Hello, new to this buisness.
So I've been having a lot of fun with the watch steal lately, I'm not very good at it, I only get it right about one thirds of the times I try to do it, I'd say.
I could really use some tips on how to practice the watch steal and such.
Now, one time I had a guy ask me if I was trying to take his watch, I said "maybe, but I'm not that good" and it got what is best described as a "politeness laugh" or maybe even embarracced laugh by both of us, the whole situation was pretty embarracing.
Other times I'd just mess up and not be able to complete the steal, after messing with the volunteer's hands for about a minute or two, and then the whole routine gets very anti-climatic.
What I'm getting at is, what do you do when you mess up? what do you say?
What does one says when getting caught red handed, and what does one say when not being able to complete the steal for some reason?
Thanks a lot,
Beginner steal.

Watch choppy brasil's watch steal dvd. Has outs, precautions and tips on practice.

I am also new for watch steal and I am very interested in watch steal. I think you shouldn't perform the watch steal before you can make sure the rate of success is around 90/100, I feel if you were caught by some sensitive audiences, it is not only embarrassing, probably you are gonna meet cops... I am always practicing the watch steal on my family and my friends.
Hope this helps.

The watch steal is something that I only do when I have had a few drinks with friends and have enough Dutch courage to try it. When I do try it, my success rate is probably 95%. I just don't have the confidence to try this at a gig though. Anyone else have this problem?

Here is my approach...

I practice on my own wrist to keep the mechanics in check. I put the watch on both ways and will experiment with putting it on tighter and looser. I also have a few watches and keep mixing up which one I'm wearing. Practicing with your hands behind your back, over your head etc also allows you to try approaching it from different angles and such. If you keep mixing it up, you'll be able to confidently steal from anyone.

In terms of doing it to an audience, I often do so as a part of a trick. If the steal fails, I still have a climax within the content of whichever effect I'm doing. I don't do "fake effects" that fail with the coin not moving to the other hand. I put it into an actual effect with a real ending so the watch steal is often an added kicker and not necessarily the trick itself. If I did a perfect steal with a great spectator, I could always choose to reveal it later and load the watch somewhere etc. to let it play by itself after the current trick was done with.

When you do any kind of a steal, be it a watch or anything else, you will get caught the odd time, especially in the beginnings. The first thing to accept is that you are performing and the audience accepts that fact. If they like you, they'll let you go anywhere with it. Knowing that you will fail and it's OK will help you to stop worrying about getting caught. Think of getting caught and an opportunity, not a loss. If you get caught you can take advantage of the by-play opportunity by joking about how tight it is, that you lost your hand and this one was a donor from a con artist - whatever suits you. The other thing you can do is say you weren't trying to get it, but that you'll show them how it would look in slow motion if you did. Take it off deliberately, get the laugh and do the easier steal after putting it on for them.

Also, don't lose sight of the fact that a failure can also result in everyone's attention on the wrist. If you've got other steals or moves you need to do, this is a great time to go for it.

When I wanted to start doing steals from pockets, I decided to mix it into a cards across type routine. The effect of some cards moving from one guy to the other is strong enough on its own so I had that security blanket. Over time, I worked in my steals while looking for an empty pocket for them to put the cards in. If I didn't get anything, fine. If I did, I had a strong kicker after showing the cards having moved ("While I was in there, I also grabbed your wallet, watch etc."). I still do it this way in my stage show today and I love it.

I hope some of that helps!

-Chris.

Some great advice. Thanks Chris!

I like to do a magical return of the watch:



http://www.popsmagic.com/store/p93/NEW%2......deo.html

That's a very nice advice Chris. Can you cite particular tricks that you do with the steal? Thanks.

I agree with Chris, I perfected my technique practising on my own wrist even as I watched TV etc. Make it a habit of removing your watch every day using the steal technique . Also used a watch strapped onto a fake rubber hand, the type used as gags in chopper routines (but stuff cloth in the hollow opening to give it solidity).