I do a little magic on the side and I’ve always thought everyone should be able to do a few tricks because, hey, you never know when you can use it as say an icebreaker or to show a little talent. I can do some things with cards, coins, batteries, and rubber bands.
I also am good at balloon animals and can juggle some.
So can you do any magic tricks?
Can you juggle?
I’m still working on juggling, but,
[SPOILER] I like the trick where you hold the coin between left hand thumb and index finger, pass right thumb between “grabbing” the coin–but it drops into left palm. Victim thinks coin is in right hand, which I then pretend to “accidentally” inhale and choke on for 20 seconds or so before producing left hand coin from ear (or cleavage 
) of victim.
I also like the cigarette-up-the-nose-and-out-the-ear sleight of hand, but I use a AA battery.[/SPOILER]
I used to do magic shows as a kid, but kids don’t believe in magic, so it always became a “let’s tear his tricks apart” show. Adults are [del]bigger suckers[/del] more appreciative.
I can stick out my tongue and touch my ear.
While I love watching good magicians and discuss “How’d they do it?” stuff on the boards all the time, I have no manual dexterity so I only know a couple card tricks that merely fool small children.
OTOH, since basic juggling requires no manual dexterity, I can juggle 3 balls, clubs, etc. Again, good for amusing small children.
You must be VERY popular with the ladies. 
I can do the “tip of my thumb came off” illusion.
I can juggle, three or four balls. I tried to work up to five when I was in college, but could never get the rhythm.
As for tricks, I could pull coins from my kids ears when the were little. That probably counts as a “no”.
I know a lot of magic tricks, but I only perform a handful because they need practice to do right, and I don’t have a tiger. I can juggle, I used to do it a lot, now I only do the basic stuff. It’s always fun to meet another juggler and just start two-person juggling.
I sometimes teach an after-school or weekend class on magic tricks to third graders, so I have a repertoire of around two dozen tricks that I know and can teach, including coin tricks, string tricks, mindreading tricks, card tricks, and the like. I also throw in a few bar bet tricks (although I don’t call them that)–the “stick out your tongue and touch your ear” kind, or “make a circle with your thumb and first finger and poke your head through the circle” trick.
I really like showing tricks to this age group, because they’re so curious. And yes, they generally start by claiming they know how the trick is done. In my class I teach them that explaining a trick mid-performance is as rude as shouting onto a stage, “I know you’re just acting!” during a play. But for kids I’m just showing tricks to, I either lie through my teeth if they figure it out (maybe that’s terrible of me, I’m at peace with that), or I talk to them quietly to congratulate their perspicacity if they’re not dicks about it. Generally, though, they’re totally wrong about how the trick is done, especially if I’ve practiced it recently, which means I get to hand the cards/coins/string over to them and watch them smugly as they screw the trick up. 
Unless they kiss him & discover he tastes like ear-wax. :eek:
I used to be a part-time magician with a couple of good 30 minute shows. Did the floating woman and a couple of other illusions.
I also never really got five down for juggling, but can do three and four.
Good to see we have so many “magical” people on board.
How does that happen? Just walking down the street how would you know?
Is it the unicycle and clubs that give it away?
I’m pretty sure there’s a comedy sketch in there somewhere.
I know a couple of ways to find a person’s card, and make aces turn up in unexpected places.
The only magic trick I ever learned to do is the “four jacks”, where very little manual dexterity is required. It might fool a gullible 6 year-old, if you’re lucky.
Nah–I do the four-jacks tricks for elementary school kids all the time, and nobody’s ever figured it out. You’re right that after the initial card arrangement, there’s little manual dexterity involved, but it’s great for teaching showmanship, since the basic trick is pretty boring but with a good story (mine involves four identically-named brothers going spelunking the youngest of whom is a wizard) and some good card-flourishing, it leads to jawdrops at the end. And everyone knows how it’s done–“You just had some extra jacks you put on top!”–at which point I happily hand them the deck of cards and watch their increasing consternation as they look for the nonexistent extra jacks.
Juggling, though. I’ve tried my whole life to learn to juggle, and I can’t do it. It’s a great source of frustration, and by “great” I mean “occasional and vague.”
I do a few sleight of hand card tricks, my favorite being the three card monte. I like this one because it is good for a great number of times, not just show them the trick once and be done with it. To finish it off, when you crimp the corner of the queen card so that they can track it easier, and being able to unbend it, and bend another card while throwing down the cards, gives me the greatest satisfaction. Never have taken bets on any of this though.
Also do a few coin tricks, one described in this thread. Another simple one is taking the coin in one hand, and placing both hands on your chest at the same time. Rub, then the coin reappears in the next hand.
I’m sure most have seen the pencil moving trick, still like doing it.
One simple trick is the illusion of cutting a string in half; then you put it in your mouth, and restore the string back to original length. Not much skill involved in that, and you can do that one many times without most being the wiser for it.
Most of my tricks don’t require any great skill, and can be learned in a few minutes.
I do have a magic kit somewhere and I was able to do some of the tricks. I could do some of the easier mechanical ones if I dig up the equipment. One is the disappearing coin (in a little plastic box).
There also are a few card tricks that I can manage (with a standard deck). I can, for instance, do a read-ahead trick, and can have someone slap a deck of cards to come up with the one I predict (both ridiculously easy).
There’s also balancing a quarter on my arm and snatching it in midair (also far easier than it looks).
You could probably work that up, but it’s much simpler than that. You juggle some apples in the grocery store, or juggle anything as you walk down the street, someone will motion and you get it started.
If people are having garnished mixed drinks, I’ll pre-tie a cherry stem and hide it in my mouth. Then I take someone’s discarded cherry stem, hold it up for all to see, then put it in my mouth, make some faces, then spit the tied stem into my hand. Ta-da!!
I also can take a paper napkin, make a big show of rolling up my sleeves, opening the napkin, displaying both sides, etc. Showing once more that my hands are empty other than each hand holding a corner of the napkin, I slowly bring the napkin tight against my face. The I pop my tongue through. Helps if your audience is very drunk.