i label myself as a Card Mechanic, but my friends all call me : F***in Cheating Bas**rd ... im not entirely sure that it works but hey...
Do you label yourself a magician?
- Thread starter stanhimself
- Start date
me too.
I consider myself a card mechanic
still practicing bottom deal though. the only deal you'll ever need.....
and people don't also want me to be a dealer =))
I consider myself a card mechanic
still practicing bottom deal though. the only deal you'll ever need.....
and people don't also want me to be a dealer =))
okay ...if you perform magic... then you must me a magician..
Im a magician...when I perform people see me as a magician..they dont see me as a visual artist, underground magician..
David Blaine is a Magician...his special was named ... MagicMan not Entertainment Man...
I think I made my point...
Im a magician...when I perform people see me as a magician..they dont see me as a visual artist, underground magician..
David Blaine is a Magician...his special was named ... MagicMan not Entertainment Man...
I think I made my point...
me too.
I consider myself a card mechanic
Question: Who cares? What makes you such a speshul snowflake that you need a made-up title?
The thing about being a mechanic though...people arent supposed to know that you are one.
If you are a REAL mechanic. If not,sorry to say,you are a poser.
Besides,in order to call yourself one,you have to already be able to do the moves. If your still practicing being a cellar dealer then your not one yet.
I'm a magician among other things but yes, I work performing magic for a living so yes. Those that may be doing magic for other reasons other than money can call themselves whatever they want. But if you do magic for a living your a magician plain and simple. Next question.
Actually that is incorrect. Martin Nash was known as Mechanic (well the Charming Cheat). So were a lot of other guys who deal with gambling demo's and cheating.
You need to stop accusing people of things. "You're not this if your that. blah blah." Let the guy call himself what he wants.
Personally I don't consider myself a Magician (mainly because I am starting to find ANYTHING magic related dull and or boring.) I'd prefer to be a called Mind Reader or Mentalist. Maybe even a Mystic.
*tootooo* Express train too awesome ville coming to pick up a Mr. Randy.
No but I probably shouldn't say this because there is so much debate in it but mentalism is a branch of magic. It is kind of like the five werewolf tribes that branched from Luna (goddess of the moon) three of the branches chose to stay with Luna (magic) and the other two wanted nothing to do with Luna because they didn't agree with the belief system. These two branches fight endlessly with the believers.
That little tidbit is completely relevant you just have to search for it.
Yes I know Mentalism is a sub catagory of Magic. But the point being is that Mentalism, if done right. Doesn't seem like a trick and people usually don't ask a Mentalist "Where can I learn to do that?" or "How did you do that?" Pure Mentalism often has that connection to the spectator that magic itself sometimes lacks.
But then again, this all about who you talk to and who you ask. I know some top guys who say that you shouldn't mix magic and Mentalism together because then it just looks like trickery, and I know some that say to just do whatever.
A mind reader is actually a thing. A "card mechanic" is a made up title cooked up by self-important magicians to sound cool in front of other self-important magicians.
Don't encourage bad habits.
I label myself as a sexy guru. I own Deepak Chopra.
(Just contributing something to the o so intelligent thread.)
The point was made already.
(Just contributing something to the o so intelligent thread.)
The point was made already.
Actually Steer, a "card mechanic" was a term used by the mafia that ran Las Vegas to describe a casino employee who was skilled at card cheats and slights that was used to ensure the houses favor on tables where certain players were having a bit too strong of a luck streak.
At current day the casinos have disbanded use of mechanics, or so they say.
we all get label with in this world . a dr might label you as some one who will not do a thing with in this world .or some one might label you that your mind is so fun to read about .. or your name is a label with your family history in magic and bec of your name what you do with magic is ok bec you come form a good family name .. at work we label the same and some you no might get tmad at you bec of the label. to day we see a lot of magic label on all of use .. i wood label all magicican time lords bec we read a lot about the old magicican and new ones. but no no who we are bec we show then a new face each time they see use....! we get label as card men and that coin magic that is good and they now kings to use all...
Last edited by a moderator:
Maybe true in the magicians realm, but in the gaming world (mainly poker) card mechanics are very real.
Also, a mechanic who had not been caught yet and employed by the casino would of course work against the house. Casino rules these days make it very hard on mechanics. Most houses wont even let you touch the cards unless your at the table for poker, then there is the "eye in the sky" that watches everything.
I play in many backroom poker games across the U.S. Big money changes hands and the players are playing for keeps. If you get labeled as a mechanic you will be banned from every game and word gets around quickly. If your caught during an actual game you'll be taking a trip to the hospital no questions asked. A lot of backroom players were mechanics at one time or at least no what to look for. Its great for demos and movies but in the real world its not considered cool at all.
I stand by my sentiment that it's still completely un-****ing-necessary. I honestly do not get this bizarre obsession with wanting to have any title other than magician or mentalist.
Of course, your average magician should not go around calling himself a card mechanic because there are too many differences. For starters, genuine card mechanics do not perform for paying audiences
. However, for some magicians, it matches their performing character and is a nice way to advertise how they are different from every other guy performing card tricks. It gives the impression of specialized skill, which might be a bonus. Would you object to Martin Nash calling himself a card mechanic for example?
I've to agree with Steerpike's sentiments here. The titles "magician" or "mentalist" are what you make of them. Commercially, they are terms laypeople are most familiar with and can easily identify without some contrived explanation about what the performer does. In my opinion, any other label is pretty laughable.
In my youth, I went through a phase where I didn't want to associate with top hats and magic wands and preferred a title with some more edge. David Blaine called himself a performance artist. Criss Angel called himself a Mindfreak or provocateur. For a long while, I billed myself as a showman. I thought it was simple and direct and illustrated the kind of personality and energy my magic had. I thought it was pretty successful until I had one awkward conversation with a potential client over the phone.
CLIENT: Yes, hello. I came across your flier at Murphy's the other night and it caught my attention. You're listed as a showman and can perform in a variety of venues ranging from strolling to stage, is that right?
ME: Yes, sir absolutely. I can help in entertaining crowds in cocktail settings or do more formal shows depending on what you're looking for.
CLIENT: So what exactly do you do? The flier has a really nice photo of a hand holding a fireball. Do you do fire-eating? Right now we're looking for an emcee for a talent show.
ME: No, sir I don't do any fire eating. My show is typically made up of impossible demonstrations and stunts.
CLIENT: What does that mean? What do you offer? Stunts? Can you do sword swallowing? Or escape from chains? Impossible demonstrations of...?
ME: Well, I perform sleight-of-hand and manipulations.
CLIENT: Oh, magic! And you juggle too? We could use that!
ME: No sir, I'm just a magici--... Hm... I'm a magician.
CLIENT: Oh, awesome! A magician, why didn't you just say so?
*****
After maturing in the craft and coming to terms with what I perform, magic and mentalism have taken completely new connotations for me. I was always afraid of being compared to clowns and Uncle Bobs when I used the label magician. After making use of it and redefining it to myself as a performer, I think people see and appreciate what kind of magician I am. The same understanding goes for the identity of mentalists. When I first made the move, I was very weary of being compared to the likes of Max Maven and other similarly contrived characters, but after adopting the title and making it fit me, people slowly understood what kind of mentalism I perform. In other words, titles are fickle and often contrived-- they're nothing more than words. What you want people to appreciate and respect is your actual talent-- not what you call yourself. And good talent speaks for itself.
RS.
In my youth, I went through a phase where I didn't want to associate with top hats and magic wands and preferred a title with some more edge. David Blaine called himself a performance artist. Criss Angel called himself a Mindfreak or provocateur. For a long while, I billed myself as a showman. I thought it was simple and direct and illustrated the kind of personality and energy my magic had. I thought it was pretty successful until I had one awkward conversation with a potential client over the phone.
CLIENT: Yes, hello. I came across your flier at Murphy's the other night and it caught my attention. You're listed as a showman and can perform in a variety of venues ranging from strolling to stage, is that right?
ME: Yes, sir absolutely. I can help in entertaining crowds in cocktail settings or do more formal shows depending on what you're looking for.
CLIENT: So what exactly do you do? The flier has a really nice photo of a hand holding a fireball. Do you do fire-eating? Right now we're looking for an emcee for a talent show.
ME: No, sir I don't do any fire eating. My show is typically made up of impossible demonstrations and stunts.
CLIENT: What does that mean? What do you offer? Stunts? Can you do sword swallowing? Or escape from chains? Impossible demonstrations of...?
ME: Well, I perform sleight-of-hand and manipulations.
CLIENT: Oh, magic! And you juggle too? We could use that!
ME: No sir, I'm just a magici--... Hm... I'm a magician.
CLIENT: Oh, awesome! A magician, why didn't you just say so?
*****
After maturing in the craft and coming to terms with what I perform, magic and mentalism have taken completely new connotations for me. I was always afraid of being compared to clowns and Uncle Bobs when I used the label magician. After making use of it and redefining it to myself as a performer, I think people see and appreciate what kind of magician I am. The same understanding goes for the identity of mentalists. When I first made the move, I was very weary of being compared to the likes of Max Maven and other similarly contrived characters, but after adopting the title and making it fit me, people slowly understood what kind of mentalism I perform. In other words, titles are fickle and often contrived-- they're nothing more than words. What you want people to appreciate and respect is your actual talent-- not what you call yourself. And good talent speaks for itself.
RS.
The problem that I've encountered using the term mentalist, which I am more than happy to call myself, is simply this: that I have yet to meet a single layman who has even heard of the term. In terms simply of practicality, the best way I can describe it hence is to call myself a magician, reluctantly, and then explain the field of magic in which I specialise.
Yeah not many lay people know what a Mentalist is. Which is why a lot of Mentalist simply use terms like "Mind Reader." or "Body language expert" or etc. Because those terms that everybody understands and has heard.