Zero Carry

A new approach I'm taking with the 100 Trick Repertoire is to create certain "slots" to fill for tricks that serve a particular purpose.

For example, last year we talked about the Failsafe Trick. This is a card trick with certain properties that you can fall back to if something goes sideways with the one you were planning on performing.

The category I've been working on recently is something I call Zero Carry.

Zero Carry effects don't require me to carry anything special on me. No decks of cards. No billets. No sponge balls. No thumbtip. No swami.

In most cases I will have something on me, but I think it's good to have at least one slot set aside for a trick that presumes you have absolutely nothing. Like the Failsafe Trick, it's a safety hatch for when your mind blanks or you're caught without your usual gear.

In recent years, I would choose to do an effect on my phone. That's the obvious solution. But as per last Wednesday's post, I'm trying to rely on phone magic a little less these days.

Now, of course, I could borrow a ring or a coin and do some simple sleight of hand with that. But I'm looking more for a trick with a premise to it. Not just visual skill.

To be clear, the trick doesn't have to be propless. It can be, but it can also utilize items found in most environments.

I don't often ask for input from you. (Let's face it, no one else asks for your input either. I don't want to break the pattern and confuse you.) But when I solicited Failsafe Tricks, I got a few good recommendations that I had overlooked which have made it into my repertoire.

So now I'm asking you to share your favorite phone-free Zero Carry tricks, if you have one.

I'll collect some of the responses and share my own in a future post.