I am often confused about some of the magic lingo, so I want to pose a couple of questions, just for the fun of it.

First--I've often heard the term "workhorse" used like this: "It's a real workhorse routine."
So what exactly does this mean?

And- Another one is "Real world situation." As in, "this trick is not good for a real world situation."

So what is considered a real world situation?

My interpretation of workhouse would be a very challenging sleight of hand routine (effect, trick..)

To me a real world situation would be wherever you happen to be performing.

Hmmmm. One approach is using opposite definitions. A workhorse isn't a lazy @ss. A real world situation is not an event or circumstance in Fantasy or LaLa Land.

I consider a "worker" as your first deffinition of a work horse. A worker is an effect that has been polished over many performances, can be done surrounded, and gets solid reactions each time performed.

Real world situations is a consideration every "worker" has to understand. For example, I do not consider the Torn (Daniel Garcia) something that can be performed in the real world.....yet many people flock to this type of effect becuse it has a right place/time prospect going for it.

If I can not do the effect in any situation, its not a real world worker....for me.

Billy

I think of a "work horse" as being a heavy lifter. A strong impressive routine for most audiences. One that can be relied upon to amaze and can be done in most situations. Magic that isn't too hard to remember (order of operations or patter) and not so knack y it will fail under pressure. Magic that doesn't take too long or can be stopped short(er) if needed. Many of the "real world" criteria would play into this as well.

Most of your repertoire should be workhorse stuff.

Real world means it can be done surrounded (or not too angle y), doesn't need a table, is reset at finish (or easily reset), clean at the end, easily carried, can be done silently if noise or language are a problem, can play big if the audience swells etc...

Not every Effect has to have every attribute but these are some of the considerations. Knowing the best attributes of the Effects you do have can really help too.

If you think about these and other suggestions from later posters before you even chase an Effect it won't be long before you have a great tool box. Years of good choices can make you feel pretty powerful when you walk in the room. That can really add to your confidence level.

Choosing the right Magic to pursue can make you appear much better than some who are more skilled. (I am speaking from personal experience).

Keep a few impractical dazzlers for special occasions if you want but in the long run "The steady Work Horses" will get more play.

-Mary Mowder

You all are awesome.

I agree, every effect in a performance should be strong, and it's hard to determine what is strong unless you bring out to real world.

Remmber this: these definitions are highly dependent on an individual's perspective. There is no consensus on the definitions.

I agree with Steven, it's very difficult to reach a consensus on these kind of phrases. However, I'll give it a go:

Workhorse - A routine that gets great reactions from almost any type of audience no matter what.

Real world situation - I think this is used by professional magicians to mean a paid gig. Synonymous with tricks that can be performed "completely surrounded", i.e. no angle restrictions.

It's a silly phrase because all situations are "real world", unless you happen to perform on the astral plane! Plus, if you happen upon the right performance conditions, even the most impractical magic can be performed in the "real world".

Marty

I always thought 'real world' to mean with people watching 'live' as opposed to a magician performing with no-one there other than a camera, allowing things to be done that couldn't with people present. I consider a 'worker or workhorse' something I could do for a group with very little reset if any and most likely I'd use it in a paid gig. But there are plenty of 'great' tricks that are not workers, and can possibly be used at other times or one offs.
Steven is right though, the terms can differ depending on the individual, different styles of performance etc. A workhorse routine for a stand up show may have no need of a quick reset but considered a workhorse because its a solid piece of entertainment that always gets a good response. Many classics would fit into that category though some think they're old hat, Six card repeat, cards across etc.

"the terms can differ depending on the individual, different styles of performance etc."

they differ, a little, depending on the person and the context. but you'll generally know what someone is talking about. it's not as if, for some people, a "workhorse" is a crappy trick that isn't worth performing anywhere, or that "real world" is something completely abstract.

Do you use these terms? Can we hear how you would define them?

One reason I was curious is because on another forum someone said, about a routine that involves lapping a coin, that it is therefore not something you can do "in a real world situation."

As far as that goes, I disagree because there are many real world situations where you can lap, and I often do.

That person's idea of real world, as stated--table hopping.

Yes, I would disagree that lapping = not real world. Lapping can be very real world depending on the situation.

My definitely of Real World is something that can be performed in most environments with little angle restrictions and no knuckle busting sleight of hand.

Angly magic or stuff that only looks good on camera is not considered real world magic.

Workhorse is a routine that you can rely on all the time because it almost never fails to entertain and amaze.

Well said, Cameron.