Tricks for Hecklers

Apr 27, 2008
184
1
Me and a buddy of mine both do magic at school, I do mainly mentalism and he does cards. Well apparently when he goes to lunch he chills out in the culinary arts building and there is a super smart kid that is just heckling all the time. When I say this kid is smart I am telling you his critical thinking skills are off the chart, if he saw a slight break in a ACR he would come to the conclusion of a dupe, just stuff like that. Sometimes he doesn't even perform near him but the kid keeps coming up and laughing and starts explaining.

I performed a few mentalism tricks for him and so far he doesn't know how most of them are done (lexicon phenomena is one of them) knows a few like impression devices etc. So now that's my story heres the question.

What tricks have you performed to known hecklers with cards or mentalism that made him leaving with their jaw dropped or the very least wondering wtf just happened? Thanks
 
Me and a buddy of mine both do magic at school, I do mainly mentalism and he does cards. Well apparently when he goes to lunch he chills out in the culinary arts building and there is a super smart kid that is just heckling all the time. When I say this kid is smart I am telling you his critical thinking skills are off the chart, if he saw a slight break in a ACR he would come to the conclusion of a dupe, just stuff like that. Sometimes he doesn't even perform near him but the kid keeps coming up and laughing and starts explaining.

I performed a few mentalism tricks for him and so far he doesn't know how most of them are done (lexicon phenomena is one of them) knows a few like impression devices etc. So now that's my story heres the question.

What tricks have you performed to known hecklers with cards or mentalism that made him leaving with their jaw dropped or the very least wondering wtf just happened? Thanks


Well, someone's bound to say it, but there are many threads on this sort of thing.
If you can't get an invisble deck by him, try a dMadison invisdeck variation(i.e. irreversible).
I have my own method of glimpsing a card that I use to 'mindread" with a selected card.....it usually works good on skeptics....espcially if you play it as a little thing "you discovered you can do." -It makes it more real.
I don't know how good your friend is with cards, but flourishes sometimes earn respect with hecklers.
 
Sep 15, 2007
1,127
0
30
www.myspace.com
First Of All... DITCH THAT KID DUDE!!! Don't Go Around Him... Anyway, A Good Trick to do with hecklers is surprisingly rubber band magic. A Preference is missing link 1 on 1. That will fry him.
 
Jun 7, 2008
1,648
0
30
DC area
www.youtube.com
Me and a buddy of mine both do magic at school, I do mainly mentalism and he does cards. Well apparently when he goes to lunch he chills out in the culinary arts building and there is a super smart kid that is just heckling all the time. When I say this kid is smart I am telling you his critical thinking skills are off the chart, if he saw a slight break in a ACR he would come to the conclusion of a dupe, just stuff like that. Sometimes he doesn't even perform near him but the kid keeps coming up and laughing and starts explaining.

I performed a few mentalism tricks for him and so far he doesn't know how most of them are done (lexicon phenomena is one of them) knows a few like impression devices etc. So now that's my story heres the question.

What tricks have you performed to known hecklers with cards or mentalism that made him leaving with their jaw dropped or the very least wondering wtf just happened? Thanks

a trick that gets great reactions with hecklers is Gator Boots
 
Jan 13, 2008
1,137
0
Gator Boots is by far the best effect for a heckler. It works especially well if he catches you early on in the performance flashing a sleight, so he thinks he knows what's coming...it really makes the effect that much better. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jun 27, 2008
219
1
Illinois
Have him do a trick. This is my all time fave heckler buster:
1. Heckler has someone pick a card
2. Upon returning it to the deck crimp the card
3. Steal the card from the deck (I like to say "wait let me see the deck...(revolve deck in hands and do bottom palm or bottom slip steal) oh ok I just wanted to check and make sure you weren't doing anything funny"
4. When he says is this your card say no as he tries a few more times interrupt him by saying "You know I wasn't sure you could pull it off so I thought I'd give you a hand" and remove card from pocket


Gets great reactions from spectators and embarrasses the heckler so win win

Hope this helps
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
I've utilised an underused trick called lots of practice. And then I've gone out, and performed ACRs, 2CMs, Triumphs, and riskier things like Gambler's Cop-related tricks.

If you [a general 'you'] are looking for tricks to beat hecklers, you're kicking the dead horse's twin brother. Just because someone heckles doesn't mean all the normal tricks are out of the question. Usually it just means you have to do better, focus a lot more on audience management - and if by doing so, you don't have enough focus to perform your sleights, or if you're worried about doing a sleight wrong, you need more practice.

Many beginner magicians seem to speak of hecklers as though they were another race of people, or an entirely different species altogether.

"I was performing for this awesome group of people. Then a heckler came along!" - and the next words out of that mouth sound like they should be, "Crikey! She's a beauty! What we have here is a mythical creature everyone has heard about and feared! I didn't realise they still resided in this habitat! Hasn't global warming wiped out their ecosystem yet?"

Whether or not there's a heckler in your audience, your goal is still to entertain, and to amaze. Hecklers, like the rest of them, are human beings. That is not to say that we should treat them the same as any other audience member, clearly, we should not. Hecklers are not the earthly manifestation of evil incarnate. They are however a challenge for any performer. But I would hope that they don't make you drop whatever routine you had planned, and suddenly dig into that supposedly sacred bag, the green light across Gatsby's lake, that some call "Tricks for hecklers".
 
Dec 17, 2007
858
2
Canada
Do what I do. Perfect 1 pice of material more than anything else you should be able to do this blindfolded. A good trick for this is the Asher Twist. Don't runaway that only makes things worse, if he is looking to ruin magic for you and everyone else, kick him where the sun don't shine. With your trick of course.



-Michael
 
Sep 1, 2007
41
0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSyApojln-g

There watch that bro. Its pretty easy to figure out if your a magician, but this is my go to effects for hecklers and "know it alls". This guy had been heckling and calling me out so this is a fun one to do because they think you screwed up then BAM you show them who is boss and they never see it coming. Just look at how his attitude changes towards me at the end of the effect, and Ive never had a heckler bother me after this effect, they just decide to sit back and watch the magic from there on out.

JJ
 
Dec 10, 2007
204
0
It's pretty simple... Don't perform for him. You aren't going to win over a heckler, even if you something perfect, he will just claim he knows how it was done and say something ridiculous, and people will believe him because he has been right every other time. And if you mess it up, well then you continue to lose credability. It's really a lose lose, and a really risky situation. If all he wants to do is ruin tricks then he's not your target audience. If he asks to see something just tell him no, all you try to do is ruin my performance, why would I want to perform for you? That's my advice, and it has worked well for me in the past.

Take care,
Victor Cruz
 
Aug 7, 2008
147
0
have no clue wut this is called, but this is the best ive ever seen/done for hecklers, and involves almost NO sleight of hand.

first, let them pick a card

let THEM place it anywhere into the deck.

after placing it in the deck, estimate approx. how deep it is in the deck

make a magical gesture

and say " it is now.......SOMEWHERE IN THE DECK!"

spectator : HOLY S*** HOWD YOU KNOW? >.> .............your lame

performer: WAIT....watch... *hold deck up so the face of the cards face them*

"...is this your card?"

spectator : no..
*strip that card off the bottom*
"this?"

spectator : no.........

repeat this until it is near their card, and start to bend the deck as if ready to do a spring

"this?"

spectator : finally...ye- *SPRING THE CARDS AT THEIR FACE =D*

......^^
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
I do hope that was a joke. But more interestingly enough, I disagree with DJ's assessment that you will never win over a heckler. I disagree from personal experience, having personally and also seen magician friends won over a heckler and helped them to enjoy magic as well as hint towards proper etiquette. If, as DJ said, he's been right every other time - the problem is that you haven't practiced enough. If you mess it up, 99% you again have not practiced enough. I'm not saying that this is possible every single time, but I feel that it is a better goal, for your audience and for you as a magician.
 
Oct 17, 2007
860
0
29
Aussie NSW
you're kicking the dead horse's twin brother.

Inspirational im putting that in my sig thats of topic though.

True work on your sleights and hecklers shouldnt catch you. Like said it doesnt mean you need to FRY them with new tricks only improve on your older ones for example even with an ACR try a different kind of break. IMPROVISE
 
Apr 27, 2008
184
1
The reason I posted this even though there posts already is because new tricks are always being released and I don't know if there were some like that. I am smooth with cards, though I stay more with mentalism since it's just a preference thing. The card tricks I do perform though he just figures them out somehow, card to pocket, biddle, clutch, w/e it is he just understands how it happens. He may not understand that I put a crimp or something but he knows how I got the main effect done every single time. I may try the gator boots but then again he might try and bite me or something, I don't know what's in that kids head.

I realize it's easier by just not performing for him but that's somewhat out of the case. Where I go to lunch I almost always perform some stuff and he's always there. yesterday he stated " oh I can do that, not that diifficult", so I replied "yea true, but we can both hit each other but I bet I could hit you harder." I know it seems threatening but now he just is trying to ruin it for everybody and not keep it to himself. Thanks for the tips though
 
Apr 27, 2008
184
1
I did like three kinds of ACR's, dupes, invisible pass, one handed pass. The ones that really fry the brain he understood. I did the dupe just to see what would happen so I brought out the invisible then the one handed for good measure.
 
Nov 20, 2007
4,410
6
Sydney, Australia
Hmm. I sympathise, but at the same time - he doesn't just magically understand how it happens, you know what I mean? When you discover how he discovers how you do it, you'll be a lot closer to the solution.
 

Ashrei

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2007
350
2
I personally like using glides... (the sleight)
It's invisible, it's deceptive, and easy to do.
I don't really know any trick name, but I use it as card switch and it seems to work.
 
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