If you needed a full night of table-hopping material and had a budget of up to $100 to spend on close-up props, what would you buy for about a 3 hour evening?

Some rope, sponge balls, four half dollars, and a deck of cards. Thinking about it, maybe two decks of cards.


Dan

A more interesting question might be having a budget of only $5 or $10.

As for me, it would be about the same as Dan except I would add Ninja Rings and a card-to-wallet.

As many volumes of Tarbell as I could get for a beaner.

Yeah, $100 is way too much. You can easily do it for under $20.

A deck of cards! And when I was done with the table-hopping gig, I'd go get a really great meal somewhere.

Alright, suppose it was under $15...

$100 - two decks of cards, two Sharpies and dinner afterwards.
$15 (or less) - two decks of cards, two Sharpies and dinner afterwards.

You people seem to like cards.

$15. That's a good round number.

$1 cards, $1 PN Ropes, $2 sponge balls, $10 rings (cheap version of Ninja), $1 Sharpie

Of course, we love cards. They are wonderful for so many things.
Every kind of magic effect can be done with cards. Vanishes, productions, transpositions, transformations, etc. The only thing missing with cards are the entertaining presentations to go with them.

Yep, I like cards too. I use them just as much as the next person. Where can I get these $10 rings you speak of?!?!

Would they carry them at a brick and mortar shop - the $10 ones? BTW, I already do the rings stage size. (I'm performing with them in my second stage performance tomorrow!) I'll PM you, Frank.

I'd buy a new jacket at Walmart, a box of cards at Costco, a box of sharpies at Staples, a Thumb tip, a paper bag, a prescription bottle, and keep the other $15.

Interesting, dbaker.

Of course. Ask for the Ninja Rings or the cheaper Empire rings. The Empire rings are the best of the cheapos.

Can you tell me what the difference is between the Ninja Rings and cheaper versions?

I have a cheap set (while I learn some of the moves), and to be honest, they seem fine to me - apart from the key being a little too small, which is easily sorted out. Is there a practical advantage to shelling out on better rings? Are they more or less "springy", do they last longer, make moves any easier, or what? I'm not against spending money, but there needs to be some value.

I'm not interested in gold coloured rings, btw. I believe that these tend to be plated in some way, and I guess the plating would be prone to come off on cheaper sets. Is this also the case with cheap steel-coloured rings?

So here's the thing. I "believe" that a set of Empire Rings are exactly the same as Ninja Rings. They are made by the same people. The only difference is one says Empire on the box and one has Shoot's photo and "Ninja Rings" on the other. This is what I've been TOLD...I don't know if it's true or not.

My experience...I have broken welds on both Empire Rings and Silver Ninja Rings. I use the Gold Ninja Rings and have been using the same set now for a few years. No breaks...they are VERY STRONG. The gold color is still there, tho' I think they are just silver rings that have been dipped and you pay extra for the dipping, but these seem to me to be the strongest set of close up rings ever.

I for one enjoy spending extra money for nice props. Maybe it's a mental thing. I don't know. But people notice quality, I think. Even a laymen who's never seen a set of rings before, I think would notice a nice set of rings vs. a cheap Royal magic set.

Just my opinion...

Personally...I could do 3 hours with a deck of cards and never repeat the same trick. I'm sure many of the workers here in the forum are in the same boat that I'm in.

I think instead of wasting money and giving the "appearance" of a store bought act, you should keep it simple. Carry a deck of cards with you and maybe a few coins, a thumb tip, and let that be it! When I perform in a strolling setting, I enjoy borrowing objects from people (money, rings, etc.) and making the magic with that.

So your cost should run about $5 or less...

$15.00, enough gas to get me to and from the gig.

Well, if you're going to include the cost of gas to get to and from the gig, there goes Kurt's $100!