This is a great thread! A lot of fun reading through here.

Mine is superfluous patter or what I call narrating patter: As in "Here's an ordinary deck of playing cards. I'll shuffle the cards and give you an absolutely free choice of any card here. Put the card back in the deck anywhere you want. Is that where you want it? Ok, so I'll shuffle the deck again and now your card is lost in the deck. Now, watch as I touch both sides of the deck with my magic wand, and viola, your card is now on top of the pack as if by magic."

When American magicians assume everyone else in the world know what a dime, nikel, quarter, half dollar, look like.

How about the lame followup to the previously mentioned "ordinary deck of cards" where the magi says "All the cards are different, yes?" Um yeah, why wouldn't they be?

And the other one I hear constantly, "For the first time, please tell us the name of the card you've been thinking of?" Really, it's just the first time? Ridiculous and it's not just hacks I see doing this, plenty of pros who should know better.

The idea that if an effect is strong/powerful enough the audience will not want to look at/inspect the props.

Calling skeptical and curious spectators hecklers.

Lord_wallmotto: Yes, there's a financial incentive for this myth to persist - It's used to sell inferior magic. "You should buy definitely buy this right now without considering whether it's examinable. If you have trouble with that, it's your fault for having 'poor audience-management skills'."

Yes wallmotto, I appreciate your message. Because sometimes the STRONGER the effect, (quick and visual) the more a spectator intuitively knows something is not normal..... This is what solid, clean switches come in. For instance in rope magic you have miracles done with trick ropes. But the errant assumption you mentioned has kept magi from developing good switches in this area. Nothing quite beats a miracle followed by passing that item out.

Old, tired routines.

Magic with props no one ever sees in real life, which includes "classic" magic with props that used to be common objects but have fallen out of use.

This times a million.

The multitude of routines based on the four aces. Seems a bit obsessive, no?
Instructional videos where during the explanation, the instructor continues to shuffle, riffle, and/or cut the cards in a manner unrelated to the sleight or trick being explained. I find that this irrelevant extraneous activity distracts attention away from the instructions. For a newbie like myself that is very frustrating.
And, of course, sleights that I cannot seem to master.

Narrating what you are going to do. For example, "Now I will cut the rope into three pieces." or "I will now shuffle the cards."

Also, bringing up old threads on forums.

Spectators are not stupid. The concept of duplicates is a natural and common thought. Why do magicians have a card signed?

People say there is no reason to show or mention that all the cards are normal or different, but the amount of times I have heard laypeople say stuff like "are all the cards the same?" Or "is it a trick deck" or some variation of that made me change my mind on this issue.

Having a pet peeve in the first place. Oh no someone does something I don’t completely agree with oh no!

If I had my way I’d eliminate the Ascanio spread, Astro Turf, instant replay in all sports (For official review. The fans can still have it.), the designated hitter, ridiculously long story tricks and anything with a dragon painted on the side in a magic effect.

Most things that would qualify as a pet peeve for me are things beginners do or hobbyists who work sporadically. I am hesitant to come down on them or discourage them because it simply is not fair. Nobody needs to be discouraged.

I have found if these things bother me I can simply not watch.

Yea… but.

Certainly you can show them the deck is normal by the way it is handled, let them shuffle, hand it out casually and such. There are a myriad of ways to accomplish them not thinking these things without saying it. If you have to say it they may believe it, but not be convinced. There is a large distinction between belief and conviction. It you let them convince themselves it is better than them believing you by far.

If you are having them sign a card to prove something I kind of think this is a bit of a mistake. I’m not against signed cards because they cement the moment and make wonderful give away items. But I think a routine should be structured so that the signing doesn’t prove too much. The idea of a duplicate card is removed even without a signature is the goal. It really can be done, it just takes work. AND a great bit of that work can be done prior to that specific effect. Deck switches, add on moves and all manner of moves off the beat help with this. You do an effect and they shuffle the deck and have handled it and sort of seen in use for a few effects. Then do a switch or simple add on move and they assume it is the same deck. In reality it is stacked or has dups or whatever.

Should you still have the card signed? Yep. All I’m saying is to make effects deceptive beyond the crutch of the signature.

Rant over.

Oh I have two new pet peeves.
Multiple posts by one user in a row.
Ranting about something that has nothing to do with the original topic.

If you are worried about duplicates, have them choose the card themselves from a face up deck as they handle
it, or have them think of a card and take it out. I do this when I know I'll be using the same cards for
the whole time I'm there and I don't want to thin the deck.

Ranch should never be used on stake, you want something with more fire! I won't even go
into the homes of people who do such nonsense.

Sorry, almost forgot to double post.

If you are watching another magician preform don't spoil the tricks for the layman.

This happend to me once. I was doing walk around and in this group of people someone kept shouting all the slight of hand I was using to the layman. After I was done he said "I practice magic to." Then he laughed and walked away.

I made a parody on this exact topic! But the incessant riffling and showing of "empty" hands are definitely up there!

Annoying Sh*t Magicians Do Part I: https://youtube.com/shorts/OahgkX018EM

I certainly agree with the preceding posts. Trite, worn-out phrases bug me when watching performers. Some magicians use the same phrases endlessly. "Okay, now here's what we're 'gonna' do.", "Now watch closely.", "Watch.", "I'll just snap my fingers.", ". . .just like that. . ", ". . . just like so.", "Did you see it go?" "Perfect." These phrases and others are sometimes used dozens of times in one performance. One fellow used the word "perfect" seven times in a six-minute routine. I heard one young fellow end every sentence with, "Okay?" Creative thought and preparation can keep these and other time-worn phrases from dominating our patter.

How about the incessant habit magicians have with snapping cards? Ever see anyone but a magician do that?

Magician opens the box: "look at this thing that's in the box"
Magician closes the box.
Magician opens the box again: "look there is a different thing in the box now"


It doesn't matter if it's done with an actual box or a scarf or when DL-ing from a deck of cards it's so un-magical for me it makes me crazy.