Playing cards + mentalism =

People associate a deck of cards with gambling, cheating, and magic tricks. Not mind reading.

If it works for you, then keep doing it. Just stating my opinion.



In terms of ice-breaking someone, it depends what your intentions are...

It has worked for me every single time. I guess you need to work on your presentation and also realise that how I work and present myself never gives any indication of manipulation or fake cards, sleight of hand, unrepetitiveness due to setups, etc. That's your 'magician' ballpark and, as such, a plot of magicalia that I greatly enjoy avoiding.

Give yourself the chance to think a little more about thinking, presentation and routine, along with self-presentation, and you will find that, in fact, pasteboards are an uncanny asset and, in my experience and with my presentational attributes, most certainly acquaint a little 'mentalism' effect quite nicely.

Of course, feel free to continue on your personalised path of trickery and illusion, but do spare a thought for my...thoughts.

All the best

There is a simple way you can perform that effect. It goes kinda like the coin in can effect by Criss Angel and Wayne Houchin. It's all just sleight of hand, so it's really easy after some practice.



Oh yeah! A casual bet is up at the bar works for me! Something like, "Would you be interested in a bet involving MY money?" And do a variation on 3 card monte or something.

I had a business associate in the '90s who used to 'accidentally' drop his glass eye into his drink, fish it out and do some billiard ball type sleights with it. Everybody paid attention and bought free drinks to hear the whoppers of how he had lost his eye.

I'm only guessing here, but a Squeer, I believe, is a squeaker and a
Spoon Spinner using a PK; suspend one spoon from another and spin the bottom one.

I could be wrong, as Dennis Miller would say.

-Ron

If the conversation starts to lag, I'll pull out PK stuff and start "piddling". I always carry several tiny NDMs that can be slipped into soda straws or even under the lip of a paper cup.

My favorite actually begins when I take the paper off of my straw. Nobody's even thinking about Magic. I wad it up and toss it onto the table (already loaded). Don't even look at it again until showtime. Then, I'll casually start to "tickle" the paper wad into movement and wait for someone to notice.

A couple weeks ago, I built a pyramid out of soda straws with "nothing" holding them together. That got attention from several tables.

My openers
Knotted Hands (no props needed, it works 100% of the time, involves mystert, and always laughs at the end) I use it for stage and closeup

A joke

something to tell illustrate my personality and showmanship

My openers
Knotted Hands (no props needed, it works 100% of the time, involves mystert, and always laughs at the end) I use it for stage and closeup

A joke

something to tell illustrate my personality and showmanship

Hot Leads! The real deal!

Back in the day a bunch of us used to get together to practice and amaze one another. Afterwords we'd go for pizza. One member of our group, an older, distinguished-looking (when not in costume) magician/clown had a novelty "sparkler" ring (push a hidden key and a shower of sparks burst out). He was on his way back to our table after using the men's room and stopped as he approached and said, in his stage voice, "Oops" as if he'd forgotten to zip himself. He reached down as if to remedy this and unleashed a blast of sparks that just bowled everyone over.

A catapult switch with whatever is in my pocket...time traveling coin, or 20c to $1 coin...if nothing else, a straight vanish.

Already indicated it in the "Best Opener" thread, but to save you the time to search:

John Carney's Logical Bill Trick is a very special bill switch. After pulling out four silver coins (instead of three) from it, a one billion dollar bill is switched in as replacement for the initial 20 dollar bill . I use John's routine as Ice Braker after leaning to the floor and asking the people if this 20 dollar bill is theirs? Whatever the reply I start performing the Logical Bill trick which brings in the four silver coins -that I need for the Coins To The Spectator's Hand coming next- and they end up with the "one billion dollar" bill as a souvenir (following Michael Ammar's recommendation in Making Magic Memorable). Sometimes I ask to have briefly the bill back and do a mismade "one billion dollar" bill routine (before using the coins). Then I leave them with the mismade bill telling them that they should try and put it straight when they get home, not easy but possible (a nice plug to get later bookings). Nobody claims not ot be interested in magic when you leave them with a "one billion dollar" bill that they had never seen before.

In table hopping.. probably hot leads by Jim Pace. It works very well for me.

Over the past few years I have had various approaches to breaking the ice.

My current approach:

I introduce myself, make a coin appear, and the proceed to do a few vanishes, and put the coin through the table and then pull it out of the salt shaker, then when I do the same with the pepper shaker I extract the jumbo coin from it.

Nothing to sneeze at.

Past approaches:

I do a coin roll and then change it into a zippo light some flash paper and make the coin reappear.

I use Cigarette up the nose (you don't have to ligth the cigarette !). It's very visual in a bar.

Crazy man handcuffs followed by melting a bank note through the band. everybody does love money

A simple handshake and a smile.

With arthritis cant do any more- but the removing of the THUMB is always with you - I used to say -'look what happned when I slammed the drawer on my thumb- or when I was cutting carrots-' etc. ALWAYS have a reason or story - don't JUST do a trick. - Also I had a friend that kept asking me to do a TRICK every time we met- I asked him for a dollar bill (or coin)- did a slight/trick and put the money in MY pocket- - When questioned about HIS money -I said, "Gee I don't do Magic for nothing - its my living!!" L-O-L Ralph(russo)Rousseau

I have two icebreakers depending on what the situation calls for. If I'm busking or something like that, truly working cold, I'll pull out two ungimmicked safety pins and go through a little routine with them that I've known for ages.

If I'm in a waiting room and I just want to stave off the boredom for myself and everybody else, I use a linking paperclip trick but I don't do it like I'm overtly performing. I'll sit there and do my set up (part of why I love it is because it's something that's not harmed if the "get ready" is seen) and then go through it. If you're familiar with the trick you'll understand this next part: you can slightly "aim" the clips by tilting the b*ll. I tilt forward and let them project forward which gives me a reason to make a big motion to retrieve them. When people start noticing what I'm doing and show interest, then transition and include them in the process as an audience.

If you need a "line" for it, start off a little soft and ask "Excuse me, I won't bother you for long, can you just look at this and tell me if it looks fishy to you" and then hit them with whatever great effect you know that drops jaw and makes people ask HDYDT. That way, you're not all up in their face with a pitch or a spiel to drop on them. You've approached as a human who has some unusual skill instead of being a magician ISO an audience. I've found if I can get two people interested in whatever I'm doing, other people will move in for a closer look just out of curiosity.

It's easier for me to get people to gravitate to me than to go looking for people who might be into it. You don't realize how many people really don't care for magic until you learn how to do it...

I think a bunch of people missed the op's original question. I think he's askin' for a quick sudden impact effect. Sponge balls, quick, high impact but really direct however people think it's cute.Floating an object, high impact, draws huge attention and can be a short quick effect. Not a mentalism act or an effect that you need to explain. I would think, that as soon as you start in with anything more than a quick powerful trick the girls are gonna think "geek" or "tool" or " get this guy away from us/me". You need sumthin' noticeable but not so direct otherwise my opinion is they're gonna think "get away from me weirdo". I could be wrong but......$.02