very bold and can backfire.

It's all in who you are, risk takers see things differently than people who play it safe, one sees something as impossible (and too bold) and the other does it daily without getting caught.

 

[AlfieWhattamMagic]

You need to look at the situation. If you are getting paid to do magic then don't do something "ballsy". On the other hand if you are performing street magic and will never see these people again for the rest of your life, then by all means go for it!

You just read my mind.