Hi, What effects do you think are best for restaurants. I have a huge list of card effects (See Below) that I could use but I need some variety (like coins, bills, silks, spongeballs). Post your favorite restaurant effects or books. Here are my favorite card effects.

1. Two Card Monte
2. Colour Changing Aces
3. Colour Monte (3 card monte)
4. Signed Card To Jacket Wallet
5. Wave The Aces
6. Red Hot Mamma "Chicago Opener"
7. Sick Aces
8. You Do As I Do
9. Card Between Black Aces To Red Aces

i do all of my magic....but when i go to like a bar i just bring a normal deck of cards (usually) cuz i do like all of the instand dloads...and i do tons of stuff from stealing pips: esepeccially lord of the twist...i made my own gimmick for richochet but i dont use that anymore.....just normal deck stuff

I've had a lot of luck with a regular deck along with Brainwave, Invisible Deck, Spectacle, a variety of monte effects, Scotch & Soda, Hopping Halves, Coin Squeeze, Chameleon Coins, Spell Binding Boxes, Holey Moley, any pen thru something effect, No 2 Pencil, a variety of ring & string effects, table hopping cups and balls, Crazy Man's Handcuffs, Hot Rods, color changing knives, D'Lites, sponge effects and small silks w/TT.

All pocket size, good variety (so you can do different tricks at tables next to each other), easy to reset if necessary, good for adults or kids, quick (so you won't disturb their socializing) and great spectator response.

Well at a restaurant, I havent mastered this yet, so i dunno if its good (actually im not gonna even try, it, id never use it) but maybe vanish 5000 from aoa book 1 by gregory wilson? i mean since you are near sugar and salt and the such.

I think vanish 5000 might be all right, but, there are many better effects from aoa. And van 5000 does take a set up or gimmick if you will.

personally i think that people really like bigger finish by jay sankey, i had this table of buisness men, after i closed the routine one of the guys pulled out a 20 and gave it to me....he was just like shaking his head like no f'ing way...i would recommend that trick highly

If you could get a bit of space at the table, paul harris' deep astonisment is a cool table hopping trick. Or possibly jay sankeys in a flash. Bill Malines on the loose series is also packed with card material which would work in those situations.

Bill in Lemon ....The bigger the bill the better the trick

Vanishing whiskey glass.......you order a shot place it betwen your hands and clap its gone.....

spoon bending.

zombie roll.

take it to the resterant walkaround chat room

Vanish 5000 is better than alright. I just performed it yesterday for someone I went out to dinner with. I basically was able to prepare the whole thing under her nose without her knowing about it. Gave it some time and performed it......her eyes went .

It was great, this one can definantly get a reaction.

Great avatar djmick!

Really? Guess I haven't really looked close enough to it. I've found a bunch of new gems in these books (tricks I would have never looked at when I first got these books), so I'll take a look again.

Vanish 5000 by Gregory Wilson is for when you don't have a thumbtip. When you are working a restaurant I should hope you have one. Then they can actually "see" the sugar go into your hand.

some great effects for restaurant

1. card on the ceiling
2. card to wallet
3. stripper deck
4. card in their glass
5. 2 card monte
6. the raven
7. humming bird card
8. daley show
9.color monte
10. no strings attatched (make frends with the owner first)

some of the tricks posted in this thread r simply BAD for restaurant magic, let me note why:
first of all, u want the trick to be as flexible as possible, meaning that u could end it almost at anytime. i think the best trick for that the the "ambitious card" (which btw i don't see how it wasn't posted here)
anyway, the trick that shouldn't be done at restaurants r:

color monte-it SHOULD be done at a restaurant, but if the food arrives while u perform it, just stop the trick and go on to the next table, don't try finishing the trick for the kicker. the manager would get pissed, the waitter would get pissed, and even the guests might get pissed, and most likely would not pay much of attantion to what ur'e doing anyway, coz they want to eat.

signed card to jacket wallet- i don't know how u perform this, but maybe try doing it with the ambitious card routine, if the food is taking a long time, just close with this, after that, move to the next table. don't get me wrong, it's a strong effect in it's self, but u want the guests/audiance to have an idea of whats going to happen, just make the card somehow appear to vanish from the deck, or whatever it is u use in the routine.

do as i do-this is the WORST trick for restaurants! it takes too long, the effect is not as strong as other tricks, and it doesn't have ANY flexability.

i also think u have too many ace tricks, i won't do 2 tricks with aces to the same table, i won't even do 2 card tricks to the same table...
i suggest u buy the vaneshing handkercheif, modern coin magic (book), and some other stuff other then cards.
if u have money on the side, then get on the loose dvd's. those r my favorite dvd's so far, and i PERFORM 95% of the material there. there r also VERY good advices there about performing at restaurants, that i think would help any magician.

i hope this post of mine helped u a bit of understanding restaurant walkaround better,

Tomer