I'm looking for any tricks that will have a fighting chance in fooling any seasoned magician. Any suggestions?

The reason for this posting is that I need some ideas for an upcoming closeup competition in my town and the judges are professional magicians.

I understand where you're coming from, but your best best is to impress them with your presentation, your patter and your handling. Strive for originality and polish. Chances are they will know how you're doing your stuff but they will be most impressed by the things above.

Of course if fooling them is all you care about you are going to have to look for unorthodox methods to accomplish standard effects. Sid Fleishman published a number of items like this in his, "The Charlatan's Handbook". Things like doing the Chinese Prayer Vase with a clear bottle!

But I still say that the magician who walks away with the prize will not likely have done so just because he "fooled" the judges.

Good luck to you!

Presentation, not method, is the key to your uniqueness. A method that "fools magicians" may be more of a line to sell products/methods. So who is fooling who?

After all, by the time a method gets to you, it has been through hundreds, perhaps thousands of hands. For you to "fool magicians", you must be simply quicker to obtain the method than the others.

I think it's the difference between doing a trick and making magic and wonder. Would you praise a movie that had great special effects and a script that sucks? On the other hand, you can make magical moments - in theater for example, with no effect at all - just yourself.

IT's up to you on what routine you will structure.

As for me, I'd make a killer Ambitious Card Routine. An example of an a killer Ambitious Card Routine is Daryl's F.I.S.M. act. All the moves he does makes sense. The spread, the cuts, the outjogs, all of it has a reason why he does it, and as he does it, buildup is made to reach his Ultimate Ambition.

Think of it, give it some thought... you'll find a way/...

If you do run of the mill stuff that everyone else does, you'll have to be extremely good with your presentation... I mean really, really good, in order to set yourself apart. Conversely, coming up with something 100% original is a very hard thing to do, especially in short order.

Best bet... pick something that is slightly off the beaten path that stands a chance of showcasing your personality. Exhibit enough sleight of hand to convince the judges you know some (but no more than you can handle); work for the audience and not for the table or to one volunteer; show some originality in the presentation (mimics rarely score high, regardless of how well they can do someone else's routine); and remember that brevity is a virtue. Do not attempt to dazzle them with every thing you know. Best to stay under the time limit by a good margin... get in, kick butt, and get out.

Don't even try to fool the judges. If you happen to, then hooray for the home team. But, assume that many professional magicians have been in the game long enough to have seen a lot of what you probably know.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

I fully agree with Clifford here.

Your goal is to give the best performance you can give.

Consider your props (cards, sponge balls, etc.) as music instruments and when you are performing, it is like acting or singing to the audience while playing your instrument. And your goal is to please the audience.

As an example, Michael Close performs the Invisible Deck trick without an ID (magician's fooler). Bill Malone performs is with the ID. As far as the performance is concerned, many people here on the Café prefer Bill Malone's.

As a musician, I can play certain tunes and I know many tunes that I don't play. It is not because I know the tune already that I won't like someone else singing it.

So give the best. It's Showtime.

Matt

I have found that reading a lot of old magic books and manuscripts you will find many gems that have gone by the wayside and their methods are no longer recognized by magicians. When you think you may have stumbled on something good, personalize it with your own special touches. You might just come up with a real winner. Good luck!!
God Bless,
Lauren

I agree with Lauren Benson and woofledust, about presentation, first of all you can change the idea of a trick around by yourway of presentiing it, like the acr, I think it was sankey who did the magnet card routine but it's basically the same idea the card keeps rising, and with the none (mainstream?) tricks, I sure you can go to barns and noble and pick up some old books or ask or local magic shop dealer with combine the two,most peole don't know but with jaY sankey and holy moly, you see that trick has been around for a long long time but has been to be forggoten by people so he brought it back under a new name and concent by using it with washers instead of coins,

I am not sure if my response will make any sense.
If you find two effects that will fool any magician you may end up stone cold last and here is why.
They may not create a proper routine and not be entertaining at all. You have to create something special almost "a reason" in your routine.
As an example if you know how to produce a double cheese burger out of thin air after showing both your hands empty before and after the effect and I asked for chicken mayo sandwich I will be impressed with your effect and skill but not by your lack of understanding of spoken english since I asked for a sandwich and you produced something that had "no reason". If you used a prop and produced a chicken mayo sandwich (which I asked for) I would be a lot more impressed and entertained. I hope this makes sense.
Routining and presentation are far more imporatnt that the actual execution of the effect.

Pick up some old copies of the 'Magigram', or get a copy of 'The Jinx' (now in either three bound volumes, or all three on a CD-ROM).

You will find lots of 'forgotten' tricks and ideas here which will give you effects that are unknown to the majority of magicians.

I have just finished building a Cabinet of Sefalaljia first described in detail by Stewart James in the Jinx (Vol 2). This has certainly got the magicians fooled at my usual Magic Society. And it was published in 1940!

It took me a while to realise that I don't HAVE to be different I just have to be good. Daryl's 'Ambitious Card Routine' at F.S.I.M is an excellent example. Take an effect which you really like and are good at and do a search on the Café for it to see how others perform it to give you idea.

Next, the inevitable question: Why?

Contest?
Club Meeting?

Steve

Dear Zur,

Judges aren't looking for something that fools them, but, when it does that's cool. Most contest are judged on talent, style, originality and over all presentation. Just do a good show and don't worry about how you place. Contest are really designed for you to show your wares and grow as a performer.
Lance Burton's Gold Medal show was hardly original... it was very, very, very superbly done!
Did I mention... talent contest are also designed so other magicians can steal your good stuff? Just kidding or am I?

Kregg

Well, I think that Vince Mendoza's Found Link Rhing Thing is new enough, low intro price until Sept. 11th, an ominous day, and good enough that that may do. It's at http://www.flipsideproductions.com/MAGIC/FLRT.htm

Also remember that the Godfather of Magic just came out with his new Godfather DVD, low pre-order price still up, at http://members.aol.com/vinsmagic/ - the newer the stuff, the better!

Other than that, X-Deck by David Forrest at http://www.magictricks.co.uk/prodshow.asp?code=32

Or a new twist on the Invisible Deck with the Black Tiger version of it at Ellusionist - at least it will be stunning looking. Won't fool any magician of course.

But I'd take the time to get good at the 3 Card Monte Will Haydn style - a good monte is always good to have down and from what I can tell he's got enough info in his package so you can always win if needed. I'm planning on getting it by next week!