If I have $70, what should I spend it on?

Aug 4, 2015
75
38
Gumballs. 280 of them.


In all seriousness, it depends on what you like. If you're an advanced illusionist, you might like Anthology by Danial Madison. I wouldn't know for sure, though. I've only heard it's decent. I haven't bought it due to my "skills" and the fact that I'm low on money.
 

CaseyRudd

Director of Operations
Team member
Jun 5, 2009
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Charleston, SC
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I've got $70 laying around.. what should I buy? I'm open to decks and tricks, no gear please.
If you are looking for a new trick or utility to add to your arsenal, we have a lot of great effects on the first page (most recent releases) of our Tricks section. I've been been having a lot of fun and success performing those effects (specifically Invisible Card, Sleeper, Double Cross, and Departure to name a few in the categories you prefer).

You also may think you need another trick to learn, but sometimes you don't have to go out and get a new trick to do something new. I would highly suggest picking up a few books on theory and how to be a better performer (Five Points in Magic by Tamariz). The little things you can do during your performance can yield big results in the reactions you get from your spectators and how they remember the effect afterwards. The Magic Way by Tamariz (just recently back in print) is the next step from Five Points, and is packed with amazing theory. Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz is always another go-to recommendation.

Sometimes you may need to tweak the effects you already do and examine yourself as a performer if you're elevating the effect to its potential. There is always room for improvement in this area and is often overlooked, but a huge piece to how you present your effect. The "see what I can do real quick" mentality only gets you to a certain point. There is a difference between that and creating a magical moment with your spectator and making sure they are just as engaged as you are. That is where the magic is found.
 
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My personal favorite from Theory11 right now is Break by Uday Jadugar. It's only around $50 so you will have some spare change left over. Watch my review of it and the live reactions at the end to see if it is something you would like to perform. So far Break has gotten me the best reactions I have caught on camera to date!
 
Nov 8, 2016
15
21
If you are looking for a new trick or utility to add to your arsenal, we have a lot of great effects on the first page (most recent releases) of our Tricks section. I've been been having a lot of fun and success performing those effects (specifically Invisible Card, Sleeper, Double Cross, and Departure to name a few in the categories you prefer).

You also may think you need another trick to learn, but sometimes you don't have to go out and get a new trick to do something new. I would highly suggest picking up a few books on theory and how to be a better performer (Five Points in Magic by Tamariz). The little things you can do during your performance can yield big results in the reactions you get from your spectators and how they remember the effect afterwards. The Magic Way by Tamariz (just recently back in print) is the next step from Five Points, and is packed with amazing theory. Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz is always another go-to recommendation.

Sometimes you may need to tweak the effects you already do and examine yourself as a performer if you're elevating the effect to its potential. There is always room for improvement in this area and is often overlooked, but a huge piece to how you present your effect. The "see what I can do real quick" mentality only gets you to a certain point. There is a difference between that and creating a magical moment with your spectator and making sure they are just as engaged as you are. That is where the magic is found.
I really appreciate the recommendations, I'll definitely try to check out some of those books. The problem is, my workplace has forbidden decks of cards (no gambling). So, while I still love card tricks, I'm looking for something new to add to my arsenal that I can take anywhere. For example, I'm considering Odyssey, because I can take I everywhere with me. Do you have any recommendations for effects that, while perfectly acceptable at work, still get great reactions?
 

SpydrWebb

Elite Member
Dec 27, 2012
19
1
Double Cross is great, I used it constantly when I served tables to get amazing reactions! Also the tips were nice lol
 
Sep 2, 2007
1,182
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Houston, TX
I have a question about DoubleCross. Can you buy refills off the site? I would hate to buy another 95$ Sharpie (Canadian).

Theory11's Double Cross is WAY over priced. Sansminds has a sharpie that accomplishes exactly the same for only $35, a mini version that's $25 and refills come in a set of 3 for $30. Of course, that's American and I'm not sure what the Canadian conversion comes out to.

http://www.sansminds.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=sharpie
 

DominusDolorum

Elite Member
Jul 15, 2013
893
1,114
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Canada
Theory11's Double Cross is WAY over priced. Sansminds has a sharpie that accomplishes exactly the same for only $35, a mini version that's $25 and refills come in a set of 3 for $30. Of course, that's American and I'm not sure what the Canadian conversion comes out to.

http://www.sansminds.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=sharpie
In researching the two tricks I have found that a lot of people have complaints on the SansMinds Sharpie concerning the erasing of the ink, whereas the complaints I'm finding for DoubleCross is just the price. It's steep but the advantages of having it completely self-contained and actually working (not spending an uncomfortable amount of time wiping the ink) seems to be worth it. Thank you for taking the time to respond but my question still goes unanswered.
 
Sep 20, 2016
30
8
Double Cross is great, I used it constantly when I served tables to get amazing reactions! Also the tips were nice lol
Hey, so you might already know this, but there is a review of double cross that mentions he found it from a waiter at a restaurant. That could have been you...
 
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DominusDolorum

Elite Member
Jul 15, 2013
893
1,114
31
Canada
Mark Southworth explains it on his video regarding maintenance and refills. If you bought it through T11, it'll be under your "videos" section. It's about 11 minutes in when he explains.
Thank you! I haven't bought it yet but I was curious about refills.
 
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