I think its almost funny how much me and Shibaz are in the same boat. im 17, and have been doing magic over 4 yrs as well, and have put a lot of thought into joining the restraunt scene.

i may very well take that path pretty soon, im confident with my routines and sleights. but i would like to put it all together into something solid before i proceed. any tips?

i also want to echo what hockey said. B_magic is the man. by reading several of his posts it is obvious that he has a real passion for the art of magic, and is doing his best to help all of us. if you fallow his word you wont be disappointed in the long run.

A regular deck of cards and some good tricks is a must have.

And Follow the advice on here.

id say you need an ambitious card, recap revisited, pen thru dollar, ring leader, and maybe healed and sealed

Hey B_Magic, I cou;dn't agree with you more. I been performing for over ten years. I always bring some gimmicked things with me even now, but most of the time I know all I need is a deck of cards, some coins, rubber bands, etc. It's takes a while to get to this point. Remember most magicians go through phases. 1. We learn all the beginner stuff. 2. We buy lots of gimmicked stuff. 3. We learn all difficult sleights, and then routines that use them, 4. We stop buying every new thing that comes out. 5. We work our way back to performing a lot of the easy routines we first learned or we create our own routines.

So what your saying is I should stop buying every gimmick I see, and start learning "real"magic ? J/K Actually I am a beginner, and though I have spent alot in gimmicks and stuff like that. I really think the gimmicks help build confidence and people skills. I love what I have learned so far, and the gimmicks may be there, but I am learning more slieghts (to hide my gimmicks) everyday. You guys have all been giving me great advice, and I just wanted to let you know I apreciate it!.

Thanks

every restraunt magician shold own "on the spot", its really good if your in a mess

If I were going to go one way or the other, I would say the question was a no brainer. A good magician should be able to walk into a room and do at least a short routine with things that are already in the room.

When I first started doing magic, I invested what was an exhorbinant amount of money for me at the time buying all kinds of trick decks and gimmicks.

I got really tired of explaining why I put the cards away and took them out again between tricks.... (switching decks)

Now I rarely take these items with me when I go anywhere.

for me to 'perform' I usually need...


A few rubber bands,
Sponge balls
a plain deck of cards
make sure I have some 500 yen coins in my wallet (the biggest coin in Japan)
extra cards that can be ripped (card warp)

Then I might bring some gaffs like color fusion, etc.

I still use gimmicks, but I would NEVER do an act that was self working...
because that would make me way too replaceable

I like "linking Cards"...you can use any three cards, tear out the centers and do a nice routine, linking, ripping and restoring. They can be handed out at end for souveniers.

A truer test if someone is ready to work in a restaurant is this.

Using only a regular deck of cards, how many effects would you be able to FLAWLESSLY perform? Using only the items that are found in a restaurant, ask yourself that same question.

Restaurant magic is NOT just about the magic, it's about the interaction. Gimmicks are fine, I use them all the time. But I also rely on some serious sleight of hand in order to really dazzle people. Sleight of hand offers more variety, and is more versatile.

I truly feel depressed everytime I see "I'm buy (insert standard magic store effects here) and want to perform in a restaurant. How do I get the job?"

IN all honesty, you need to ask yourself these questions.

1. Are you a capable performer? Not someone who knows a few tricks, but a PERFORMER!
2. What is magic going to do for the restaurant you want to work in? If you don't know the answer to that, and you aren't able to prove it, then you need to work a little harder.
3. Do you like people? And can you handle rejection?
4. Are you prepared to do the same effects over and over and over again?
5. Do you KNOW your effects inside and out? Can you do them in your sleep?

And this one thing to remember...

NEVER EVER think that a restaurant is a place to practice your magic. Save that for at home. WHen you are working, you show only the stuff you know well, and perform well. Save the half-assed just learned it yesterday stuff for your friends who are probably sick of magic by now. If you are getting paid to perform, then you OWE it, (repeat this again please), YOU OWE IT to the manager, and to the customers to give NOTHING LESS THAN YOUR VERY BEST!

Think about it.

David.

outstanding!

i do stealth pen, invisible deck, card cloning(my trick, PM me for the effect), an invisible thread routine, rusing card, and dollar bill inside of a roll.

oh, and i also like to do the arm twister.

Restaurant magicians (yes, I've spoken to some) suggested this book for me: How To Book More Restaurant Work Than You Can Handle.
Do a google search on it and buy it. Well worth it.

cool, sounds good to me. do you know how much it costs?

$57, if you were asking me how much the book is. It doesn't have any tricks, but it covers everything, and I do mean everything, else. As I was told once, magic is 90% business and 10% show.