Gambling Demo's.

Feb 7, 2011
362
1
Im wondering if any of you guys perform gambling demo's professionally, I have a few questions, if someone could give me a few pointers id be grateful. Well firstly ill say, i have a short gambling demonstration, 20 minutes currently. But i have numerous effects, so to speak, that are ready to be added, as soon as i work them into the routine. I’m wondering what you guys think the essentials are for a gambling demo, I’m sure I have them covered, I’m just interested in what you’d think, moves and techniques that you think are a must. And secondly, I’m stuck on how to market a gambling routine. I’m not sure if I should advertise myself as a gambling magician, or simply add gambling demo to my current ad’s, in which i promote myself as a close up magician and sudo-mind reader. Im confident if lay people were to look at an ad for a magician and see 'crooked gambling demonstrations' they wouldn't know what to expect from that. Should i promote myself as a 'crooked gambler' separately and in more detail? And lastly, where do those of you who do gambling routines usually get hired? The only place i can think of would be to try and get a side table to work on at the poker tournaments in local hotels and pool halls.
 
Feb 4, 2008
959
3
I think people doing gambling demos as their primary professional show are actually pretty rare. I could be wrong??? I absolutely love gambling demos but I don't lose sight of what they are. They are not exactly "magic for magicians" but they are for a specialty audience. If people don't have a basic understanding of cards in general it is hard to fully appreciate what skill it takes to pull off an amazing gambling demo. There are certainly guys who have built their careers on gambling demos but I think, for most of us, you still need to have a solid foundation in plane old boring card magic and save the good stuff for those pipe and slipper moments.
 
Nov 19, 2007
12
0
38
Toronto
www.BenTrain.ca
Quick answers... and questions.

1. 20 minutes is a long gambling demo. We're approaching a short act/show here. Is that want you meant by demo?

2. I'm not sure that there's ANYTHING essential for any type of act. Find your character. Find what it is that the show is supposed to be doing, saying and showing. Who are your audiences? Where do you plan on performing this?

3. What techniques should you use? What's appropriate for the material. But, keep in mind- "if you want to look like an expert you should BE an expert". Thanks Darwin.

4. A "gambling magician" is very different from a "crooked gambler", or a "dishonest dealer" or an "expert consultant"... or any of the other multitude of ways you could attempt to brand yourself. My serious suggestion is to, first, pick up EVERYTHING by Darwin Ortiz for gambling-magic... and everything by Forte (Well, GPS, Casino Protection and Poker Protection) for general gambling knowledge. The Gambler's Book Club has lots of cheap paperbacks about dealing protocol, old-school cheating texts, stories from road-hustlers, etc. All worthwhile to get if you want to know your proverbial "****".

5. Good luck finding a market for a straight gambling themed act. Of course, if you're good, and you're savvy, doors will open for you.

Ben
 
Jun 10, 2010
1,360
1
Quick answers... and questions.

1. 20 minutes is a long gambling demo. We're approaching a short act/show here. Is that want you meant by demo?

2. I'm not sure that there's ANYTHING essential for any type of act. Find your character. Find what it is that the show is supposed to be doing, saying and showing. Who are your audiences? Where do you plan on performing this?

3. What techniques should you use? What's appropriate for the material. But, keep in mind- "if you want to look like an expert you should BE an expert". Thanks Darwin.

4. A "gambling magician" is very different from a "crooked gambler", or a "dishonest dealer" or an "expert consultant"... or any of the other multitude of ways you could attempt to brand yourself. My serious suggestion is to, first, pick up EVERYTHING by Darwin Ortiz for gambling-magic... and everything by Forte (Well, GPS, Casino Protection and Poker Protection) for general gambling knowledge. The Gambler's Book Club has lots of cheap paperbacks about dealing protocol, old-school cheating texts, stories from road-hustlers, etc. All worthwhile to get if you want to know your proverbial "****".

5. Good luck finding a market for a straight gambling themed act. Of course, if you're good, and you're savvy, doors will open for you.

Ben

Adding to the list, Road Hustler was a great read about the psychology of grifters - might be of some interest to you. Paul Wilson, I believe, has a gambling demo somewhere on YouTube that was somewhat interesting to watch. He and Darwin Ortiz have nice ones, I'd suggest finding videos of them to learn about making one yourself. However, the best to watch is definitely Ricky Jay.

Jack Carpenter and Ed Marlo each also have work with gambling demo type things, namely in Carpenter's Modus Operandi (and some of his other work) and Marlo's... Well, Marlo's stuff is scattered. But a lot of it appears to be in the Marlo Magazines, which have a hefty price tag (both originals and reprints.)

As a side-note, does anybody here actually know if they'll be reprinted again?
 
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