Crazy Man Handcuff always works great for me as opener... and after that I follow with simplex monte before I go to my card routine...

For many years I used the approach to approaching a group found in Simon Lovell's Simon Says book. The first magic routine I usually did was a personalization of Simon Lovell's "Fingered #3" routine. The main difference between his routine and mine is that I do not use the Braue reversal. Instead, I force the "wrong" card on myself using a slip force. If you are familiar with Simon's routine, I think that probably made sense. If not, feel free to PM me and I'll try to be clearer.

Recently, however, I've been using a non-card opener that I've found to work well, at least for me. It is Karl Hein's Rainmaker. Rainmaker is similar to the different versions of Pat Page's "Easy Money" routine except it is not a routine where $1 bills become $100 bills. Instead, five $1 bill becomes a whole bunch of $1 bills. It is more of a production than a transposition.

Here's my patter for the routine. Some of it comes from a ring and string routine of Michael Close's. Let's say I'm working the holiday party for a bookstore. I approach a group and introduce myself. Let's say I use the approach to approaching a group found in Jamie D. Grant's "The Approach." Then, after the group knows who I am, I find out one spectator's name. Let say her name is Valerie. I tell Valerie I'm going to give her a little memory test. I ask her if she has a good memory. No matter what her answer, I say, "Great! You're going to be perfect for this!" I bring out the Rainmaker bills and show the group that I have five $1 bills. I say to Valerie, "So Valerie, what is your middle name?" She answers. I say, "That's correct." A lot of times the spectators will laugh at that. I then say, "What is the best bookstore in Oregon?" She likely will say the name of the bookstore for whom she works. I say, "Correct again." I then say, "And how many bills did I have here?" She says "Five." I pause for just a moment, and then say, "I think you meant to say 25," as I show that I now have a whole bunch of bills. The spectators always react at that point. When the reactions start to subside, I say, "Well, two out of three isn't bad." As I'm saying that, I'm resetting the trick and putting the bills away.

Obviously, I change the second question to fit the group I'm working for. If I'm working for a car dealership, I'd ask, "Who's the best car dealer in town?" If I'm performing at a restaurant in Anytown, I might ask, "Where is the best place to eat on a Friday night in Anytown?"

One of the reasons why I like this as an opener is because I'm able to interact just a bit with a spectator, but the magic still happens very quickly. When all those bills seem to appear out of nowhere, it seems to grab the spectators' attention, and I think it sets them up to want to watch more of my magic. At least, I hope it does.

Jay

Just to clarify a couple of things in my last post. I believe I got the idea about giving the spectator a memory test from David Williamson's presentation for Dr. Daley's Last Trick. As I mentioned, asking the spectator what their middle name is came from Michael Close. I think asking the spectator what is the best bookstore or whatever in the area was inspired by something in a Barrie Richardson routine (the "Lazy Mentalist," maybe?).

Just wanted to make sure I credited everyone. If I missed somebody, I'm sorry!

Jay

One more thing -- Rainmaker is available as a DVD and/or download from Penguin. I've read a few things on the Café about the effect and spectators' backtracking to the method. Since I use this as an opener and then go onto other magic, I think that kind of "short circuits" their backtracking. At least, from the comments I have heard, it seems to.

Jay

Bill Breaker by Bizzaro ..
Quick, and they know immediately
who you are. ...

Hmmm. I could see Bill Breaker working with the presentation I use with Rainmaker. You could ask the spectator what bill you were holding, they would say a one, you say "I think you meant to say a five [or whatever]." After they react, you could say, "I'm just joking. You were right the first time" as you change the bill back.

Jay

Hi Joseph,

I read one post on here that Bill Breaker has an angle issue. I'm able to do Rainmaker in strolling situations because I'm able to hide the gaff with my body from those people who might be behind me. Can you do the same with Bill Breaker?

Thanks,
Jay

Yes...

95% of the time, Chop Cup exactly how Don Alan did it.

Actually.
I'm now producing a 20 inch tall Champagne bottle - best for strolling at parties not in a restaurant setting.

Thanks for the information! If I get Bill Breaker, make it up, and try it at a gig, I'll be happy to report back about what happened.

Jay

I asked on another thread about what Chop Cup routine you use. Now I guess I know. I think I remember seeing Don Alan on video doing the Chop Cup seated. I don't have my Don Alan book with me to check. :-( Do you perform the routine seated? Do you do it standing, loading out of your pockets? I hope I'm not being a pest by asking so many questions. I'm just really curious about your approach to the routine.

Thanks!

Jay

I open with gone deck followed usually by a triumph routine. Gets their attention instantly!

This may seem bold, but I normally open with "conversation." Ask how everyone is doing, chit chat with the kiddos if there are any, etc. Kids are normally on a device at first, so I take an interest in whatever they're playing or looking at. I want to be their friend. Then I move into the magic. 99% of the time, that's how I'll open.

It's not about the steak. It's about the sizzle! It's NOT about the magic. It's about YOU!

Then, after the introductions, I think Christopher opens with the old standard "flash paper on spectator's eyeball."

When someone starts the heavily overused "what do you guys do" thread, it's always polite to start by letting us know what YOU do.

Thank you, Dean, for your refreshing post, free from begging and queries demanding the results from other people's hard work.


I often use the profesosr's nightmare because it can immediately involve several spectators.
Sometimes I start with cards, but I'd prefer not to unless the perfect opportunity presents itself.

The PN has so many opportunities for interaction built-in.
As such, it invites a lot of interaction from the spectators, allowing the audience to fill the gaps, which would otherwise be filled with boring "patter".

I also often begin with conversing with people. At the same time, I do find myself in situations where it just seems more appropriate to get into the magic quickly.

If there are a lot of people at an event, and I'm being paid to get to as many of them as I can, I usually begin by saying, "I'm sorry to interrupt you folks, but they're paying me to interrupt everyone." And, then, I'm into the magic. If I'm going to open with cards, I'll often say, "You get one free quick card trick." I pause for a moment as I pull the deck (not in a box) out of my pocket. I pay attention to their responses. If no one responds negatively, I just go right into the magic. My feeling is that if they do not respond negatively that they are tacitly giving me permission to perform. If they do respond negatively (happens very rarely), I talk with them to see what's going on. Sometimes it just isn't the right time for that group, and I'm cool with that.

I think the "interrupting" opener came from Gregory Wilson. I think the "free card trick" line came from Simon Lovell.

Unlike some magicians, I have no problem opening with cards. For years I did many strolling gigs doing almost all card tricks. The only non-card stuff I did was the occasional sponge ball routine for kids and professor's nightmare for larger groups. Lately I'm been doing other stuff too, but I think it is possible to mainly do card tricks and make them fun for people.

Christopher, thanks for mentioning the "conversation" opener! I think a lot of magicians forget about that very viable option.

Jay

Hi Frank,

Any chance you'd be willing to talk a bit more about how you present the PN? When I perform the PN, I interact with the spectators in the beginning as they are examining the ropes. In the middle part, when I am doing the routine itself, I don't interact that much with them. My script has to do with hypnotizing them (ala James Lewis' presentation). One of the hypnotic suggestions I give them is to "live long and prosper" as I hold up the "Vulcan" hand. Many times people will respond in kind. I also get their involvement at the end by using a "restoration" of Richard Sanders where two spectators end up holding two of the three ropes. However, your post has me wondering if I'm missing some additional opportunities for interaction.

Just to give you an idea of what I do in the beginning, I hand out all three ropes to be examined. I make sure a lady examines the medium or long rope. When I get back the short rope, which is 10", I ask her how long she'd say the short piece of rope is, in inches. She guesses (usually around 7 or 8), and I give her hints so that she'll say 10". I then say, "your first guess was actually a pretty good one. One night I showed this to a group of hair dressers, and one said she thought that this [I point to the short piece of rope] was three inches long. [Pause until the laughter subsides.] She had been drinking. [Pause.] But, still, that's scary! And that's a true story; I could not make that up." Sometimes if the audience has been laughing pretty hard, I'll add, "you know that might account for some our haircuts." And then I go on with the rest of the routine.

That really is a true story, by the way. I was performing at a restaurant, and I was doing the PN for a table of hair dressers who were there for a holiday party. They had all been drinking in the bar before being seated, and they were drinking more at their table. I asked one of them to guess how long the 10" piece of rope was, and she said three inches. All of her coworkers burst into laughter. At first I had thought maybe she was joking, but I could tell from the look on her face that she wasn't joking!

If anyone can use any of this, feel free! And, Frank, if you'd be willing to tell us more about your presentation, that'd be great. If not, that's ok too.

Thanks,
Jay

I can't remember ever performing for strolling guys.

LMFAO!!!