I saw the other thread talking about unexaminable items wanting to be examined but I was wondering what to do if someone says "Can I see your deck?" I was showing a teacher some tricks and he wanted to see it after i did a trick form my ghost gaff. I like the line "It'll cost ya" but I was looking for more than that and moving on.

Just do a deck switch. What I usually do is if I'm using a gaffed deck, I have a regular deck of the same color in my pocket, and after I'm done with the trick I quickly put the gaffed deck in my pocket, and if they ask to examine it, I just switch it for the normal deck.

That doesnt always work.. People are smart enough to see if I have more decks. Anything else?

figure somethign out, seriously step up and be a magician and find your own way.

Learn some darn control. They shouldnt even ask that.

i got a good idea! don't use gaffed decks!

Build your credibility with a regular deck and only use cards that look normal.

Using a ghost gaff deck is risky because it doesn't look like a normal deck of Bikes that people are used to seeing. So if the deck doesn't look normal it probably isn't normal is what the specs think. I advise if you're going to use gaffed decks get a gaffed deck of normal Bikes and you'll be better off. Learn to control your audience and make it seem impossible that it could be a gaffed deck, and could be anything less than real magic.

Another thing that I would advise is that if you are planning on using a gaffed deck, immediately put it in your pocket. Not sneakily, just put it up, then say 'Oh wait, I just thought of something that would blow your mind!' Pull out a deck that isn't gaffed and perform an effect before they can even think about asking to see the deck. Then if they do ask then you can just hand it to them and they'll be satisfied.

I'm sure your sleights are fine but you might want to try working on them just so that they look as realistic as possible. Practice your patter also so that it doesn't sound like patter, but sounds like an actual conversation that you are having with the person.

I hope that helped.

-Matt

I agree, that is a problem with Ghost, black decks, silver decks, etc. People are suspicious; even if it isn't gaffed, they think it is. There have been several discussions about the use of those decks specifically related to that problem. Stick with old faithful red or blue when gaffing decks. I like the Ghost decks to look at, but they draw suspicion even when they are normal. Because they look cool and very few laypeole have seen them, they might want to see it just for that reason alone, even if they aren't looking for a gaff.

i dont get it! why would a magician use a gaffed deck that looked different, isnt that obvious? a had one of those plastic see through bike decks. people thought that they were gimmicked. i straight up say "if i was using a trick deck, would i make it that obvious to you? wouldnt my trick deck look like a normal deck?"

But then if you pulled out a normal deck they would think it was a trick deck. I just tell people that I don't use tricks decks, and most of the time I don't. I use one trick deck... the Invisible Deck. Most of the time, people are so floored by this effect that they don't even consider the possibility of a trick deck.

Heres what i do, I rarely used these "cheater decks" as i call them. but what i will have is usualy the cheater deck in my pocket. what i will do at school is ask a friend if he has a deck of cards. (Its weird how like everyone has one. you would be surprised) if they do great. Then i make sure if its the same color as mine. if its not ill make something up like oh well the blue ones have different power than the red or something cheesy that works and will give laughs. if it IS the right color. i will misdirect them to something else. this takes practice, while that happens i will slip there deck into my pocket and pull out the cheater deck. Big crowds are problems with this. So dont use cheater decks in big crowds.. To get the deck back to them after the trick slip it into your pocket, they will almost always say " hey wait those are mine" you respond, " Oh yeah! sorry i forgot" bam, you switch again instead of grabbing the cheater deck you grab theres...

This is how i always roll. I dont force magic onto people so if the conditions arent perfect...aka deck color... i wont do the trick. instead ill do a different trick i can do without a cheater deck.

Hope this helped.

edit: on the note of not using the black decks or w/e the ungimmicked but suspicious ones. I use those all the time, especially the negative version of the Bike decks. I love em and when people call bull**** on the deck i roll my sleeves up, i move the deck slowly to them telling them no fancy moves and let them do whatver the heck they wanna do to it. If ive got nothing to hide, im not afraid of anything. Doing these things builds trust with people. And trust is your best friend when your a magician. Because if they trust you, they will less likely wanna examine you.

Ripper, that's actually a great idea. I might give it a test run sometime, and if I like it, I'll probably end up using it a lot. The only thing I would be worried about is the condition of the cards. If their cards are old and ratty, and your "cheater deck" is brand spankin' new, they might notice something fishy... or vise-versa. This also goes with the box. Oh well, I'm still gonna try it, thanks for the idea!

Sure thing. and like i said before. If the Weather is right, lets go surfing. otherwise we stay clear. ( in other words... If everything isnt perfect, you should not do the trick.)

Thats the biggest problem with cheater decks... Glad to be of help! =D

Another simple idea if you are performing for strangers. Do a few tricks with a normal deck. End it with an Ambitious Card routine (one not using a stripped deck...if you can't do it without a stripped deck pick a different ending trick) or something else that alters one of the cards in a way that you can then give away the deck as a keepsake. After you do a couple quick tricks do your Ambitious Card or whatever other end trick you planned and give them your deck telling them to keep it. You can then tell them to go ahead and check it out, the deck is legit. The idea that you don't use gimmicked decks is in their head now, and they have a deck they can inspect if they want...and if you ended it with a strong enough trick you should be golden for the rest of your time with them.

Now say "you know what? I have one more thing I can do" and reach into your pocket pulling out another deck. If they try to give you back the old one explain that the writing on the card compromises the integrity of the deck(assuming you did an Ambitious Card where you had them sign the card...or another similar trick).

When you pulled out the second deck it is your gimmicked deck and you should be pretty bulletproof from any "let me see those" type requests as you perform with it. If they do ask then it is on you to display your true skills as a performer and handle the situation.

Remember, YOU are in charge...not them. Keep that control and keep your composure and you should be fine.