What do you guys use as openers in your street/walk around acts? I'm looking for a good card effect to open my card routine. Any ideas?

Thanks,
-Alex

There are a good number of choices. What I look for is something that

- establishes credibility (a strong effect)

- catches the audiences attention (no "pick a card" tricks, no intricate manipulation, etc./is flashy, uses flash paper, loud noise, bright objects [usually balloons])

- is visual (penetrations with no/minimal cover, vanishes with no/minimal cover, appearences with no/minimal cover)

- does not use borrowed objects from the spectator (don't borrow personal items like cell phones, money, rings from strangers to open when you are busking or doing walk around. Always, with very few exceptions, do effects to gain an audiences trust before borrowing a personal object)

Pretty much anything that fits that criteria:

- http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S13456 - The balloon pop from Jump

- http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/2510 - Rattled

The list goes on and on.

If you watch the first few minutes of this card review I demo the effect that I have been using as my opener lately.

I call it "Throwing Star"

http://vimeo.com/33067110

I love card tricks so Gemini Twins or Chicago Opener always gives me good reaction. I'm gonna try with one green back card next time.

It depends on how well you set-up yourself with other props. If you want to end clean then rope or rubber bands and coins are nice as well.

Pretty hard to do mental act on the street because you need them to pay attention to you at all time.

Something visual is always the best way to open your routine.

Rizer perhaps is also good, very visual and you can do it close up even surrounded. Just make sure you have the timing correct.

Oh, don't use something really angle-sensitive.

You could try to open with Color monte or a svengali deck then switch out for the rest of your card routine.

If not cards you could use D'lites or maybe Jay Sankey's Holy Moly routine.

-Ari

i usually do something quick and visual, something that establishes myself, or something where i establish credibility.

I do more Mentalism, so i do a quick intro of who i am (pretty much name only) and then quick go into something to get there attention and interested, then i intro myself much more completely and explain what i do.

if you can have anything that fits that criteria, youll know.

typically it depends on how im feeling at the time. ill do something thats sure fire and quickly gets me into their by doing a quick "mind reading" or visual card trick thats quick to draw them in, then i try some things that are risky that im still confident in myself to pull off.

i keep going further and deeper into it ect.

Thanks!
David

I do a freestyle card routine as my opener usually (non-kids show). Its never the same twice. Basically i get 3-5 people to each select a card. Then i find each of their cards (controls and false cuts is all it is). Now i do this for a particular reasons.

1- Its very Flourish-y. During this routine, i'm doing card springs, sybil cards and one handed stuff while doing this card trick. This establishes skill. Also its a chance for the deck to be handled or shuffled by the spectator since its a normal deck (eg if i wanted to switch in another deck later).

2- It gets a lot of people involved. Since I'm using so many people, even more people gather. I can have easily 10 people gathered around me almost immediately. Participation win!

3- I tend end with a in the hands DL, colour change or card to random location etc. This creates a magic (often visual moment) to a otherwise flourishy and skillful routine (that would have skill but not really magic).

4- Its a trick with a average effect. Its a basic trick and other tricks are more powerful. Which means the next trick (and the tricks after) build and get progressively more impressive to keep audience's interested. But thats not to say its a bad trick.



Some people say a opener should be fast or visual etc. I somewhat disagree. Its ok to be slow and non-visual if its helping you build a excited crowd. And yes i tend to prefer using card magic as a opener which is basically a slow pick a card trick that is purposely less visual as it could be.

For kids shows. Sugar Rush, something with Gum, Bit/restored Oreo or Spongeballs. That kinda thing. Sometimes Roxie Raccoon.

Other ideas for a opener: Self Tying Shoelace, Warning (lighter trick) or anything that involves something appearing that can be used in a longer routine. eg deck production.