Getting caught out on sleights

[DLeerium]

I guess this happens to everyone and I want to know how each person handles a situation.

Say you a performing a routine like ACR which requires repetition of the same move over and over agian (Mainly DL).

What do you do when the spectator goes "but there is two cards there" do you end your trick, or continue?

Let me clarify that getting caught out is not due to poor sleight of hand, but mainly due to the spectator having the knowledge of such a sleight.

 

[FadedTemp]

Getting caught could be due to either or really.

It depends on what the sleight is as to how I react. If I'm called out on a DL then I laugh it off and say something along the lines of "Good eye, that could have ruined the effect..." and I use a different method to get the same results.

 

[houchini]

I once got caught on a DL by a friend who told me "Hey, you're 2 cards". I then placed my double on top of the deck and handed it for them to check that there was really One card, and doing so I palmed the top card. They checked, and then they remained quiet for the rest of the trick.

 

[RickEverhart]

I asked Justin Miller something similar to this in one of our chat sessions.
He said do not end the trick or admit your mistake but turn the effect into something else. Maybe he will read this post and clarify or give an example of how to recover.

 

[chriswiehl]

one time someone caught me and told me how their card was second to the top and i did a double lift and they all went crazy lol like omg how what !? lol... if people catch me with a double ill be like, o dag these cards r getting sticky, and unstick the top card from their selection. sometimes i do a top change and have them hold the card and put the x card into the deck. ppl fall for that some times

 

[Squ!rrel]

If a routine requires excessive repetition of a particular sleight then I would suggest restructuring the routine. I try to never use more than 2 Double lifts in an ACR. There are many alternatives that will accomplish the same thing as the Double lift. If I think people are getting a suspicious i'll switch to a pass or Lennart Green's Windmill move.

Sometimes you will get caught anyway even when not repeating a sleight. If it's because the spectator has knowledge of sleight of hand i'd politely ask them not to say anything as it prevents other people from enjoying the magic.

In some situations a spectator may work out what you're doing just because they're exceptionally observant. If this happens I just carry on as if nothing has happened, it's likely that most of the other spectators didn't notice anything and probably didn't even hear what the person said.

I've heard some people suggest stuff such as 'That's one way of doing it, but I don't do that'. I would not advise this as I think it's quite insulting, the spectator knows what they saw and if you deny it then you're just going to annoy them and they'll probably persist.

You could do something like the KM move to show you ony have 1 card, although if they catch this as well it's going to make you look stupid.

I don't really accept what they say or deny it. I just give them a small acknowledgement and carry on.

 

[Justin.Morris]

There's some great advice here. Just to share what I've done in the past: I will move right into something else. I might give them credit, I might not, depends on the individual.
My favorite is to acknowledge their keen eye (this makes them feel good, and will disarm them from trying to catch you for a moment. -If you defend yourself, they will try and prove it), then I do something like the mercury card fold. And then get them to take out their wallet and I pull the card out of there or something (perhaps paperclipped if prepared) to still finish on a strong note.

If they simply say "oh I saw what you did!" but they don't blurt it out, I say something like "But you'll help keep it a secret, and give them a wink or something that will get them on my side and make them feel like they are in on the effect. IF you deny it they will try to prove they are right.

Then I continue the effect without using any more doubles. I have a friend who constantly says he saw something, or knows, but he never actually does. It's kinda funny.

j

 

[Dima]

I've been caught with my Elmsleys before due to doing a trick like Jazz Aces, which as you know requires a few of them. I don't care about my dls getting caught in an ACR. In fact i once worked out a whole routine without a single double.
What to do if you're caught out doing Elmseys? Perform Jordans instead? Or completely switch to doing an Olram/Mirror/Rhythm count instead?

 

[ZeroPhun31]

Getting caught in sleights is a PERFECT reasoning for learning multiple ways to produce the same effect with the deck o' cards or coins or whatever. Like what was said above, if you have a routine that extensively uses a single sleight- learn other sleights to accomplish the same. Or learn variations on what you're using.

Also like with DL's it's all about what you do when you AREN'T doing a DL. Like turning over the card the SAME WAY every time when you're doing a DL and when you aren't doing a DL. If you're getting caught consistently, time to go back to the drawing board and figure out why and work on it.

 

[Shanku]

Remember what I told you last weekend? Just spring the cards in their face and run away!

But seriously, if they have such knowledge, just do a phase that involves the spectator pushing the card in or one that doesn't involve a double lift. For example, you can do a tilt move, followed by a face down Erdnase change as a magical gesture to cover and reveal. You could always turn it into a different trick.

Cheers,
Shanku

 

[bcp on pcp]

I have some advice if your caught doing a card control. Someone knew the basic overhand shuffle control and pointed it out, so I palmed their card and let them shuffle, and while they shuffled I just slipped it in my pocket. They started yelling "But we shuffled! What the hell!?" Little improvisations like that help everywhere. Back to your question about an ACR routine, I only use one double during mine.

 

[ajelsma]

i use another slight to show something didnt happen such as if you get cought on a pass then do a dl