I'm fairly new to this board, so I am not sure if this is a former discussion, but what is the most impromptu, impromptu trick?

I Like Meir Yedid's Arm Twister, and my own little creation, knuckle Cracker (David Copperfield performs almost the same effect called thumbs) Also Meir Yedid's, Finger Fantasies would be good, but I just don't have extremely flexible fingers.

Meir Yedids Arm Twister: Ask the audience or someone to do as you do. Place your right arm on the ground, and Twist it as far towards your body as possible. Some audience members may get 180 degrees, but you will get 360 (crunching noises optional)

Knuckle Cracker: You can contort your twisted interlocked hands around to normal, but the audience assistant can't.

Finger Fantasies: Make each of your fingers disappear one by one, very realistic.

Now I know why you guys don't type effects.

Lemme ask you this, is there any prop you carry with you? Usually a magician will have some small trick in his wallet, or a few gimmicked coins. If you have the time to learn coin sleights then no matter where you are there are several tricks you can perform using borrowed coins and just plain old sleight of hand.

I usually have my TT on me. A great impromptu trick is one using banknotes from a spec. You lay them across each other and get them to note that, say, the £5 is on the bottom and the £10 is on the top. You roll them up and get them to put their fingers on the corners so you can't do anything tricky(!) When you unroll them, they appear to changed places. This is a real killer!!!
:evilgrin:

I use my TestaCroce (Heads or Tails) almost exclusively for an impromptu. No setup, No gimmick, lots of audience involvement and plays BIG. 2 Quarters are always available. I also carry an English Penny and Irish Punt for Muscle pass/French drop routining. For a play by play of the TestaCroce check
» » Show me the money » » TestaCroce "Heads or Tails"

TestaCroce Video has been posted. For more info check my post in Secret Sessions

You could always try some impromtu mind reading - i.e "Think of a number..."

Logan

You asked about what props we carry. In my coin purse I always keep a small pair of dice with which I can do the "Paradice" routine from George Anderson's "Magic Digest." It's similiar to the dice routine that Bob Sheets does, but the dice are very compact.

Most convenient impromptu trick I have...
Banachek's Psychokinetic Time.... Most of the time someone will be wearing a watch in your company, or use your own... place the watch in the specs hand and tell them to pick a number say, between... 60-120 say they pick 90, you tell them you will make the time on the watch move 90 minutes,
they open their hand and it has... GREAT trick, GREAT reaction, TOTALLY impromptu.
Tom

Since everyone carries a wallet, I find that using a fire wallet is great. It destroys the spectators natural restinice to seeing magic, after they see the wallet, they will walk over and ask you to do magic. And its totally impromtu!

Yeah, but it will get you thrown outta the Exxon station pretty quickly when you pay for your gas... lol

I think the most impromptu effects you can do fall into the psychological force genre of magic. Straight forward mind reading effects with no props that play big. The only drawback is that they aren't 100% sure-fire, but in the hands of the right performer, they look about as close to real magic as you can get.

Check out Banachek's "Psychological Subtleties" and Derren Brown's "Pure Effect" and "Devil's Picturebook" for more on this kind of material.

take care,
kou

At a resteraunt, Knife thru Napkin, you may find it in a number of magic books as, Pencil thru Silk.

Propwise: Pen thru Anything

Mental: Presidential Prediction (you predict what President a spectator is thinking of)

I forgot to mention that Docc Hilford has a specific method of psychologically forcing a card on a spectator that he teaches on his video "Real Mindreading." Richard Osterlind has a similar routine in "Dynamic Mysteries" but his version (and he strongly suggests this) requires you to wait until you have already established a rapport with the person you are working with for it to be effective. In that sense, it's not totally impromptu - but it's still a great trick.

Another thought: Although not completely impromptu (but pretty close) is Penomenon (especially when you use it with the EM Pocket Charger.)

A very visual and stunning PK effect that can be done with an everyday object, and you can even let the participant do all the work - that's its best selling point.

If you like this kind of effect, there are lots of impromptu stuff with hands, the classic thumb off (can be done with a ring on it, to "prove" you're using only one thumb), different variations to take your thumb off, or twist it; you can also make noise as if you broke your fingers (great sound!) ...When you make your little finger disappear, (Meir Yedid effect) you can also turn your hand to show the other side (similar method, and watch your angles!)

These are not really killer effects, perhaps not really magic effects, but can be fun to do, and it's impromptu! You can find these in one of the 3 Dan Harlan's tapes (impromptu magic) and The encyclopedia of impromptu magic. (Gardner)

I usually carry some half dollar sized coins with me. Also keep myself hooked up with the LeClair animator from time to time - it's fun to make the salad croutons run across the lettuce.

Dearest 1o1,
Point taken, I was dem-ing some magic for Mast Media productions and I didn't want my wallet to to fail first time so I literally dowsed it beforehand. This unfortunately set the fire alarms off in the whole complex including a live broadcast in another studio. Funnily enough, by the time we were all standing outside of the building during the routine check, not one person walked over to me and asked me to do magic!! Dr Amazo mentions that it destroys a spectator..
and that's exactly what I had to convince them I wasn't trying to do!!! Silly me. Oh well, you live and learn.

My "truly impromptu trick" is from Richardson's book "Theatre of the Mind" and is called "Truth To Tell." You require one small object, like a penny or dime, or a paper clip, or even a corner torn off a napkin or note pad.

I've changed/customized my presentation for use one-on-one which is how I find myself doing it most often.

Check it out - its a fooler!

mike

Mike

I'm very glad to hear that you use "Truth To Tell." It's one of those effects that I love the sound of but have always been wary of. I've never performed it, as I felt the method may be a bit transparent and also the instuctions to the participants quite complex. Probably just me being paranoid.

Anyway, it would be great if you could let me know:

1. Do you ever get pulled up by participants who guess the method?

2. Do you ever have participants not following the instructions properly and messing up the effect?

If so, how do you deal with the above?

Any other thoughts and observations would be most welcome.

Thanks
Dave

I have never had either of these occur, so can't really comment on them. I guess part of making sure #2 is not a problem is being very clear in your instructions and including possible responses as part of the instructions.

It does tend to be confusing if the "L" hand is answering the question. That's where example responses can help.

My advice: quit worrying about it and try it a few times.

I've also seen this done on stage with several participants. Even more amazing under these conditions.

mike

Thanks Mike

I'll give it a go and let you know how I get on.

Cheers
Dave

There is a good vanishing sugar trick in
"Magic for Dummies." that book also has a good "sugar to equal" trick, which looks like a TT trick but leaves you clean-