Visual tricks are great--your spectator actually sees the magic happening.
But there is truly something to be said for undercover tricks. When the veil is lifted, the magic almost becomes more real. What the magician says is happening really does seem to happen, but with the curtain down, a sense of mystery is preserved.
Take the simple example of producing the aces. Using a flashy production to show the aces springing from the deck allows the spectators to "see" where each card comes from. It is more of a trick in the "stunt" sense of the word than it is in the sense of magic.
Now take my personal favorite trick, Larry Jennings' Always Cut the Cards. The magician and the spectator take turns to slowly and openly cut the aces into the deck. The spectator can actually look at their cards as they go in. The last ace is cut in fairly. Then the magician does nothing. Nothing happens. There is no flashy production and yer the aces are now inexplicably on top of the deck. It is magic at its purest. It's probably the most eerie and mind-boggling tricks I know. because it lacks the visually production at the end, I think. That's the power of undercover magic for me.
