Hello,

I've been doing magic for about a year now. Some of the tricks that I have are:

Ambitious Card
Born to Perform
In the beginning there were coins
Sponge
Muscle Pass
Fiber Optics
Ninja Rings

Out of those, which one would work best in the streets? Is there anything I'm missing that I should get?

I was thinking ambitious card, sponges, and muscle pass to attract a crowd.

No, I'm not going to be busking, I'm only 15 and haven't had experience out in the streets. I'm going to do street magic first, just to get the feel and experience.

Thanks!

I'd recommend learning through a course with cards, like the Royal Road + Mark Wilson or Joshua Jay's Complete Course books, or Card College. When you learn the sleights, you can start learning tricks, and when you have a good repertoire, start getting some experience. You don't want to go out with one or two tricks and then have to stop.

Coins would also be the same technique. Learn a good sponge routine, a few coin routines, a few card routines, maybe some things with cash, mentalism, pens, keys, etc. Then you have a good solid foundation and can focus on entertaining!

-JT

Ah, oh yes, I forgot to mention I have the Royal Road and Card College, however, the other things, I have not heard of. I was actually thinking of getting some mentalism stuff, but I didn't know which one to get.

I have the Ambitious routine, a sandwich routine, the biddle, and I can learn the monte from crash course 1 for card routines. If I do say so myself, my ambitious card and sandwich routine is already pretty solid. The biddle and monte aren't.

you should get and practice sponge balls, especially if you plan on doing strolling. I am fairly new to street magic, but I do a lot of close up and strolling, and have been practicing restaurant magic for a while now,and the reaction sponge balls get is HUGE! they are not hard to learn and you should definitely use them.

Cirkus

I'm going to recommend the ninja rings, if you have a table, the sponge balls, the coins, and the rope trick. You could still learn the card tricks, but be aware of the weather. The slightest wind or rain could ruin your day if you rely too much on cards. If you must use cards, get a prestige bicycle set. They're a bit more waterproof than the regular ones.

hmm i've been practicing coin routines, however, whenever i perform them to my friends, they always say, "I'm not dumb, it's still in that hand..." this discourages me from performing any vanishing routine with small objects -.-

do you know the classic palm vanish? that's my favorite, It is simple but if you do it right then they will assume that your hand is empty, misdirection is the key, also practice the classic palm until you can have all your fingers and thumb showing, but still keep it natural, and remember, they should not be looking at that hand at all, it should be visible, but no one should be paying it any attention to it... MISDIRECTION . Also don't leave it vanished to long, (you can if you want, but I like to make it reappear shortly after showing that its vanished)

don't like to make a big deal about putting the coin in your hand, I like to vanish the coin, but keep my hand closed and ask the audience to keep there eye on the coin ( maybe even hold my hand shut to stop it from getting out) then saying "Okay now we are going to do an incredible, impossible and amazing effect with the coin" or something similar, the whole point of this is to get the mechanics of the trick done even before the presentation of the trick

just my 2 cents,
Cirkus

I have the in the beginning there were coins dvd. I think my problem is that my hand is a little on the larger side. If i use normal sized coins (canadian coins) the biggest coin we have is a dollar or a two dollar coin. but they are still relatively small. So my hand looks awkward.

thank you

It sounds like you're not using sufficient misdirection. I keep five halves on my person at all times, two of which are identical down to the year. If someone calls me on my french drop, and it's rare that this happens, I usually say "ah, no, it's already in my pocket," I reach in with the hand it vanished from, pull out the identical coin, and show it to them, and instantly go into a one coin "coins across" routine, complete with utility pass, which completely befuddles them.

Edit: If you can't find half dollars to suit your hand size (I know, I have big hands too,) perhaps you could do it with poker chips. They're pretty big.

Are you doing well constructed routines, and not just a vanish?

Coin magic is tough, and it takes a while to become proficient. Learn someone else's routine, perform it and see what makes it work. Don't try to reinvent the wheel if you're starting out.

A strong routine is what keeps them from suspecting the other hand.


There are silver dollars, minted in nickel from 1968 to 1986, I believe. Common years shouldn't be much more than a dollar or two each at any decent coin shop. They are a touch smaller than a US silver dollar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_silver_dollar

Obtain On the Spot with Gregory Wilson and you'll learn to vanish those troubles away!

Quick Silver
3/4 Across
Pitch and Ditch
Questionable Trick

...You won't go wrong and there won't be an opportunity for your friends to say, "It's still in that hand."

EZ are those tricks in On the Spot? I was actually thinking of getting it.

YES and the other effects surely make the vid an excellent buy too.

awesome! is there any other things worth purchasing for impromptu street magic?