When having an audience member sign a borrowed Bill with a sharpie.. do you prefer red or Black?

Funny you should ask -- I had a magic lesson this morning and asked my teacher the very same question. He said he prefers whatever color deck he can borrow. His point was that performing with a borrowed deck (when possible) is much more powerful than using your own cards, so even if the cards have "My Little Pony" on the back the fact that they're borrowed lends a whole extra level of power to your magic.

But beyond that, it's worth noting that this is a question that comes up now and then on the Magic Café. I found some good discussions by using the advanced search, searching for the words "red," "black," and "prefer," and limiting the search to the forum titled "The Workers" (which is where the serious card folks hang out). Here are links to a few threads I found:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=2

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=2

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&forum=2

I always use black. I have 4 -5 black Sharpies in my jacket/case. Jim

Oops! I see the question was the color of the sharpie -- not the color of a card! Thanks to Jim for giving an answer that was actually useful!

There's a simple way to figure out for yourself what works for you. Take two dollar bills. Write your name on each, one in red, one in black. Tape them to a wall and start backing up. Which is more visible from a greater distance?

Patrick

Thanks guys.