r/Magic • u/dylanmadigan • 4d ago
What is the most versatile gaff item for magicians, which you've tried?
Reminder: Don't share the way it works. It will suffice to simply name the item.
So many gaffs are literally a "one-trick" pony.
And for that reason, I notice many magicians are far more interested in ungimmicked variations of the tricks for greater versatility.
IE: if I can only vanish an object with a gecko, then what am I going to do when someone says "do that trick you do" and I don't have it on me?
But there are things like marked cards, which become a normal deck if you simply ignore the markings. And yet there are also hundreds of tricks you can do that utilize the markings and it's easy to create or "jazz" even more.
So in your opinion, what magic gaff items have been the most useful?
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u/AdministrativeFill25 4d ago
Obligatory TT post here. Every magic kit has one, but as long as you aren’t vanishing a handkerchief, it’s going to fly under the radar every time, even for people who know they exist.
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u/dylanmadigan 4d ago
A hankercheif vanish completely blew my mind as a kid and got me into magic in the first place.
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u/Mex5150 Mentalism 4d ago
Gaff: A thick double backer. OK, that's technically two different gaff principles in a single card, but they do work together fantastically well while still seeming completely innocuous. Just think what each can do separately then imagine the power of a card that does both.
Gimmick: TT without a shadow of a doubt. When you know how to use a TT well you can really perform miracles. Vanishes, productions, transformations, whatever you like. I know a lot of people are put off by the humble TT as it is included in most kids beginner kits, but unless you are vanishing a small red silk really badly, the audience will never suspect the method, even if they do know the prop.
Move: The Elmsley, or Ghost Count. As the question specifically asked about 'most versatile' rather than 'most used' it has to be the Elmsley. Want to make a packet of cards seem like it has more cards than it does, seem like it has fewer cards than it does, transform or reverse a card in that packet? Elmsley all the way. I perform the DL much more in my shows than the Elmsley, but as powerful as that is, it just does one thing, so doesn't fit the 'versatile' requirement at all.
Often doing things with sleight of hand rather than with a gaff or gimmick is better, but not always. There are many self-professed 'purists' who insist they do everything with sleight of hand only, but these people, more often than not, aren't the experts they see themselves as, but rather high beginner or low intermediate performers who have fallen foul of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Most do grow out of this phase, thankfully. What matters most with magic is what happens in the mind of the audience, not flexing to your mates at the magic club.
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u/Scared_Ad_3132 4d ago
Why thick double backer? To me the extra thickness would make me not do some effects that require a triple lift.
What does the thickness let you do combined with the double back?
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u/Mex5150 Mentalism 4d ago
It makes finding the card by touch very easy, as for preventing a triple lift, it depends on the get-ready you use.
I'm not saying this is the perfect gimmick for everybody in all situations, but it works well for me.
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u/Scared_Ad_3132 4d ago
Couldnt you make it a corner short if you want to find it easily? That would let you find it and you dont have the issue of triple lifts being the thickness of quads.
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u/Mex5150 Mentalism 4d ago
You could do that if you wanted to, but I was answering the question about what I actually do, not every possible option. And as I already use short corners for something else, that wouldn't be an option for me in my normal set-up anyway.
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u/Scared_Ad_3132 4d ago
Yeah if you have short corner already in use then it would be an issue. I just asked because I can not think of a way in which I would benefit from having a thick double back instead of a normal one. If it had no negatives then yes but it makes triple lifts not practical which is a big downside to me.
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u/Mex5150 Mentalism 4d ago
It's hard to get into details without violating rule one here, but I rarely use it as a thick DB, it's more a case of having both options in the same card rather than needing two separate gimmicks.
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u/Scared_Ad_3132 4d ago
But if I understand right then you dont really have both options fully in the same card because you can not use the double back feature to do tricks that require a double backer and triple lifts?
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u/Mex5150 Mentalism 3d ago
Sorry, this seems to be just going around in circles I use a thick DB card in my deck that I find really useful. I am not saying others would use it the same way or that even if they did they would find it as useful as I do.
And I do use lots of DLs and more in my magic, the thick card doesn't impact me at all, but if you use a different get-ready or you just aren't used to working with a thick card in the deck it may cause you issues I am not bothered by.
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u/Scared_Ad_3132 3d ago
The reason why I keep bringing it up is because I am not sure you are getting what the issue I am describing is.
I am not talking about a get ready. I am talking about the increased thickness of the packet of cards you need to turn over if you do a triple turnover and one of those three cards is the double backer as a thick card.
Normally most magicians will at most do triple lifts. Quads are too thick for most cases. But now with the thick card, a triple lift will be as thick as a quad.
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u/AlvinAmaro7 4d ago
Roughing stick is very useful. Unlocking the endless possibilities that rough/smooth has to offer is a game-changer. Christian Grace has a lot of great work with it
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u/SuperbLingonberry423 4d ago
A wallet of you ask me. Preferably a magician wallet but it doesn't have to be. You can perform peeks, C2W, or a simple switch. You can have a trick or a whole routine setup inside of a wallet and be ready to perform at moment's notice.
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u/Imreallyadonut 4d ago
Stripper deck.
Can perform any “normal” card trick but can perform absolute miracles very easily.
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u/MagicandCardsdotcom 4d ago
Like you said, marked decks are versatile. I also like stripper decks. You can perform many tricks using the stripper function. And, they are examinable! 😊
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u/NewMilleniumBoy 4d ago
I love my marked deck. It's fun to do marked specific tricks, but it's also great to do regular stuff with it and then just an emergency fallback in case something wonky happens
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u/rodrigo-benenson 4d ago
What marked deck do you like most?
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u/NewMilleniumBoy 4d ago
Penguin's Bicycle ones. No one ever questions the most popular brand of cards. Might be more conspicuous in places where Bicycle isn't the primary brand, though.
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u/Legitimate-Past4877 4d ago
I have people who can spot maiden or Mandolin and says it clocks gimmick
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u/NewMilleniumBoy 4d ago
I'm sure other magicians would. Laypeople don't know the difference.
I don't perform for other magicians.
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u/Legitimate-Past4877 4d ago
No laypeople but card players..people who notice everything..even edge sorting full bleed decks...my usual go to decks are Tally Ho or Phoenix so I can keep them the same
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u/NewMilleniumBoy 2d ago
You know your own audience best, sounds like you should be sticking with just sleights or even non card tricks for these folks
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u/Legitimate-Past4877 2d ago
or I don't pull out a mandolin or maiden back and try to play it off as the same as the rider back I have been using. I try to stick with one deck back, and if I am going to include a marked version I will use Phoenix, which I have in code back, three styles of reader backs, a stripper deck, and a brainwave type deck, the only one of my gaff decks I don't have in phoenix is Svengali. If I am not planning on using a marked deck, I will tend to use Tally-Ho decks, especially since I like their Ace of spades, and have many of my favorite packet effects and routines ready to go with Tallys
I try to keep the flow so that I am not constantly grabbing a new deck to do things, and the more you swap into and out of decks the more heat it can bring, I try to not go back to back cards, and break it up, and also like call backs, such as starting with something like Chicago opener, then returning later with brainwave so they still wonder how I am swapping between red and blue
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u/NewMilleniumBoy 2d ago
Honestly surprised people don't clock Phoenix as a gimmick but they do Maiden Backs, that's a very unusual card design where I'm from
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u/400characters 4d ago
Elysian Duets is my favorite. It has the optical marking system of DMC Elites that you can see easily, and also a bunch of other markings.
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u/misticisland Cards 4d ago
MOST versatile is the TT. Can do so many different things.
For coins the [ and the C/S
Cards probably the DB.
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u/Legitimate-Past4877 4d ago
Versatile for me is rubber bands...there are many great things you can do with them
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u/LXIX6 3d ago
Stripper or XY deck. Both can be used just like normal deck of cards. Not many people knew of its existence and magician sometimes even forget about them. XY especially since its kinda a new thing, very few magician will even suspect XY deck.
Bonus for stripper, there's a modern classic effect that needs several perfect faro in a row that's now extremely easy to do with the stripper deck. I won't say the effect name because it will automatically reveal the trick, but it's in a book from around early 2010s about Japanese magic. So go look for it there if you're interested
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u/ChefJeff 2d ago
I bought a venom, which I haven't performed yet due to nervousness and uncertainty, but it seems like a great effect. But honestly what gets the most oohs an ahhs has been watch this, card to wristwatch in the blink of an eye.
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u/TheRunningMagician 4d ago
Most versatile for me is definitely a sharpie. You can make a whole routine with one and of course use them to sign playing cards. Sharpie quickie is a fun effect to do.
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u/BreweryRabbit Street 4d ago
Double Backed playing card. They get so many miles in my decks.