Gimmick or Sleight of Hands

[juantamad]

This has been long debated since... but for your opinion which of them do you prefer? I would love to hear them from you guys....

[Alex Hess]

Great new thread!

I love sleight of hand. It makes the tricks run so much smoother, and leave you clean. I however cannot help but love gimmicks too! I really enjoy using gimmicks because I feel they do what sleights cannot accomplish. They do the un-thinkable.

For example, Distortion (Cyril Moving Pips). There is no way you could pull a trick like that off without a gimmick. Or at least do it and receive the same type of reactions.

I would have to say I enjoy them equally and enjoy performing them.

[juantamad]

glad to hear that you liked my first post. from my point of view this is what i can see:

sleight of hands = requires practice
gimmicks = needs to work on the cleanup

for me this is what i can see between the 2 methods. sleight of hands will require you to give time for practice once you pulled it off it is clean. as for the gimmick, the impact is very strong but you will need to have a cleanup. because most of the times spec will want to check your items.

[red.pips]

i like 'sleight of hand' in my routine. after i done wit the trick, i can let ppl re-check...

i use 'gimmick' just for add sum extra reaction in the mid of my routine.. makes me look damn good in magic (fav gimmick: invisible deck)..

im practicing "de' ring" rite now so i can reduce my 'gimmick part' in my routine... hehehe..

so sleight is the best

[sheizzle89]

well as for me being an illusionist is having both the sleight of hand and gimmick. you have to be able to have great sleight of hands. then again you have to be creative at the gimmicks you make, if you are good with both those things, then you are turely an illusionist

[salad]

SLEIGHT OF HAND!!!! i hate gimmicks. the only gimick i would actually use would be invisible deck.

[Adam Cordeccii]

Same, I cannot stand gimmicks. I prefer sleights because you can do it with nearly any deck of cards and they are impromptu. I also think that you don't have to worry about cleanup afterwards, and most cards can be inspected after all sleights.

[Cherryramune]

to me a magician first and foremost is an entertainer, and as long as the audience is entertained it doesn't matter to me whether or not it's a gimmick or not.

[GrimReaper]

Sleight of hand is best as it enable the magic to be done anytime

[Theorapper]

I prefer sleight of hand because you don't have to buy/make anything and you are clean you don't have to think how to make people not see it

[Brandon Pomeroy]

Definently Sleight of hand. Not only does it leave you clean, but it's cheaper, too! And, if there's a heckler, you can stop wherever you are and ask them to do it. But a gimmick... you just can't do that.

[corduroy82]

I dislike gimmicks - when I know its a gimmick - for me anyway.

when i first watched bill malone do the 3 card monte or the invisible deck - wow. i was freakin floored. but then he goes into the explanation- and reveals gimmicks! doh. why doh? i was amazed! why does it matter if it was gimmicked or not?

i guess its because I need to have the gimmicks first- before I can try the effect. to laymen- they dont know if it is a gimmick at all- and they are floored everytime.

gimmicks / set ups are ok by me- but when i perform- i try to routine them to work together as smoothly as possible.

why do i like sleights better? i guess its because there is more prestige associated with it, more history. but even the greats use gimmicks once in a while. its more of a challenge to use sleights, and theres a sense of self satisfaction when you pull it off. Otherwise you can just use gimmicks all day long. the spectator doesnt know the difference.

[zeeksheezy]

The method or secret of a trick is not as important as the presentation. It is recommended to use the most practical method to perform the trick. Both gimmick and sleight of hand have its pros and cons so I favour neither. Gimmicks are able to give you effects which are not possible using sleight of hand whilst sleight of hand has versatility. Relying purely on gimmicks all the time is risky because spectators will get suspicious. Although this can be avoided it is a better bet if you provided proof along with you. Relying purely on sleight of hand is also not advisable because you are limiting and restraining yourself from the effects and limitless possibilities gimmicks have to offer. In card magic it is recommended to have a spare regular deck in your pocket whenever using a gaffed deck. Just execute a deck switch and you're nice and clean. For coin magic, bring along coins similar to the shells or gimmicked coin, do a regular utility switch or any other switches then hand them the real ones. Conclusively, the mastery of these two elements is important. Each element empowers the other. Use gimmicks and sleight of hand wisely and you will have better reactions and become a better magician.

[S.U.B-Xero]

Well sometimes gimmicks are useful and sometimes sleight of hand but i prefer sleight because like all others have said it leaves you clean

[iamthemagicman]

I think that Sleight of hand and gimmicks shouldn't contradict eachother, but should compliment eachother. If you can achieve amazing sleight of hand techniques then you can take gimmicked cards in and out of the deck with stealthy precision, then you become a magical force to be reckoned with. Most gimmicks are meant to be used with sleight of hand anyway.