Ive seen a few threads on hecklers and how to deal with them and what not, found it pretty interesting. Decided to share some of my past experience with these people. there are a few incidents which stuck in my mind and how I dealed with it. Ill go in chronological order.
1. I was about 1 month into magic. I was doing a simple 2 Card Monte to a bunch of my friends. One of them is a total know it all who wants to stand out of the bunch and seem to have an answer for everything. Right after the first climax, he goes "HAH! so obvious man" I ignored him. Continued my trick. I finished the entire routine. Everyone else was amazed and was wondering what just happened, while he stood their chuckling to himself and saying sorts of BS like "that was lame... so obvious....". This was my first heckler, and do note that he was a friend of mine. I went over to him and slapped him really hard. I handed him the deck and told him to do the trick. A couple of things happened. He screamed. Everyone saw and started laughing. He took the deck and just shuffled it a bit and gave it back. I know that wasnt really a good way to handle him, but it seemed to work at the time... so.... hahaha
2. About 3 months into magic. I was doing a really simple prediction trick. On my joker, i printed the words "3 Of Clubs". My routine was basically building up on a force and revelation. There was 1 guy there who was into magic as well but only for 1 month or so, so he didnt really know bout forces and stuff. Everyone thought the trick was pretty cool. He stood in the back telling everyone. "Comeon man... its so obvious... he basically peeked at what card you chose and he palmed a stamp out. When u werent looking, he pressed the stamp onto the joker." Everyone understood what he was saying but found it kinda lame. He seemed to be the only person who thought I can fit 52 stamps in my pocket. So after the routine, I went to him and talked to him "Hey! Howd you know how that trick worked?" "Its pretty obvious man... *chuckle chuckle*" "haha... yea... Youre pretty close. Heres how i actually do it. In my 4 pockets, i have different stamps, each the size of a thumb nail. Every suit in every pocket. I then look at that glass over there behind them and see what card they picked. You cant see anything now, but I practiced looking at light reflections. I then reach into my pocket with the right suit and feel for the right stamp. When i do, I stamp the joker and throw the stamp away. Youre pretty smart. The stamps are made of sugar btw so it dissolves later on." Needless to say, he believed in me and he felt pretty good about himself. When he got more advanced in magic, he kinda realized what I did, but it was still pretty fun.
3. About 1 year into magic. I was doing an ACR for the same bunch of people in my first story. The same guy was heckling me. I was about 3 times into the rises and had the chosen card singly on top. Some how, he was smart enough to think of a double. and he was yelling "HE FLIPS TWO CARDS!". I flipped over the top card (their card) asking him what two cards. He insists that I did before, which is what actually did do. I looked up and stared at him for about 1 minute. In this awkward period of time, nobody knew where to look. So they soon focused on what i was staring at, the heckler. Having 11 people staring at you is pretty awkward and kinda of makes you nervous. During the 1 minute staring of 11 people. I actually flipped 2 cards beneath the selection without anyone seeing. I then went back to the trick and continued the routine. As I earlier showed that it was a single, the heckler pretty much stayed quiet.
4.About 1 year into magic. I was doing a 1 coin routine where I end with the half dollar i used the entire time. 1 guy watching was always saying things like "pftt... its in his palm...." "hes hiding it." and all that sorta stuff. I showed the audience hand washes and things of the sort, to disprove what the guy had said. He insisted that he was correct. At the end, i took the coin, did a false transfer to the other hand, and did a coin through head affect with the hecklers head. The catch was, this was the version where I do a muscle pass to make it seem like it actually did come out of his head. The coin hit him in the head, i caught it, everyone found it amazing, he ended up rubbing his head. This doesnt really seem like a good method of dealing with a heckler, but it worked really well, for a number or reasons. You "de-heckle" while doing a trick. You hurt the heckler. He cant see what the trick was, so he couldnt really heckle the "de-heckle".
5. 1.5 years into magic. I was doing a simple switching routine which uses simple doubles and what not. 1 of the guys who seemed to know a bit of terminology of magic said "Youre using a double lift". I looked at him and said "a double wha..?" "a double lift." "never heard of it... heres how i actually do it." I then went into gambling demonstration routine. This changes the effect from magic to skill. I am telling them how i do things, but still amazing them. Now the heckler guy still thinks that i need to do knuckle busting sleights and such to achieve such a simple effect.
6. 2 years into magic. I was doing Split Decision by Joshua Jay to a bunch of people. When i finished the trick, I started going into a normal card routine. There was one guy there who was one of those jock types, who really liked being in the center of attention and everything. He was right beside me and making comments and jokes about every 3 seconds. After about 10 lines of his crap, I stopped performing the trick. I put everything down very slowly and nicely. Everyone was wondering what I was doing. I didn't act angry. I was putting everything down nicely and neatly. I was smiling as well. I looked up at the jock, still smiling, and suddenly a grabbed his face and screamed in it. It wasnt much of a "AHHHHH!!!!" scream. It was more of a "GOBBLEBLEHBLEHNIAGAHPOOP!" scream. It sounded like i was making animal noises. Everyone started laughing, and so did he. He got the message to shut up and I finished my routine.
7. 2.5 years into magic. Once again, I was performing to my friends. I was doing invisible palm effect. Right after the final climax, the same idiot (dunno why he bothers), pipes up again with his own opinion on how its done. "ITS ALL PALMING. ITS SO EASY. EVEN I CAN DO IT!". No one actually knew the method so they accepted the explanation "oooooh...... i see now....". I collected up the deck and performed the Jackson 5 by the Buck Twins. I wasnt really good at flourishing, but it still amazed them. I gave him the deck and told him to do what I just did, and the idiot says "um..... not that...... i was talking about the.... um..." needless to say, he looked pretty stupid.
8. 3 years into magic. I was doing a performance for a bunch of kids once. They were at the age when they think they know everything. They all huddled around me and I couldnt reallly do anything without angles flashing. So i had to stick to the ground. They were all pretty much into it. But there was one kid who was trying to get attention by saying things like "BORING!!!!" "THAT IS SO LAME!!!" So i basically did the tissue ball routine, where you get them to sit down and throw paper balls over their head, making it "dissappear". Everyone else found it hilarious, he kept saying it was in my sleeve. I did the same vanish about 5 times and finally vanished the entire roll. He was checking my pockets and sleeves and such saying that they were in there. Everyone else pointed out the paper balls on the floor. He felt pretty stupid in the end. Although it may seem mean that I was picking on a 8 year old while I was 7 years older than him, he ended up enjoying the show after he got tricked. He seemed to become more succeptible to tricks and was actually happy in the end.
9. 3 Years into magic. This happened pretty recent. I was performing Angle Zero by Daniel Madison for a group of around 10. After the effect, i had made it appear in a big card board box 15 feet away. I had told a spectator to bring the box over to around 7 feet away, so that it would be out of reach, but everyone could see it was really in there. It worked well, got great reactions. There was 1 girl there who kept repeating "Ive seen this before. I know how its done." without actually ever saying anything else. Right after the effect, she said it once again. I took the card missing a corner and I threw it. I wasnt really aiming at anything and was hoping to get it to hit a wall making a big "TACK" noise. Instead it hit the box and it went through the first side, going inside. Everyone made a 0.0 face, including the girl. I then stared at the heckler, holding another card in throwing grip. I then faked her out by not really throwing the card. She ended up running off screaming. This isnt the best way to deal with someone like this, but it was hella fun. haha.
You guys got anything to tell? I love heckler stories and anecdotes of laymen explanations to tricks. They are so damn fun to read. haha.
1. I was about 1 month into magic. I was doing a simple 2 Card Monte to a bunch of my friends. One of them is a total know it all who wants to stand out of the bunch and seem to have an answer for everything. Right after the first climax, he goes "HAH! so obvious man" I ignored him. Continued my trick. I finished the entire routine. Everyone else was amazed and was wondering what just happened, while he stood their chuckling to himself and saying sorts of BS like "that was lame... so obvious....". This was my first heckler, and do note that he was a friend of mine. I went over to him and slapped him really hard. I handed him the deck and told him to do the trick. A couple of things happened. He screamed. Everyone saw and started laughing. He took the deck and just shuffled it a bit and gave it back. I know that wasnt really a good way to handle him, but it seemed to work at the time... so.... hahaha
2. About 3 months into magic. I was doing a really simple prediction trick. On my joker, i printed the words "3 Of Clubs". My routine was basically building up on a force and revelation. There was 1 guy there who was into magic as well but only for 1 month or so, so he didnt really know bout forces and stuff. Everyone thought the trick was pretty cool. He stood in the back telling everyone. "Comeon man... its so obvious... he basically peeked at what card you chose and he palmed a stamp out. When u werent looking, he pressed the stamp onto the joker." Everyone understood what he was saying but found it kinda lame. He seemed to be the only person who thought I can fit 52 stamps in my pocket. So after the routine, I went to him and talked to him "Hey! Howd you know how that trick worked?" "Its pretty obvious man... *chuckle chuckle*" "haha... yea... Youre pretty close. Heres how i actually do it. In my 4 pockets, i have different stamps, each the size of a thumb nail. Every suit in every pocket. I then look at that glass over there behind them and see what card they picked. You cant see anything now, but I practiced looking at light reflections. I then reach into my pocket with the right suit and feel for the right stamp. When i do, I stamp the joker and throw the stamp away. Youre pretty smart. The stamps are made of sugar btw so it dissolves later on." Needless to say, he believed in me and he felt pretty good about himself. When he got more advanced in magic, he kinda realized what I did, but it was still pretty fun.
3. About 1 year into magic. I was doing an ACR for the same bunch of people in my first story. The same guy was heckling me. I was about 3 times into the rises and had the chosen card singly on top. Some how, he was smart enough to think of a double. and he was yelling "HE FLIPS TWO CARDS!". I flipped over the top card (their card) asking him what two cards. He insists that I did before, which is what actually did do. I looked up and stared at him for about 1 minute. In this awkward period of time, nobody knew where to look. So they soon focused on what i was staring at, the heckler. Having 11 people staring at you is pretty awkward and kinda of makes you nervous. During the 1 minute staring of 11 people. I actually flipped 2 cards beneath the selection without anyone seeing. I then went back to the trick and continued the routine. As I earlier showed that it was a single, the heckler pretty much stayed quiet.
4.About 1 year into magic. I was doing a 1 coin routine where I end with the half dollar i used the entire time. 1 guy watching was always saying things like "pftt... its in his palm...." "hes hiding it." and all that sorta stuff. I showed the audience hand washes and things of the sort, to disprove what the guy had said. He insisted that he was correct. At the end, i took the coin, did a false transfer to the other hand, and did a coin through head affect with the hecklers head. The catch was, this was the version where I do a muscle pass to make it seem like it actually did come out of his head. The coin hit him in the head, i caught it, everyone found it amazing, he ended up rubbing his head. This doesnt really seem like a good method of dealing with a heckler, but it worked really well, for a number or reasons. You "de-heckle" while doing a trick. You hurt the heckler. He cant see what the trick was, so he couldnt really heckle the "de-heckle".
5. 1.5 years into magic. I was doing a simple switching routine which uses simple doubles and what not. 1 of the guys who seemed to know a bit of terminology of magic said "Youre using a double lift". I looked at him and said "a double wha..?" "a double lift." "never heard of it... heres how i actually do it." I then went into gambling demonstration routine. This changes the effect from magic to skill. I am telling them how i do things, but still amazing them. Now the heckler guy still thinks that i need to do knuckle busting sleights and such to achieve such a simple effect.
6. 2 years into magic. I was doing Split Decision by Joshua Jay to a bunch of people. When i finished the trick, I started going into a normal card routine. There was one guy there who was one of those jock types, who really liked being in the center of attention and everything. He was right beside me and making comments and jokes about every 3 seconds. After about 10 lines of his crap, I stopped performing the trick. I put everything down very slowly and nicely. Everyone was wondering what I was doing. I didn't act angry. I was putting everything down nicely and neatly. I was smiling as well. I looked up at the jock, still smiling, and suddenly a grabbed his face and screamed in it. It wasnt much of a "AHHHHH!!!!" scream. It was more of a "GOBBLEBLEHBLEHNIAGAHPOOP!" scream. It sounded like i was making animal noises. Everyone started laughing, and so did he. He got the message to shut up and I finished my routine.
7. 2.5 years into magic. Once again, I was performing to my friends. I was doing invisible palm effect. Right after the final climax, the same idiot (dunno why he bothers), pipes up again with his own opinion on how its done. "ITS ALL PALMING. ITS SO EASY. EVEN I CAN DO IT!". No one actually knew the method so they accepted the explanation "oooooh...... i see now....". I collected up the deck and performed the Jackson 5 by the Buck Twins. I wasnt really good at flourishing, but it still amazed them. I gave him the deck and told him to do what I just did, and the idiot says "um..... not that...... i was talking about the.... um..." needless to say, he looked pretty stupid.
8. 3 years into magic. I was doing a performance for a bunch of kids once. They were at the age when they think they know everything. They all huddled around me and I couldnt reallly do anything without angles flashing. So i had to stick to the ground. They were all pretty much into it. But there was one kid who was trying to get attention by saying things like "BORING!!!!" "THAT IS SO LAME!!!" So i basically did the tissue ball routine, where you get them to sit down and throw paper balls over their head, making it "dissappear". Everyone else found it hilarious, he kept saying it was in my sleeve. I did the same vanish about 5 times and finally vanished the entire roll. He was checking my pockets and sleeves and such saying that they were in there. Everyone else pointed out the paper balls on the floor. He felt pretty stupid in the end. Although it may seem mean that I was picking on a 8 year old while I was 7 years older than him, he ended up enjoying the show after he got tricked. He seemed to become more succeptible to tricks and was actually happy in the end.
9. 3 Years into magic. This happened pretty recent. I was performing Angle Zero by Daniel Madison for a group of around 10. After the effect, i had made it appear in a big card board box 15 feet away. I had told a spectator to bring the box over to around 7 feet away, so that it would be out of reach, but everyone could see it was really in there. It worked well, got great reactions. There was 1 girl there who kept repeating "Ive seen this before. I know how its done." without actually ever saying anything else. Right after the effect, she said it once again. I took the card missing a corner and I threw it. I wasnt really aiming at anything and was hoping to get it to hit a wall making a big "TACK" noise. Instead it hit the box and it went through the first side, going inside. Everyone made a 0.0 face, including the girl. I then stared at the heckler, holding another card in throwing grip. I then faked her out by not really throwing the card. She ended up running off screaming. This isnt the best way to deal with someone like this, but it was hella fun. haha.
You guys got anything to tell? I love heckler stories and anecdotes of laymen explanations to tricks. They are so damn fun to read. haha.
