I'm just wondering as to what is your best 5 Magic routines or tricks you use in a Street Magic Gig - I mean paid performance. Let us say for one hour.

With street magic, I start "small and intimate". This allows me to develop a reptoire with the spectators that will grow as the crow grows. The act, itself, also depends on the age demographics for whom I am performing.

1. Hot Rod
2. Crazy Mans Handcuff (three phase routine)
3. Pinnacle
4. Borrowed Ring in Card Box (in match box)
5. Out of this World
6. Card Warp
7. Ambitious Card
8. Paperclipped
9. Cig Thru Half
10. Hopping Half
11. Coins Across
12. Ninja Rings
13. Shell Game
14. Cups & Balls

Normally, however, I would break this up into at least two mini-acts. Recently, I performed four hours of street magic for a fundraiser - I developed six mini-acts that I kept rotating. I was exhausted but everyone seemed to have a great time.

Thanks!

Where can I find the 3 phase Crazy Mans Handcuff?

If I'm just roving around doing Hit&run street magic, I'm armed with:
Time machine
eclipse TT
Loops
invisible deck
DeKram deck & 2 'anywhere' cards
Rinkey-dinkey
mis-made-bill
bitten coin
McAbee rings
Ballerina hank
stealth pen

If I plan to do a set show....then I follow a similar pattern as magicman845, starting small & personal, then at an appointed time, backing them up on an edge to go into the bigger effects like
Helium glass
Iron Garrotte
Miser's dream
Healed & sealed
KevinJames floating rose.

I think it can be found in Michael Ammar's Classic Renditions vol.2 you also get a bonus of Fickel Nickle by John Cornelius.

When I'm strolling I bring:

-the m5
-invisible deck
-loops
-pyro perception
-black hole

I pieced together a 3 phase routine by combining a couple of the effects on vol 1 of Dan Harlan's Rubber Band Magic video. Here's what I do:

1. CMH - In the first phase, I specifically point out that I use 2 rubber bands. I even let the spectators examine them. Then I do the standard CMH effect.

2. In the Spectators Hand - I then ask if they want to see it again. Everyone always says yes. I tell them that I'll do it again, but I will need the help of one of the spectators. I have a spectator hold one of the rubber bands outstretched between the index fingers of both hands, making sure the rest of the spectators can clearly see the band. I then put the second rubber band in place and cause it to penetrate yet again.

3. Melt - I then tell the spectators that, although I'm not supposed to do this, I will show them the effect one last time. The spectators see the two rubber bands being handled in exactly the same manner as when I did the original CMH effect. I explain that the real magic is NOT that two rubber bands penetrate each other. The real magic is that there is only one rubber band. As I say this, the second rubber band visibly vanishes and I am left holding only one band.

In this manner, the spectators see three slightly different effects, with each phase being stronger than the last, and the climax being totally unexpected.

3 phase CMH is also in Michael Ammar's Magic Book... I think...

Michael Ammar's 3 phase routine is different. He does the exact same effect 3 times, but simply from 3 different angles. Although the spectator thinks he is getting a "better view" of the effect each time, it is actually the opposite.

It's interesting that Michael Ammar incorporated this effect in his book since many of his other materials talk against the repetition of an effect, based upon the law of diminishing returns. In other words, repeating the same effect time and time again results in a lessened degree of astonishment to the spectator.

It was actually because of Michael Ammar's advice in that regard that I chose not to adopt his routine. In my routine, the effect (and to some degree even the method) is different in each case. Each phase pulls the spectators into the effect more and more. And the final ending is completely unexpected.

Thus, although I do purport to repeat the effect 3 times, there are no diminishing returns on the impact to the spectators.

Invisible Deck
ACR
Two-card monte
Ultimate transpo
Crazy man`s handcuffs
Rising Card
Svengali Deck
Stealth pen
Scotch and Soda
etc.
etc.
Endless possibilities

Regarding the Stealth Pen. What is its difference from the other Pen Thru Bills in the market?

I am BTW hitting on tricks or routines that can be done walk around with no tables at hand.

Thanks for all your input!

With the m5 you can do numerous effects...

The Stealth pen is the best I think. No switch is needed, you can write with it and it can be used for "pen thru card", since it has exactly the right size. I prefer it to all other pens.

I always take with me,

black hole

the elevator

the raven or M5

some rubberbands

cards, (of course)


a gimmicked note for self folding bill

a can of coke ready so I can do healed and sealed soda

an IT setup, either Fearsons hook-up, the hummer card, or real floating card

melt

these are some of the best, but of the strings, can always get tangled so I always take a bag

Isn't a "paid street magic gig" an oxymoron?

I generally start a strolling magic performance with rubber bands
broken and restored
CMH
Then I use the rbs to introduce string and string
The string moves down two loops of rbs
The ring travels up a sloped rb.

I then do a 6 phase ring and string routine

From there on it's ad-lib depending on the reactions.

Those are all great suggestions.....

What happened to the gig?

Great and I had fun! It was super close. The spectators were all around me, more than a thousand came. It was more of a walk around with no tables and super surrounded 3-6 inches away from me. Some were really touching me already.

What effects worked for me?

Still Ringing - Aldo Colombini - with variations
Ambitious Card Routine
Coins Across with Expanded 5 Peso shell coin
My own Sponge Ball routine followed by Sponge in Spectator's hand
Crazy Man's Handcuff - 2phases
Biddle Grip Trick from an Ellusionist video
A Force from an Ellusionist video wherein you read a spectator's mind
Phobia by Kevin Wade
Straw Through Card
Pyro Perception

Although I was not able to perform much of Pyro Perception (once only), Coins Across and Phobia (twice only)

Greatest Reactions in Order:

1. My Sponge Ball Routine followed by Sponge in Spectator's hand
2. Straw Thru Card
3. Ambitious Card Routine
4. Biddle Grip Trick
5. A Force from an Ellusionist video wherein you read a spectator's mind
6. Crazy Man's Handcuff - 2phases

5 peso shell coin... *drools* LOL

Deck of cards
rubber bands (CMH)
IT
TT
Pocket full of half dollars
Okito box
finger blister effect
impromptu mentalism