Having just read yet another 'expert' suggest using the the so called 'Hotrod Force', this time in MUM, I'm forced to ask: Could this be the world's worst force? Do any spectators actually believe they had a free choice?

Why do people use it? It's terrible, and a strong lesson in how NOT to use Equivique.

Okay, rant over.

Yep, I agree that it is the one of the top ten worst forces there is. Yet for some reason, done off handed, as a small part of a routine it can (and does) fly. I am always surprised when I use it that it fools anyone.

I do the hot rod (knife) and simply ask “what’s your favorite color?” No matter what they say, I change the hot rod to the color of the prop. “Yellow? Hey I like yellow too but red is my favorite color.” Do the change and get on with the show.

I put the "Cross-cut" force in the same top ten worse forces and it yet it works too! Go figure.

If you know how the rings work, you can't believe that someone doesn't see the key. If you do cards, the b--k-palm is obvious. Then so is the 1-6 force once you know. That's all there is, your just dissappointed that there isn't more to it.
The mechanics of simplicity allows you to get on with the show and not sweat the basics.
Here's an original force combo you may like, have a blank one-way deck with big circles on the faces. Show the deck has many colors, the do the card force of the color from the duplicate stock. You can also rig a Svengali deck like that.
This will separate the force from the hot rod allowing you to make the change on the hot rod before the color selection is revealed.

The world's worst force would have to be Acer on Equivoque, to be seen on David Acer's On Screen.

It should be noted that Acer on Equivoque is a satirical bit, and not presented as a real force. (I'm sure Doctor D knows that, but anyone who hasn't seen the DVD would not realize this from his comment)

As for the Hot Rod force, it's one of the best around... but only if someone picks numbers 3 or 4.

Max Maven has a great force for a book test on his "Nothing" DVD. I've found that it works well with a hotrod.

Mr. Murphy hit it, do it offhanded. If how the color was selected is remembered after the routine then you shouldn't be trying to do the routine (I say trying because what it comes down to is you are not doing it well).

Yes you can do it off hand, but it is still not strong magic. There is a huge logical flaw that people will pick up on even if only subconciously.

What gets me the most about it, is that magicians continue to create routines based solely on this force.

If the force is the magic then you are in trouble. If you don't like it don't use it, pretty simple eh? The best thing might be to find when someones birthday is and just ask them what the birthstone is for them and you then have the color picked. If you don't find someone with the birthday you don't do it for them. My presentation, by coincidence, is almost exactly like what is found in the books Scripts.

Side note, the dragster from magic smith has a nice force, you really go to any number they say no spelling

A few years ago, I witnessed a young magician from Florida take in a whole room of magicians with a Hot Rod force. It floored us because it wasn't used on a Hot Rod, but in the course of another trick. Before that, I would have thought that it was pretty weak.

...magic,in any context,is only as weak as the performer presenting it.Most magicians who graduate from internet chat rooms into real world performance venues soon realize this.

If Simon Aronson and Eugene Burger use the cross cut force, then there must be something to it.

Remember, laypeople aren't magicians.

Tim hit the nail on the head. Laypeople are not magicians. I've been doing the HotRod for about 25 years, and it always makes jaws drop. Yes, the force is completely lame and seemingly transparent, but not to laypeople. Coincidentally, most people seem to pick 3 or 4 anyway.

Now this is just my honest opinion here, but I would have to say that the worst force I have seen so far is... the riffle force. There is something about it I don't agree with. I think I was turned off by it when I see 50,000 little kids on YouTube cutting the deck and instantly saying, "I'm going to riffle down the deck and just tell me to stop." But they riffle down so tightly, and you can barely see it going down, and then all of a sudden you cut. I would much rather do a dribble or a classic force, which is what I have been working on lately.

When I was starting out, I thought the time delay was the worst. They wouldn't fall for it. However, I soon learned that lay people don't think like we do.

Did they pick 3,4, or o-n-e?

What force are you referring to?

I think a lot of magicians forget what it was like when they first got into magic. There are many tricks that use methods that floored me when I first was learning, but now I see someone use it and might pick out the method they were using right away. It doesn't impress me as much now because I know what they are doing. However, when deciding whether to add material into my own work, I have to try to remember how I would have seen it when I was a layman. What may seem lame to some now, such as the Hot Rod force, still fool laymen. Otherwise, those sleights wouldn't have survived as long as they have.
What I feel is more lame are some of the "new" sleights or methods I've seen come and go just as quickly. Not to say that some new things aren't wonderful and floor both laymen and magicians, and I'm just as guilty as anyone else on looking for the next best thing. However, we also need to remember there is a reason why some things are classics of magic.