We all have drawers full off tricks we'll never perform. More often than not, that's due to the fact that the effects leave you dirty, are too hard to set up, aren't angle proof, or are too proppy. If you could start over, as a casual performer(for friends, etc), what gimmicks would you buy? In other words, if you wanted to save a friend from a collecting a drawer full of dusty items(not literature or videos), what gimmicks/gimmicked items would you suggest.

TT
Nail Writer
Invisible Deck
IT/ITR

These four items are enough to provide you with a lifetime of jawdropping magic. Of course so is a deck of cards, but we're talking gimmicked items here. And you can get them all for under $70. It amazes me that every day there's a new card prediction type effect on the market when nothing comes close to the power, simplicity, and practicality of Invisible Deck. Every day there's a new expensive, proppy, bulky prediciton effect, usually in the form of a board, when all you need is a little Nail Writer that's smaller than a tic tac and jawdroppingly clean. And the most ridiculous of all new inventions are the transposition effects. John Kennedy would like you to spend a paycheck on a proppy little wooden box that makes for an average transposition. A two dollar TT is the method behind, as far as I know , the cleanest, fairest transposition possible.

So why do we(yes me included) buy all this crap? We won't beat these inventions. Yet somehow we're waiting for an object that just might really defy gravity and float. And maybe, just maybe the new transpostion effect will really make the object dematerialize and materialize elsewhere. Why do we do it? Why don't we stick with the aforementioned brilliant four?

Anyhow, curious what you might add to this list. Again, for the casual impromtu performer. Pen Thru Anything? Cig thru Quarter?

As magi we seem to forget the simple is sometimes (usually?) the best. I would suggest they invest in a scotch and soda as well as a TT and Kidz Kardz.

just my humble but accurate opinions
Apophis

Well the reason is, I suppose, because we are all attracted to new things. We like to find new ideas, new flashy gadgets, new toys. Hey, we love secrets, and sometimes, we can find real treasures. But you have to collect hundreds of shells to find a single pearl. So that´s why we buy all that "crap". Oh, and sometimes you can build a very good routine out of "crap stuff". You usesome of the ideas, change some props, and that´s it.

By the way, because there is so much crap on the market, I really love to buy things on ebay. Because if you buy crap, well, at least it wasn´t that expensive.

Magixx

I would add a chop cup to those. Also cups and balls and linking rings. On the other hand, linking rings require a lot of practice but if you are minimizing the number of tricks then you'll have the time.

I still like the Mental Photography deck as well as the invisible deck.

Platt:
An excellent post and very relevant questions

I agree with Rik. A chop cup is a must as well as a tip. However I would also suggest ordinary items such as coins, cards, and safety pins.