Thanks Pop, I needed to hear that. I haven't been successful developing my own routines. Maybe that's because I don't know how.
For the time being, I am going to focus on some of the great stuff out there.

I really enjoyed your ACR video!

We know that the first theatrical effect here is one of repetition, and the closer is one of surprise. We know that that can work fine.

That is a great place to start.

What are the four things that really matter, the things that need to be proven in an ACR?

What is the magical effect that needs to be proved?

It's really their card.
It really goes in the middle.
The magician does no manipulation.
The card really arrives on top.

That's it Andrew. Its funny but all of those are equally important, to construct a good routine. I think when you know how to manage the heat or how to direct the heat is very important. Also put memory cues on these points. This way if your spectator wants to rewind the effect in their mind they will remember the conditions.

Build road blocks they can't overcome or come up with a way it could be done. As you know Andrew, I played with the ACR a ton. May favorite is a 3 phase Do As I Do approach to the ACR. I like that the conditions are perceived the same every time. This was something I got from Al Schneider. Most of his multiphase stuff the starting conditions are the same each time. It took me some thought to get 3 phases to look as the same conditions, with the Do As I Do approach. Jmac



It's really their card=signed no dupes
it really goes in the middle= you could let them place it in the middle, they know it's really theirs and where it goes.
It's really on top = let the spectator turn it over or reveal it.
No manipulation= have it happen in the spectators hands.
This was some of the things I think could help get conviction on the ACR, or things I feel might be important.
Jmac

Couldn't have said it better myself. What is the best order to prove these things?

In what order do the spectators question these things?

At what point do they give up, and admit to themselves they can not come up with a solution?

What should we do at that point?

The answer to the original question - How exactly should I end my ACR - may be seen in the video clip here.



More vividly: people who don't know how to structure a bridge shouldn't be building bridges.

For the 3 phase routine I am talking about.
The moves are pass, bluff pass, dl switch.
Now here is why, Like I said do as I do. So I wanted the conditions to appear the same.
the nuts and bolts are this.
Spectator removes and signs a card.
Spectator replaces their card into the deck, I relax at that point
I may ask how far down into the pack they placed it? at that point I pass.
I feel the pass works well here because they don't know whats to come, or the effect has not been established yet.
I than let them reveal it by turning it it over. I may offer a quick recap. "you put your card where?" they say the middle. "it ended up? " they say on top?????? do it again
because they turn over their card most of the time the card still in their hand.
Sets up for the bluff pass now, there seems to be less heat on the placement.
they are looking for how it comes to the top. I reveal the card on top via DL.
after the tuner over I deal off the top card and hand them the deck and say here you be the magician.
I look at the card miscall it as theirs, and they lift up half of the deck and place just like they have the past 2 times, and they reveal it to be back on top. card came to the top in their hands.
I have found that this plays well ,easy to remember and hard to reconstruct form the spectators view.
all the conditions seem the same.
I stop at that point because I don't feel I need to prove anything.
I do have a longer routine and routine to mess with magicians a bit.
but this 3 phase thing is strong and quick.
Jmac

What's the premise?

The predestined card?
The hypnotized audience?
That pesky card?
My 'Mazing Move?
Can't Catch/Me So Clever?

The climax of a story kinda depends on the premise and development, no?

JMac's being modest. He's left out an amazingly hot phase I've seen him do live on regular people. It's great for magicians I'm sure, but it's smoking for regular people.


My own impression is that controls survive less scrutiny than the DL/switch methods, so I prefer to open with the bold stuff that needs to be misdirected away from, and defer the DL/switch methods to the latter stages of the routine, saving the cleaner methods for when we've got their firm attention.


My personal experience is that the spectator takes cues from us when it comes to what they question. Say we opened the ACR with several passes, when the card is put in the middle. Assuming we don't want them to see the passes, we misdirect from them. This puts heat on the possibility of the magician manipulating the deck. Presumably, at that point, it'd be academic to burn them with something cleaner. Similarly, if we burned them early with something clean, the weaknesses of that method would create new suspicions -- such as, are we really putting the card in the middle?


I'm not sure that we can honestly say when that happens. Thankfully, with an ACR, we don't really need to. With training there's no end of methods at our disposal, and we can adapt to suspicions on the fly.


My own opinion is that this is a presentational issue. If the magician's preference is to stay true to the effect, then the best way to end is to probably go with the Pop-Up card climax, perhaps Daryl's Ultimate Ambition, or else that new thing Dan and Dave put out (forgot the name). If, on the other hand, you want to use the ACR to segue into a different, arguably stronger effect, then what effect you move into depends upon what the ACR was intended to show in the first place. For instance, if you're Tommy Wonder and it's all just an illusion, then the best way to show it's an illusion is to show the card never could have been in the deck in the first place. On the other hand, if the effect is that the card is capable of jumping everywhere, one might want to move into an Everywhere and Nowhere type of sequence. Perhaps the Ambitious Card is actually a Joker that keeps messing up the effect -- it might make sense to take that Joker and tear it up, only to have the Joker appear again, and then show that the torn-up card was the spectator's previous selection. With a certain amount of imagination and creativity, there's probably no end to the number of ways to finish the routine.

So often I see a routine, and when you ask them why they do it that way they don't know why?
they just say it works try it...... I think its important to know why somethings are done.In most cases
if I am asked why I do something in multi phase routine my answer would be something like this. I do this because I did that. ex. I do pass in phase one making a big deal out their card and spectator replacement. so in phase 2 the heat comes after the replacement. The spectator is burning you hands at that point. I'd rather do a dl at that point than a pass.
Jmac

C'mon Jonathan... It's just a card trick! All that theater crap doesn't apply to magic... Does it?

Whit,

Your video demo was very entertaining!
I learned a lot from your presentation.

Thank you so much,

Steve

What Whit says about structuring and the psychology is what I try to get everyone to understand when they ask me why I've been working on my routine for months. I analyze every step and every move and how it is perceived by the spectator. Friends of mine think that it's just the moves that make it magic. They have no idea what separates a trick from a magical effect.
This is the biggest reason I enjoy practicing magic so much, its like a chess game with an invisible man.
Oh, I too end it with a card to wallet! Great reactions!

Does anyone end with a card to shoe?

Yep, The card to shoe is one of my favorites.

Sweet JMAC! I might have to try it someday!