I just had an epic fail.

My routine involves doing a basic card find trick using one way backs principle. It's intended to be a bit transparent to the savvy. I follow up by shuffling so as to make one way backs impossible, and then follow the routine from there.

...

I botched the one way backs.....

...


and the shame that followed... oh.. the shame..

Spectator: "Just a hint, don't spread the cards and look at the backs, it makes it obvious" <sigh> that was the point.. it was supposed to be... oh.. nevermind....... epic fail.

Yeah, but that's how we learn. What is the take-away lesson for you on this one?

I once spent a couple of months (in my spare time) working out a routine I thought would be great. I did it twice and will never do it again. In one case, the kid helper was trying to mess me up and in the other case was trying too hard to help me. In both cases, it still came off as magical, but lost most of the effect I was trying for and ruined several gags. My lesson learned was to never plan for best-case scenario. Always plan a routine to be the most bulletproof you can with no way for spectators or helpers to mess up the trick.

Without seeing your trick in action, I can't say whether there was anything you could do to salvage it.

-Patrick

Patrick is right. That’s how we learn. I purchased an effect that came very highly rated among the workers. It’s a psychological effect where the helper actually has fewer choices than he thinks. In live events, it NEVER worked for me, not once! Fortunately, this was a pure mentalism show, so less than 100% accuracy actually helped the believability. But I ditched that effect! (My wife’s only question was why I’d even tried it a second time )

My take-away: Don't fall in love with a price tag!

Live and learn.

I probably could have salvaged, but honestly I never expected to mess up on such an easy stage of the routine. I suppose one lesson here is that nothing is so easy that it can't fail.

I still think it's a good routine though, and won't be scrapping it just yet.

We have a tendency to make the simplest steps the most complicated by neglecting them and thinking 'oh, that part is easy, no need to worry about it'. Of course the two main things to remember; 1. We all have done it and 2. Learn from it.

It will get better.

Kingman

You're description is really hard to follow.

Am I correct that your routine has two phases and the first is a sucker phase in which you want the spectator to think of one way backs so that you can fool them in the second phase by clearly not using the one way back principle?

And then the spectator caught you using one way backs (as you intended) but at the same time you messed up the trick and were not able to find the correct card?

Pretty much, yes... What I expect is that the spectators will be mostly "fooled" by the first phase, but suspicious possibly of marked cards. In the second phase I reveal the one way backs if they didn't outright "bust" me, destroy their usefulness by shuffling with 1 half reversed, and then do what should seem like exactly the same trick step for step, except with no remaining explanation.

Why on earth would you plan for the best case scenario? I always assume the worst and constantly end up pleasantly surprised...

Yeah next time I'll have a plan, like, "If you completely fumble the trick, whack spectator on head with hammer, splash whiskey on him, and leave his signed card in his pocket. The next morning, he will likely figure you were a good magician."

No, no, no... it's:

Whack spectator, drink whiskey, leave signed card in pocket.

The order is important.

Hmmm, I was thinking the spec needed to reek of alcohol to complete the illusion, but now that you mention it, this plan needs more whiskey than I originally thought....

How about: keep an ID or brainwave in your pocket, ready to use as an out. Or you could include it from the start; put the ID/brainwave in full view on the table/held by an audience member before any cards are chosen; "We'll need this later". Then, if you need it, you can use it as though you'd always planned it that way, and if you don't need it, you can just use it as the final phase. "Outs, Precautions and Challenges" by Hopkins has a load of ideas in this area if you're planning on deliberately provoking a challenge, or if the method is inherently risky, or just in case of random disaster. He points out that most "disaster" scenarios are actually the initial premises of some well-known effects and that the well-known "magician in trouble" plot works to your advantage in these cases and may actually improve the effect.

Things will always go wrong. The more you know as a magician the more you're able to 'jazz' things up and cover these kind of mistakes when they happen. The main thing though is to learn as much as you can and have fun!

Having had, now, many days to ruminate (love that word, don't you?), I think those last two words were my biggest fail of that evening. Keeping that more firmly in mind may have made for a better salvage....

It would be nice for this beginner forum to have a good way to private video exchange - you'd laugh at the ridiculous mistake I made.. I'd re-enact it just to warn others .. the selected card was face up on the table, but it wasn't supposed to be. Would have been a great Magician-in-trouble plot, had it been intentional.

Man I can relate. My "Epic Fail" was at the Bates College auditorium with a darn near full house! I was one of several magicians performing and I was the finale. I performed "Zombie" and it accidentally was exposed. An ice cold moment onstage, let me tell you!

Oh, to fail at a card trick! I'd trade that in a heartbeat! I know the true meaning of Epic Fail! LOL!

Doug

Dougini, you brought back some scary memories. I’d been doing magic for a couple years, and talked the college I attended into “loaning” me the student lounge for one night. It was an “almost” packed house of about 200 young people. My mentor, Carl Davis, and some of his old school magician buddies were on the front row.

I was dancing with the Zombie to an electronic version of Bach’s “Jesu”, when the ball slipped off the gimmick and hit the floor with a thunderous WHAM! I was young and so panicked I just picked up the ball and walked off stage. (And it was MY show!) LOL!

I’ve done worse but (thankfully) not often!

CR, take heart!

Can having a particularly bright "audience member" be considered an epic fail? I was performing yesterday for some family friends who came to dinner to our house, and one of the guests was able to see through almost all of the tricks I did. I know and I'm 100% confident that I didn't botch the tricks and that I didn't mess up at all, in fact only this person was able to see through them. She figured out the Olram subtlety during an O&W performance, the glide and the bottom deal during a couple of tricks... and the thing I found most frustrating is that she kept pointing out the moves. I dealt with this situation trying to be funny, but deep inside it was frustrating... At least she wasn't able to figure out a couple of ace cutting routines I did earlier... What would the best way to deal with this kind people be?

@BlackKnight: First, @MB in the coin section will tell you, there are some people for whom you can't do magic. They don't appreciate it. I have a couple of lines I've found work, for me, at least. One is: "These are just some fun illusions, meant to entertain you and make you smile. I'm not trying to fool you. I'm not that smart." If they persist, I say, "Oh, are you going to heckle me?" Nobody wants to be a heckler. This shuts them up, if they are adults. Kids, they are different. There are plenty of tips for handling them in "The Little Darlings" forum.

These are last resorts, however. I like the analogy in "Showmanship for Magicians" by Henning Nelms to the theater. To provide my own take on it, nobody who goes to a play seems to have any problems thinking the guy who may be a plumber during the day, for that night, is Hamlet. Why can't the magician get the audience to suspend their beliefs as easily. Even when we're performing for friends and family, we have to think of it as theater. Create a story or an atmosphere that will get them to play along. Make it fun. Make it comical. But remember, magic is always a form of theater. So play your character.

If you do that, the flubs will seem part of what you intended, because everybody will just be having fun.

And yes always routine for the worst possible scenario. That's worth repeating.

I sometimes think my whole magical career is an "epic fail"... lollllolll