What is your pet routine?

[houchini]

I'm wondering what's the first trick that comes to your mind when someone hands you a deck of cards and asks you make him experience some magic ?


Well, when it happens to me I usually do some kind of "spectator as the magician but with the magician backing him up if anything goes wrong" trick : pick a card, replace it, control it to the top, and then explain that I'll try to make them choose once again the very same card though the deck has been thoroughly shuffled. They try, they fail (unless they choose the top card, which happens !). I then take back their card, tell them to concentrate on their card and "colour-change" it into their previous selection (I like using the twirl change for that, one of the most powerful changes I know, and also one of the easiest !).

(There is also the possibility to play it the mentalist way by placing their second selection on top and do a DL to reveal the controled card.)

 

[The Tumbleweed]

Nobody has ever handed me a deck of cards.
For some reason laymen just don't walk around with cards. I'll never understand it.

 

[D ICE R]

if someone asks me to do something i will usually use a centre tear peek thing. As far as a pet routine PK touches is the flavour of the month before that it was For Andruzzi. It is constantly changing

 

[FOO:L]

Nobody has ever handed me a deck of cards.
For some reason laymen just don't walk around with cards. I'll never understand it.

come to think of it... no layman has ever handed me a deck of cards and asked me to show them something. weird...since everyones always saying "someone comes up to you and asks you to show them something"

but either way, my pet routine now is the ambitious and the unambitious card routine. : D

 

[StevenLevitt]

When I am out and I speak to layman about my magic, generally they have a pack in their house, or behind the bar in a pub, or at a casino... I have been handed a deck of cards before when they know I can perform magic.

I generally perform my own card to pocket routine, which generally fools them, as I can do it with any deck, and the twist at the end of my routine gobs smacks them.

 

[Holyshnikes]

First trick that comes to my mine is pretty lame, but effective. I got it off of PenguinMagic years ago. It's called the Daily Show? I think that is it, I have done it for so long that I can't even remember. It is a quick 4 ace/slight of hand trick that can fool someone quickly and have them interested to see more. Great starter.

 

[spades]

Depends on number of people and how I'm feeling.
Normally if it's only one or a few Roleplay by DM or just a force, forces are great
Ocassionaly a basic sandwhich routine.
More people I'll do Lapse, my favourite trick, or bad influence.
ACR's are fun.
-S♠

 

[Deechristopher]

If I'm ever handed a deck of cards I'll often just force a card and reveal in some cool way - I enjoy doing stigmata when the lighting is right. It's a really great effect to do as a one off, freaks people out just enough that you can happily finish there

D.

 

[DavidMisner]

It depends on the situation. If I'm in a close quarters or 1 on 1 situation, I'll usually go with either Ego or Hand to Mouth. For larger groups Stigmata all the way.

David

 

[DannyT]

Houchini, "Just like Houchin" in french.

"Houdini" - "Just like Houdin."

That's a fun fact I've read in a biography about Houdini, the reason why he called himself "Houdini."
He admired another magician and his last name was Houdin.
One of his friends who was french said if he added an i at the end of his name, it would translate to "Just like Houdin."
Amazing book.

Onto topic,
I would usually start with something easy or self working only to see how much control you have over your spectator. If their burning your hands for that 1st self working trick, then you know which tricks your gonna get away with or not.

If their making eye contact every now and then for the 1st trick and not taking it way the hell to serious, then you could go into more advanced sleight of hand.
A good self working trick would be Chris Kenner's "Invisible Reverse".

 

[Justin.Morris]

Heh, I still use Joker's Wild (from PM). It's simple, direct, and a bit flashy to grab attention. And of course it hits big.

 

[Mikeoo92]

I had a laymen go to the store and buy a deck of cards and had me do a trick..

 

[RikAllen]

Houchini, "Just like Houchin" in french.

"Houdini" - "Just like Houdin."

That's a fun fact I've read in a biography about Houdini, the reason why he called himself "Houdini."
He admired another magician and his last name was Houdin.
One of his friends who was french said if he added an i at the end of his name, it would translate to "Just like Houdin."
Amazing book.

Was this 'The Secret Life of Houdini' ? If so, it is an amazing book. However, Houdini later said less than flattering things about Houdin...since he was trying to distance himself and leave his own legend.

Back on topic.

I will do a variation card through table...if such a surface is available. If not, simple force to revelation or maybe an ACR type-of routine.

Occasionally I'll do CK's Schwing.

-Rik

 

[Hybrid Hunter]

Since I'm still new to magic, and haven't gotten major confidence to perform like crazy I usually start with a Simple reverse trick. Then move onto I guess more ambitious things.

 

[Donald C.]

I always do erdnase change and then if they ask for more usually a sandwich routine

 

[praetoritevong]

What I do is usually whatever I've placed in the regular practice cycle, stuff I've got down but need performance experience for... A particular Shifty-esque elevator is the current hot one though...

In terms of actual pet routines though... I dunno. I perform Bad Influence a lot (enter groans). Zamiel's Rose is my favourite and the one I'd like to make my best one though.

 

[houchini]

Houchini, "Just like Houchin" in french.

"Houdini" - "Just like Houdin."

That's a fun fact I've read in a biography about Houdini, the reason why he called himself "Houdini."
He admired another magician and his last name was Houdin.
One of his friends who was french said if he added an i at the end of his name, it would translate to "Just like Houdin."
Amazing book.

Onto topic,
I would usually start with something easy or self working only to see how much control you have over your spectator. If their burning your hands for that 1st self working trick, then you know which tricks your gonna get away with or not.

If their making eye contact every now and then for the 1st trick and not taking it way the hell to serious, then you could go into more advanced sleight of hand.
A good self working trick would be Chris Kenner's "Invisible Reverse".

Houdini indeed chose his stage name after Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, a french illusionist who is considered to be (here in France at least, I don't know if that's the case in the USA) one of the best performers EVER.

And I totally agree when you say that the first trick you perform allows you to "evaluate" your audience. That's why I think 2CM is a great opener, first because it's very casual, as if you were just explaining something to them, so the specs don't expect anything magical until the climax which catches them completely offguards.
Secondly, the moment when you give them the first cards allows you to learn a lot about your spectator (some of them will turn it over without asking permission, some will ask if they're allowed to, and some won't even think about doing it, they just trust you. And I don't mean to expose anything here, but as they can indeed turn it over, it's ok whatever the situation).

Depending on their reaction, you know then what you can and cannot perform for them.

 

[houchini]

And concerning Stigmata, I've found that I get the best reactions from it when I perform it after several other tricks. When I just do it as a stand alone trick, I don't know, maybe people are not already convinced that I can do the impossible, so they're more curious about the method rather than truly amazed.

Same roputine, same presentation, but different reactions depending on the context. Weird, eh ?

 

[Cliff|Bumgardner]

Ambitious card, ambitious card, ambitious card... did I mention the ambitious card?

In my experience, there is no better "on the spot" effect/routine than a well constructed ACR. It starts with the spectators not knowing what to expect, seeing a little magic, and then leaps to a brain shattering level.

Love it.

C

 

[Sean_Raf]

Nobody has ever handed me a deck of cards.
For some reason laymen just don't walk around with cards. I'll never understand it.

I actually lol'd.

At the moment, I have two impossible locations (some of the people who frequent the stickam chats have seen one).

I think my favourite effects though are the Any Card at Any Number and The Named Card. (again, stickammers have seen these... countless times I might add)

- Sean