Are there any really unique tricks?? I realise stuff like ambitious card routine is a trick all magicians know. what are the really good yet unique ones? I do like stuff like Fusion, heart attack, fem fatal, cursed monte, 3 fly, coin hop, D lite, lite flight, humming bird. any levitation stuff to recommend? I dont mind props... But budget not above $100 for a really good one =) thanks

=Everyone can be a magician, but not everyone can be a good magician=

Always when people ask me to do tricks for them, i always do those tricks which i performed most often, not those tricks which i have just mastered. The reason: Cuz i feel more confortable performing tricks which i do often, rather than those tricks which i have just mastered and yet to perform it like having my meals.
1) Comfortable: I feel, this is one of the most important thing you must have. You must be confortable with the tricks you are performing. You must feel as if this trick is a part of you, that you can do it even with your eyes closed, or when you are dead drunk after choinging after the ladies night :P
You wouldn't want to do a trick that requires you over 20 sleights to have a effect...(not unless you are a born talent in magic)..
Or neither do you want to do a trick with a pass(which you sucks at), instead of achieving the same results with a simple shuffle or what-so-ever crap...;p

When often i perform tricks, i go by the rule: KISS
2)Keep is simple & short.. Do you actually think the audience will like to see a trick with just one effect that took 10 minutes long? or even 5 mintues? Nope, most audience like short tricks, preferbly tricks with an effect that shows within a minute or so. Of course, you can say a routine works well here, but do you know that a person's patience runs out very fast? The card appears on top once- she screams; twice- she gasp; trice- she surprises; forth- she yawns; five-she complains...
that typical singaporean attitude, believe it or not...
I feel i should attribute that to singaporean's haste lifestyle, rushing into MRT, bus..etc...
ya, there a few case where you can exclude, that is, if she's the type who really really love magic, and will marvel at anything that's looks magic to her, but these are rare and few, giving that magic are getting so so so popularised nowadays...
or another, if that your trick/effect compromise "mystery"...i can't really explain that, but, it's like your tricks compromise some "magical feel/ soccery/ biazzare"...that allows anticipation to develop in audience..

Now when i perform a trick to friends, and i compare it with Blaine, i know i'm lacking one important thing:
3) Presentation. Frankly, i sucks at that, i tend to stumble when i'm performing my tricks, look at the cards when doing my pass, talks especially loud trying to grab the attention when i'm executing a secret move or worst still, perform the tricks like i'm a robot.
These are very very bad examples of bad presentation. You can't get the audience attention, you can't get them to remember you...for this, i can't advice on anything, cuz i'm just as bad myself...but i always do remember that the difference between a magician and a good magician lies in one word: Presentation.


Btw, you want see the difference between a magician and a good magician?
Video yourself doing the ACR infront of friends and compare it to how Blaine did his ACR, you'll know the difference within 2 minutes..
Not the sleights, not the effects nor the cards, or how gay Blaine is... but simply, it's his way of presenting the simple tricks which leave the audience amaze...

i agree... but too bad singapore cant find one of those people whom blaine performed invisible deck to. people here are just so suspicious... they just wont Want to believe that it was magic... those type of reactions are really the ones which will show your character, your "mysterious"ity. Blaine performed a simple trick so flawlessly and mysteriously that the guy simply rejected any offers to see another trick and walked off. this again demonstrates the classic example that a simple trick can be done till it appears to be "mind-boggling" and superb.

If that's the case, I think it's better off to stay away from mainstream card magic if you really wanna create an impact.

You see, because of the many sleights that you can do with cards, the general public ends to think that it can be achieved as long as enough practice is put in to it. That kinda softens the "magic" in it.

Instead, I think you can try doing tricks with everyday objects to create an impact. I love card magic because it requires training and discipline, as well as ample opportunity to exercise your creativity. However, the tricks that always gets them bug-eyed are tricks like silverware bending, IT effects and even a simple effect like GhostBills. Even an overexposed trick like the Balducci Levitation can shock if you do it right and the person hasn't heard about it yet.

However, though I agree that the ACR is something that is really common, that doesn't mean you can't get a huge reaction either. Keep it simple with minimal fancy moves and it'll still work fine...or end it with a huge finale. Another way to do seemingly impossible card effects without having to bust your fingers with mind-boggling sleights is to use gaffs or gimmicks. Forget about magicians who tell you that using gaffs are kids stuff and you should be doing only sleights in order to prove that you're a true magician. That's crap. These people suffer from a need to prove their own self-worth rather than caring about how to optimise an effect. Even Dai Vernon used a gaff when he devised the trick that fooled Houdini. Even a Svengali Deck is a tool of the trade. Sometimes, gaffs can enable you to obtain a desired effect more cleanly than if you do it with sleights. That, my friend, is keeping it simple enough to blow their minds off.

I totally agree man, those who say gimmicks are worth less? Let us kick their a** Ya? Mainly becauseme use gimmick too.. hahah...

I better REV away now.. Cya ^_^

haha... i think gaffs get the best reaction for me...

Speaking of which, I just love Brad Christian's handling for MacDonald's Aces. He markets it in his Ellusionist website as "the Dream of Aces." It's simple to perform and gets huge reactions.