don't you hate it when you are preforming magic for a group, and you have those few people that dont watch the magic, they watch for what your doing. Its so frustraiting when you are in a group of people and theres like 5 people t hat are interested in the magic and then one person is like saying.. "o but that card isnt really in the middle its still on top, it never left the top" for ACR, or on biddle trick " you put the card under there just now you dont even have five in your hand" before the trick is even over. I dont really know how to deal with this problem. It's not really that im not preforming the sleights well enough, its just that theres one or two people that are trying to watch what im doing instead of watching the magic itself. Of course then youve got those people that sit there after you do your trick talking amongst themselves trying to think of how you did it.. anywaysI would just not preform for them, but then everyone else that asks me to preform magic and actualyl appreciates it for what it is would be let down.. any advice?

Well, as far as people talking amonst themselves after you perform trying to figure it out, there's not much you can do. Anyways, that's a good thing. If they're talking about it, you did your job well. As for the people that say they caught you while you're performing, I usually say something like, "Whoa! Is that how it works? Thanks for pointing that out. I had no idea." I then continue with the effect assuming the "good" spectators get a good laugh.

Craig

I have received countless "challenges" in the form of comments about a trick. these people just see magic as an attack to their self ego; they do not want to be "folled" they want to be the ones that know it all.

you could go with your line of work that you mentioned. But just be aware that by you responding they already got you---you do not want to pay ttention to them. if someone says something pretend they aren'te ven there and continue your effect. more often than not the rest of the audience will ignore them.

But for those extra rowdy guys I like to change things out as they are getting loud. Example on the ACR routine, they say that the card is still on top....you then stop..look at them and say " well we have a doubter here, come on here!" you then cut the deck, ask him to place the cad himself in the middle..and then ask him...you your self placed that card in the middle, you did not see any tricks from my side, correct?---as I give that line I did a classic pass and voila the card is on top . " oo...gosh did you see that? maybe it was too fast for you, let me do it again.." and you can then repeat it with a Hoffmann pass. I usually ahdn out the deck immediately to the heclker and ask him to take the top card...and bang!! this more often than not take care of even the raunchiest doubters amd quashes tehm by basically embarrasing them and erasing all theories.

or you could go right into a 2 card monte...this one will not only baffle all spectators, it will even create shock to the smart alleck.

just a few pointers that I have been using for years.

If you are in the right setting. Do the hummer card and do it around the body. No heckler will figure that one out.

I really hate it when people heckle you like that. THey should learn to enjoy the magic, insted of treating it like a puzzle.

Anyway I use the sort of "Woa! Thats how you do it" technique as mentioned before.

DW

I take a different approach. If there are people in the group that act that way, purposely trying to spoil the effect, I just finish up the trick as quick as I can (even if I change the ending from something spectacular to something ho-hum, as long as it's quick) thank them for being an attentive audience and make a quick apology "I'm sorry I wasn't as magical as some of you would have liked, but I thank you for your attention". And then I leave.
At this point you walk away with your honor intact and the heckler looks like the worlds biggest jerk, especially to the rest of the group.
There's no sense challenging them or confronting them, it only serves to make you look like the bad guy, and that's bad magic. Let the members of the group that were enjoying the magic decide who really is the bad guy.
Eugene Burger has written about how to handle hecklers and I think he takes one of the best approaches.