Hi all,

I used to work the close-up gallery at The Magic Castle as part of their Jr. program. Also used to work a Sunday Brunch at a waterfront restaurant as well as private gigs whenever I got booked.

Anyways, I haven't performed in about 10 years and done got myself a "normal" career, but I figured it would be a shame to let my sleight of hand atrophy so I've been practicing lately.

I would like to know what are the most popular routines of the past decade?

EDIT: Also, I used to post here under the name "Drizzt240" but I no longer have access to the password or the email associated with it at the time.

Just to give you the idea of my magic, a simple walk-around set might open with Sponge balls, do Hundy 500 and close with ACR.

Not much new, some of my favourites over the last 10 years have been Digital Force Bag, Code Breaker, Stand Up Monte, Volition, Nothing But The Truth and Tiny Plunger

There's also been a huge rise in Rubik's Cube solving!

I had been rotating three restaurants before the pandemic...through 5 years of trial and error the "classics" are still my effects of choice.

My goal is to make each routine modular and VISUAL. My go-to effects are a Sponge Ball-Routine, Linking Rings (sometimes I use stage sized as they can be seen by folks at other tables. When I get a table craning their necks to see what's going on, I know that they would be a good table to approach later on), Chop Cup (Jiggernaut has become a stand by in recent months due to its compact nature), Mis-Made Bill ( I only recently began to practice and perform MMB...I always wonder what took me so long to incorporate this effect into my restaurant work as it gets such a great response!), and a simple coins across routine.

It took a Loooong time for me to bring only the effects mentioned above to work and leave the overflowing close-up case of, "extra-stuff-just-in-case-magic" at home. I admit to occasionally including the latest and greatest trick of the month into the act (cubes, cell phones, and sharpies) but tend to perform those at more formal close-up performances or at corporate events where I can work behind a table.




Card effects are kept to a minimum and basically consist of a rotation between two gaffed decks...ID and Mental Photography.I know purists might choose card effects that rely on normal decks and sleight of hand. But as I said...5 years of table hopping has proven to me what gets the best reactions for ME. I have absolutely nothing against sleight of hand card magic with a regular deck and am proficient at a number of moves and routines...if that even matters in the grand scheme of things.


Fortunately for us, audiences are not that savvy as to what the new and improved magic is that constantly gets released to the magic community. The vast majority of my audiences have never seen a sponge ball routine before or have any idea that a House Magician is even a thing. So, long story short, if you were comfortable with the effects you did 10 years ago, chances are they will still be as well received by todays audiences as they were back in the day. However, there is obviously a plethora of effects that have been released in the last 10 years shouldyou feel that your act needs a facelift...

Thankyou both for response.

I will give those effects a look.

Wimpy, I'm finding what you said to be true. Not much has changed in 10 years and the vast majority of lay audiences haven't seen close up magic.

Do what you know. You’ll be golden.

RobertApodaca:

Montana76 hit the nail on the head.

And you, sir, are right......most "Civilians" have NOT seen Real Magic "Up Close and Personal"......and when they do see a REAL, skilled and experienced Close Up Magician perform right in front of their faces....they FRY.

And, for what it's worth (as you well know)....sleight of hand has NOT changed in the last 10 years........which is why I always tell youngsters starting out in Magic to learn sleight of hand.

Good luck and have fun!

A whole new genre has emerged since 10 years ago: Smartphones magic.
They go over very well for the modern audience as they are very relatable to them.

Gotta learn how to start collecting decks. Have fun.

Don’t use product names or commercial terms that can easily be googled and revealed.

“Here I have an invisible deck...”

13 year old brings up YouTube video....

good one! I've learned not to care about the YouTube thing but still, a great idea.
Example: I call the Prof NM ..."the <pick a country> 2 rope mystery"

Excellent recommendation.

I’ll tell you what’s new - nothing since Covid! The new force pads are hot (think magic coloring book), and there are several electronic gizmos available which are amazing. I have a small die Iuse that blows people away, they put a number up and you know what it is. I think there are several versions on the market.

Apps like Inject, Wikitest, CubeSmith

As others have mentioned, a lot of the new stuff is technology based. Whether that is a watch, cube, dice, or special app. Like you said though, most people have not seen close up magic in person and sponge balls, Hundy 500, and ACR will still get great reactions.

I have the calculator on my phone-- How do I get to the home screen?
Thanks

Funny part about the question is that the stuff from 10 years ago probably seems new!!

With not much posting going on in the Café these days, I'll go back and randomly browse old posts.

You're spot on! I'm learning so much from old posts!

The magazine from Europe, MAGICSEEN, has good new stuff regularly, in my opinion.

If you want to find the hottest new magic tricks of 2021, just look at "The Jinx" from 1939...

I guess the question what’s new?
but really what do you want to do?

Most anything that is new should be looked at very closely, advertising is very deceptive.

Not to say there is nothing on the market cause there is a ton.
I find looking at older books and magic magazines a great inspiration.

We don’t always have to buy something.
Most likely you already have a killer effect at your finger tips.
Nickoli

Hi Nickoli,
Glad to have you back. I took a break years ago from magic too. But I finally realized nothing can add the fun and laughs to my everyday laugh that magic does.

Imgc's point is very important. Try to somehow make your tricks "not easily searchable on the net. But there is now also an overall trend of magic being more visual. This is good if it can be done convincingly. If as often, it requires too much setup, isn't reliable enough, etc... it is usually not worth it. But I would say that there have been some amazingly visual trends in close up magic. You just have to ask others what they use and it might help to look at lists here on the magic Café like "the best 5 effects I do" or the "best effects of the year."
At the same time, caution is needed. Often we as magicians can fool ourselves with the "new" which is often a classic in new clothes.

I am sure you have some great magic and have the contacts you need to get the best advice. Welcome back!!!