How do you handle messing up?

[John B.]

So I am wondering how you guys handle this. It happens to everyone something somewhere goes wrong. The other day I was doing a brainwave deck (its like the invisible deck) routine and mis counted and showed the wrong card. Luckily she thought it was a psychology force that card effect and so I went with it and performed some mentalism.

[Don Boyer]

You have to think on the fly - often one trick can inadvertently morph into another.  Sometimes I'll screw up a Biddle count trick and send the wrong card face-up into a face-down pack.  I just change the patter - "Oh, look, it sent its friend away instead!"

Being sharp, however, can sometimes save a trick that might normally have gone to hell.  I did a trick for a woman, "Do As I Do", and she fiddled with the deck cut - but because I watched her closely, I noticed there was only one extra card below the key card, so I realized that when I looked for her card, I needed to count an extra card past the key card.  It worked perfectly and made me look like a real miracle worker, 'cause she could talk about she messed with the deck and I was still able to draw the same card she did...

But, when something goes all to hell - it goes all to hell.  You have just revealed to your audience that you're human.  I've screwed up tricks many times, but guess what - the audience was still entertained, because I really got into the patter.  I've actually seen people spot a portion of how a trick was done, and they still found it entertaining because I wasn't simply a magician - I was a performer, an entertainer, and that part of it can't go wrong unless you let it go wrong.

The worst I've run into are people trying to mess with you by intentionally saying you got the wrong card.  I switched during a trick from a standard deck to a stripper and made a point of occasionally pausing the trick and cutting straight to their card, showing them that I had their number and there was no way they could get that past me.  "Are you sure you remember which card is yours?  'Cause I'd hate for you to forget in the middle of the trick, it really spoils the ending..."  I don't even have to look at it; they know I can produce it any time I want.  Then, when performing WOW, I showed them the WOW card, which isn't their card - it's not supposed to be - and they said, "Yes, that's my card!"  At that point, I wrapped things up and left - no point in entertaining the unentertainable.  It's like teaching a rock to burp after drinking a soda...

[John B.]

See I only have once or twice had someone lie about the card. I also try to perform for groups of people where they show everyone the card and I try to read some audience to see if its worth performing. If someone comes up and asks me if I would show them something ( I am always springing cards and such when I am out and about) and they seem sincere I will perform. But the other day I was in a big city with a friend of mine and this dude was like "magic guy show me a trick" I simply said maybe later and continued what I was doing. It was one of those guys where it just looks like trouble from all the signs.

[Anthony]

The worst I've run into are people trying to mess with you by intentionally saying you got the wrong card.

I know I'm no master magician, but I couldn't agree more Don, these people are just annoying. I know a few key card tricks I'll do at a family get together, mostly for the kids, but even then there's that one adult that has to be a tool. I think these are the same people who dislike Science Fiction movies because they aren't realistic, they just can't live in the moment of "Magic" and "Fantasy" they've lost their inner child.

[agera94]

Depending on the type of trick, I've either:

A) Led into another trick/segment of the trick for example: My double lifts are rather natural as I perform the move by simply turning over horizontally; I do this by getting a feel for the deck and how much pressure is usually needed for 2 cards, however every now and then in my ambitious card routine I'll get either a single or triple lift. In these cases I will usually perform a different manoeuvre and then get back to what I had originally intended to perform.

B) Create some bullsh*t story about the trick: sometimes if I'm jogging a card in an overhand shuffle, the result is a jog that is too subtle and I miss square the cards and the break. I often tell the spectator that this is what other magicians do, but I like to do things differently. The next stage is just doing a different method of selecting a card and losing it in the deck; there are plenty out there.

C) The good old, "Wouldn't it be great if it was your card?" Sometimes you just need to let them know that, as Don pointed out above, you're human. You've done the patter, you've performed for them and they've enjoyed the trick thus far. The mood is positive, but at some point in the trick mistakes are made and the wrong card is revealed. I just mention cliches such as, "I perform magic, not miracles", etc. From here I move into another trick that I know will have good outcomes such as stigmata or my reverse found card trick.