The Genii Forum

From your experience, what are the most common layperson's card tricks?
I suppose that the 21 card trick is one of those...

Funnily enough, around these parts anyway, I don't see the 21-card trick among younger people that much anymore. I'm much more likely to have a teen show me "Whack your pack."

different regions seems to have different card tricks. The most common i encounter are the 21 card trick, a trick using the glide to show that ones card is not in a small packet followed by slapping the cards from the hand as per erdnase, and the one ahead trick where the spec removes two of three prenamed cards from a pack - the final being removed by the magician.

less common is the hotel room mystery, mutus nomen, and a mathematical trick based on casting out 10's.

key card tricks are occasionally attempted usually resulting in the magician grabbing the card from the wrong side of the key.

A layman friend of mine used to force a card with the Hindu Shuffle force, and pass the pack to someone other than the person who selected the card to shuffle. He'd then remove the selected card, noting the bottom (face of the pack) card and force that. Repeating two or three times.

Other than that, the four burglers...

With this in mind, I tried to come up with tricks that seemed like the one they might know, but really it had some difference built in. Such as, the 21 cards (three piles) trick. After having a card selected and returned from a 21 card group, I controlled and glimpsed their card, then let them shuffle the 21 cards. In laying down 3 piles of 7, I actually did a Biddle Move steal of the selection, and it ended in the last pile of 7, as a double, so really 8 cards there and 6 only in the pile they think it must be in. Anyway, it ended as making their card travel from the one pile to the other pile. Quite a bit could be done, magician's choices etc. as to which pile to send it.

I might start using this again...thanks for the memory jog.

In later years, I have never seen any layperson do the 21 card trick---I guess attention spans have changed over the years (at least in my neck of the woods). The Dunbury-esque routines have dominated in the tricks I've been shown by laypersons.

I was fooled by a layperson when they actually palmed out a card. I wasn't expecting much and it flew right past me. I actually enjoyed that quite a bit!

Question: do you (more often than not) take the time to watch a spectator who offers to show you a trick?

Erdnasephile Wrote: "Question: do you (more often than not) take the time to watch a spectator who offers to show you a trick?"

I always do so. I believe that one of the primary reasons I am there (particularly when performing at paid events) is to make the spectators feel special and good, and to be a catalyst for them to have fun. I always watch attentively, no matter whether I have seen the particular trick or not, and no matter how primitive their efforts or how bad they may be butchering it. And I always react favorably, congratulating them on how good it was, never letting on that I may know how it was done, and even solicit the other spectators' (if any) applause for the individual. I guess being a magician for so many years has helped me to become a good actor - and an even better liar...

Moreover, when the host or event planner who hired me, as well as other guests who are in earshot, hear the enthusiastic applause, guess who gets the credit - and possibly more bookings?

MagicbyAlfred wrote:Erdnasephile Wrote: "Question: do you (more often than not) take the time to watch a spectator who offers to show you a trick?"

I always do so. I believe that one of the primary reasons I am there (particularly when performing at paid events) is to make the spectators feel special and good, and to be a catalyst for them to have fun. I always watch attentively, no matter whether I have seen the particular trick or not, and no matter how primitive their efforts or how bad they may be butchering it. And I always react favorably, congratulating them on how good it was, never letting on that I may know how it was done, and even solicit the other spectators' (if any) applause for the individual. I guess being a magician for so many years has helped me to become a good actor - and an even better liar...

Moreover, when the host or event planner who hired me, as well as other guests who are in earshot, hear the enthusiastic applause, guess who gets the credit - and possibly more bookings?

I completely agree with this. Whenever the circumstances warrant it I allow the spectator to show me something even if I am secretly bored to death with it. I have lived in both Canada and Ireland where insincerity is part of the culture so I have gained quite a bit of practice in it. I always use the line of Matt Schulien when the suffering is finished. "You've got the professional touch!" or if I feel particularly benevolent I will vary it by saying, "My goodness. You have the professional touch"