I have been asked to give a talk at a local round table meeting. They would like it to last about an hour and to include some humerous stories about life as a magician (I have plenty of those!!). They also suggested that I might demonstrate how a couple of tricks are done. Instead of that what I intend to do is show them tricks that have false explanations of the method built in to the routine. Off the top of my head I can think of half-dyed silk and sucker silk to egg which are both a little similar as they involve pushing silks into your closed fist, so I would only use one of these. Has anyone got any suggestions of others I could consider using?

Torn/Restored Napkin is a classic and you could show them how to make a napkin rose????
Napkin over the head might be fun for everyone bar the sucker too
3 card monte would also be a good one to show - but not explain - with the sucker - bent corner thrown in...

I like sucker silk to egg. And torn and restored napkin is not bad also.

Why not create one yourself? all you need for a sucker effect is a mislead. since you will be giving talks to people that aren't too familiar with magic, it will be easier to mislead them. .. or not.

Why not really reveal an effect? If its not a magic show and more of a speech, revealing a trick of your choice wont ruin anything, it will make them more intrigued.

3 shell game could possible be fun to show them.

Thanks for the advice guys. I gave the talk yesterday and it was a great success. I decided in the end to develop a couple of routines especially for the performance and then deconstruct them for the audience to show how the effects were achieved. I wanted them to be simple enough for the lay audience to remember and then perform at home. I ended up with a simple card revelation utilising the crossing the cut force and a book test with a mathematical force of page number. The rest of the performance consisted of a brief history of magic along with me performing some of the classics. It lasted an hour and the question and answer session afterwards continued for a further 45 minutes!! Just goes to show how fascinated the public are with magic! Thanks again for your help.

How big is the audience and what are the seating arrangements?

If the situation is appropriate, you could do a gambling routine using something like Vernon's Poker Deal (Dai Vernon Book of Magic), 3-card Monte (Inner Secrets Trilogy) and finish them off with the 3 Shell Game if you do that sort of thing. You don't even have to "tip the goods," but just talk about how gamblers can control the cards and show them.

Instead of the Vernon Poker Deal, you could use a basic poker routine and do a very obvious "bottom deal" then show them what it looks like "for real" without having to do anything (you follow how I'm setting this up, I assume).

This way, it makes you look even better that you might be (I have no way of knowing how good your chops are) and they will really appreciate "getting the goods" on the cheats!

Hope this helps!

Lee Darrow, C.H.

Please, whatever you do, don't reveal a secret. Any respect thay had for your amazing skill and art will diminish rapidly. Think about it.

I dislike sucker tricks, anyway. Most of them demean at least one menber of the audience, and by implication, the whole audience. There may be exceptions, but they are few. Sucker tricks may be effective with kids, but probably should be avoided with adult or mixed audiences. If you just have to do a sucker trick, make it light-hearted and in a spirit of fun.

I don't think there is anything wronge with a sucker trick, assuming you figure out how to take the "sting" out of the trick.

For instance, Dunburry drop is a great trick, but with an obvious sucker moment. I always play it like Im startled that Im wronge, and as an after thought I show the card is right...

This doesn't work for every trick.
Sometimes you can explain this is a sucker trick used to swindle people at of money at carnivals. This is not only a great hook, but it takes the sting out.

The fiber optic rope is a good one:P

Ther eyou can sau the explanation is whatever you want.. glue ? or whatever to get one rope and hand it out after that and they will sure say you glued them very well

I like that one

also the explanation part when you say it is static electric that can hold them together and you make a loop

I really like some of the sucker effects on the market but I've learned to apply a principle I learned from Scott Guinn's lecture notes, that is I turn the effect around so that the sting is on me and the volunteer succeeds, if possible. It works beautifully in his Topsy Turvy Bottles routine which I use with my Confusing Crayons with great success.

Joe

I like The Finger Print Card Trick from Volume 1 of Inner secrets of Dai Vernon.