In no order:

1. Scotch and Soda/Dime and Penny

2. The Raven

3. Spun

4. Bite Out Of Quarter

5. Sinful

Mix them in with my sleights and non gimmicked coin tricks and I'm happy but that's just me cause I'm a coin guy.

I hardly use gimmicks, but if I had to choose though, I would say 3 card monte by Michael Skinner, Glorpy or Hyrum, Mercuring, TT and hands down, Holy Moly!

The original post (from someone who hasn't posted here in a year, BTW) asked for "the top 5 gimmicks that a close up woorker [sic] needs, or should not be without."

Personally, I don't think there is one. It's a pretty subjective question, since close-up magic is a vast category which includes so much material -- tricks, props, gimmicks, etc. -- that you can't really say there is one (or even five) gimmicks that a close-up material MUST have.

For example, I've been doing magic for 35 years, the last five as a working magician. In my close-up performances, I have never used...

a TT
IT of any sort
a coin shell
a Bite-Out Coin
a coin in bottle/can trick
a Raven
a Scotch & Soda or Dime & Penny set
a flipper coin

... as well as a few other gimmicks and tricks mentioned here (including the venerable Invisible Deck). I used flash paper once...for Jay Sankey's In a Flash...but just once; made for a great little picture on my website, but I haven't used it since.

Thus, if any of the above items were "must-have" material, I must not have been doing any professional close-up magic for the last five years. Oh, wait... I have. Hmmm...

That's not to say I won't ever use some of those things. I've been working on a good Hot Rod routine for a while and have taken an interest in Loops. I do use TTs and flash paper, but not for close-up work; rather, I use them for stage and platform work. I wouldn't waste my money on a Raven, and, while I own a Scotch & Soda set, I've never used it, as I do the routine with ungimmicked coins. So the reality is that I haven't had to use them, which means they are not "must-haves."

Also, eliminating cards from the list was kind of arbitrary; it doesn't make much sense to eliminate cards simply because of the volume of card material that doesn't require gimmicks, when the same argument could be made about coins, as well as other types of close-up magic.

What we've got here is a list of people's favorite close-up gimmicks, which is fine... but by no means should it be considered a list of "must-haves."

Cups & Balls / Chop Cup
Coins
TT
Silks
Change Cap or similar

There would be a deck of normal cards with 2 gaff cards between the jokers in that list, but you asked us to exclude cards.

They are not "must-haves" for you caffeine. But, for others they might be.

Well, vlk,...I guess my point just soared right over your head.

The original post asked for gimmicks that every close-up magician "needs or should not be without." I don't think there are any, the reason being that for a gimmick to be a "must have" for every close-up magician, there simply cannot be any successful close-up magician who doesn't use it.

I certainly wasn't criticizing any particular close-up magician for choosing to use any particular gimmick. I simply pointed out that if any close-up magician, myself included, can be successful without a particular gimmick, that gimmick is not a "must-have" for every close-up magician. In facts, gimmicks in general are not "must-haves" for every successful close-up magician (in most of my current paid close-up work, I don't use any gimmicks at all, and I wouldn't say the ones I have used are "must-haves" for anyone...not even for me).

The original poster didn't ask for what gimmicks were "must-haves" for close-up magician X or Y or Z; he asked what gimmicks were must-haves for every close-up magician. I stated fairly clearly in my post that the use of gimmicks in close-up magic was too subjective for there to be a single gimmick, let alone a top five, that was a "must-have" for every close-up magician. The fact that any one close-up magician considers an expanded shell to be a must-have because he does a particular version of coins across certainly doesn't make that gimmick a must-have for me or you or anyone else (I don't even own one), and it's flat out misleading to say that it does.

In a way, your reply just supported my position.

I believe when the guy said "Must haves" I believe that most of us had enough sense to understand that what he really meant was top 5 gimmicks for people who use them, I read your post and it seems that you have spent money on Props and do not use them. I cannot spend money on a prop and never use it as you said you have done with Scotch and Soda I have been performing for 15 Years and find posts like this to be very rude. I think for you the best thing you can do is ignore these type of posts in the future as it is a waste of your time as well as everyone elses who has read your post. You may prefer to not use Gimmicks and that is ok but it does not make you any better than those of us who do use them. Anyhow back on subject I would have to say that my top 5 favorite Gimmicks would be:

1. TT
2. Hundy 500 setup I would never leave the house without 1-3
3. Mullica Wallet
4. IT
5. Invisible deck (I understand that these are cards but they are phenominal and deserve to be mentioned)
5a. Coin Shell

Sorry for my poor english, Roy

Well...anyone who has seen your "Marked Deck Question" post in the Cards forum will see that as a lie.

You've also completely missed the fact that one of the goals of my responses was to prevent people from spending money on props that they would never use.



I've been performing magic for 35 years (Do I win...? ), and I find your dishonesty, assumptions, and the presumption that you can tell me what I should or should not read and/or respond to extraordinarily rude.

You seriously need to grow up, I will be the bigger man and walk away from your petty threats feel free to email me however I really haven't the time to argue as I have a full time job.



you said you have practiced magic for 35 years not worked in this field for that time and by your post count I can see you have no time for work as trolling seems like your full time job.

I use this for 15 years to make a decent living and NO you do not win, especially since I have never heard of you, actually I probably never will you are a waste of time so go get your +1s and I will just ignore anything you have to say

@ the topic starter I am sorry to intervene this will be my last post but this guy had 0 input and his post was a waste of time, Good luck

Really? You are the one who had to lie to make a point and jumped immediately to unfounded insults as soon as he was caught.




Do lies and insults make you a bigger man? Not on my planet. Also, I never threatened you. Please show me where I did so.




When someone insults me or challenges me in a public forum, I respond in the same public forum. I don't hide behind PMs or email. In fact, I don't hide my identity at all; it's very easy for anyone interested to find out who I am, where I am, what I do, what I've done, and what my credentials are.




Right. That's exactly what I said. I've been performing magic for 35 years, but I never said I've performing professionally for that time.




Hmmm...let's do the math. I've been a member here since August of 2004. Since then, I've made 1843 posts. Let's see...that's fewer than 2 posts per day. Wow... that really cuts into my day job.




And yet you come here for advice? That's almost sad.



I'll ignore for a moment your apparent inability to detect sarcasm. I'll just point out that I've never heard of you either...and probably never will...care.




Well, then...let's put that to a test. If you respond to me, you'll be lying again.


In any case, I stand behind the points I've made repeatedly in this thread: There are no "must-have" close-up gimmicks, and if you buy a prop just because it appears on someone else's list, you risk buying something that, while it was a "must-have" for that individual (for reasons you do likely not know), it might be totally inappropriate for you. I'm not criticizing anyone for having favorite gimmicks (and I've gone out of my way to say so in order to avoid being perceived as condescending), but let' scall them what they are: favorite gimmicks, not "necessary" or "must-have" gimmicks.

Stop... Now. Better yet, I'll stop it for both of you.