My Thoughts on Restaurant Strolling

    A strolling gig is a great way to stay in practice, work in new routines, develop entertaining patter, and most important (but frequently overlooked) is the opportunity to be seen by potential clients.  Oh, yeah.  You also get paid and that’s a good thing, too
    Generally, the pay at a restaurant will be significantly lower than your fee for a party or strolling event.  This is as it should be.  The fact that the restaurant work is steady income compensates for the lower pay.  Not that restaurant pay is necessarily low.  You will probably be making more (per hour) than even the managers on duty.  A few restaurants on different nights each week could be a very nice way to suppliment your income.  However, the real benefits go beyond the paycheck.
    I think it is critically important for any entertainer to have a good show and there is no doubt that my restaurant work contributed greatly to vast improvements in my presentation, timing, misdirection, dealing with adverse situation, understanding of angles, and ability to relate to my audience.  Working restaurants would be a valuable pursuit if only for this reason, and the reality is there are many other worthwhile reasons to work a restaurant, not the least of which is the exposure you will get performing for new audiences several hours per night each week.  Oh, yeah.  And being paid.  Did I mention you should be getting paid to work restaurants?
    Being seen that much should result in many invitations to work private parties which pay much better than a regular restaurant job.  If you have a magician you trust to cover for you at the restuarant while you do these events you could make quite a living as a restaurant magician.
    While others might be spending considerable money on advertising, a shrewd restaurant worker would realize the value of his position as “house magician” and would maximize that opportunity by promoting himself and the restaurant at every opportunity.  There are dozens of great methods of magically handing out your contact information in the course of an effect in a way that is non-obtrusive, non-offensive, and fits in with the patter of the effect.  Find a good book or video on promoting yourself with magic and capitalize on the ideas to generate referral business from your strolling work.
    While others are PAYING to advertise, you will be GETTING PAID to promote yourself.  That’s good business!

Getting the Job
    There are lots of good books that go into detail about choosing a restaurant where you might want to work.  Some suggest you should eat a meal there first and possibly write a letter to the manager, but ultimately getting a restaurant strolling job seems like so much else in life: a numbers game.  There are some guide lines to make your time more productive, but ultimately you are going to have to go out and stomp the pavement talking to restaurant managers about their needs.
    Some restaurants are more prone to hiring a strolling magician than others.  Chain restaurants (e.g. franchises) are usually more difficult than those that are family or individually owned.  Generally speaking, places that already have some sort of entertainment are more likely to hire a magician, so look for places that have live music on the weekends, or seem to cater to fun-loving crowds.  Pizza places that cater to children might be a good venue, especially when it comes to generating birthday party leads, but don’t expect the pay to be that great.
    Scott Hollingsworth, author of Cashing in with Close-Up and The Strolling Magician recommends finding a place that has table cloths.  He reasons that a restaurant that cares enough to provide cloth table coverings clearly cares enough to hire entertainment.  Besides, if they are hurting financially, linens will be the first thing to go so you know there has to be some financial stability in a restaurant with linens.
    Hollingsworth also recommends making a list of potential places near your home where you might be able to secure a job and then systematically approaching those restaurants.  This way you are less likely to get discouraged when you get a few “no”s, and you will.  For more information on the programs Scott offers check out his website at www.scotthollingsworth.com.  If you are interested in restaurant magic, I highly recommend his insights.  He had a major role in helping Charles Greene get his start in the restaurant business, and in fact was Houston’s premier restaurant magician before he became the entertainment director for Houston’s prestigious Magic Island.
    You should approach the restaurant manager between 3 and 5 pm, when things in a restaurant are slowest.  You should be wearing a suit and tie with clean hands, hair, fingernails, and teeth.  You should smell clean and your shoes should shine.  In short, you should look professional.  Details count.
    Introduce yourself to the hostess and ask if the manager is in, mentioning that you do not have an appointment.  If she asks what it is about, tell her you are here to discuss increasing business.  When the manager comes out, shake hands, introduce yourself and tell him that you would like to take 8 minutes of his time to show him how to increase hospitality, customer satisfaction, and floor traffic.  This lets him know that you are not planning on being there all day and that what you have to say will be profitable for him.
    If you say 10 minutes rather than 8 minutes it seems less precise and he will probably assume that by 10 minutes you really mean 20-30.  When you say 8 minutes it comes across like a person who knows exactly what he is doing and has it down to the minute.  Of course, you then need to make sure that your presentation is about 8 minutes or less!
    You then explain that you are a strolling magician and describe to him all the ways that such entertainment can benefit his establishment.  Some ideas:
• Cover a delay in the kitchen
• Entertain guests while they wait to be seated on busy nights
• Keep guests entertained between the time when they order and when their food arrives
• Develop word of mouth advertising as people begin talking about the magic
• Generate repeat customers as people come back, usually with friends, to share the magical experience
• Generate new business as you describe all the marketing YOU will do to bring people into the restaurant (e.g. post card mailers to all past clients, e-mail notice to all past clients, inviting potential clients to visit you at work, a notice on your website with a link to their website, the regular submission of press releases, etc.
• Increase customer satisfaction as their stay is more entertaining and fun
• Get current guests to return on slower nights when they see the lobby board or table tents describing the entertainment on the night you work.

    Notice that you do NOT show him a magic trick.   Don’t even pull out a deck of cards or a set of spongeballs.  You may think that you can help sell your program by demonstrating your magic but you must recognize that the manager is not going to hire a “magic show”.  If he hires at all, it will be because he is buying bottom line benefits to his business.  He wants increased revenues and will only hire you to the extent that he believes you will provide them.
    I would then ask if he agrees that those benefits would help his bottom line.  Of course he says yes (If he does say no, thank him and leave as you will never convince him, so don’t waste your time or his).  Then you ask if it would be possible for you to return on (whatever day you want to work) for a free trial night of strolling entertainment.  Stress that there is no risk, no commitment, and absolutely no charge for this night of entertainment, just a chance for you to demonstrate what you can provide for his restaurant.  Rarely will you get a no at this point.  If he asks to see a trick tell him that you would rather come in and show him how his patrons react to the magic.  Push for the trial night of entertianment.
    At this point you may get an inquiry as to the ultimate cost.  I would try and put them off, saying, “Let me work for free and then we can try and determine the value of my services”.  If they insist I might say something like “Even though I regularly charge $300 per hour for my strolling, in this situation I would be willing to drastically cut my rates because (always offer a reason!) first of all, it is a regular engagement rather than a one-time deal, and secondly because I think it would be fun to work here.  Your guests (always call them guests, never customers, it shows you are up on restaurant lingo) are the same demographic that I cater to and I think it will be a mutually beneficial relationship.  I would not expect to get paid any more than $100 per night, but again, we can discuss this later if you want.”. You may want to adjust the price you are quoting up if you feel like you can get away with it, but you don’t want to sound so expensive that he doesn’t even consider it.  By saying “not any more than $100 per night” you leave the obvious implication of flexibility.  Maybe you’ll take $75, maybe $50 with a meal, but maybe a night is only two hours, maybe it is four.
    On the night of your performance you should make sure everything is ready to go, your suit is clean and pressed and you have eaten and brushed your teeth before leaving the house.  Call all your friends and family and have them come to the restaurant and let them know they should tell the hostess they are there to see the magician.  Arrive early and introduce yourself to the management on duty as it may not be the same person you talked to earlier.  Perform your best magic and, on this night anyway, refuse all tips.  Instead, strongly encourage every person who wants to tip you to speak to a manager instead.  I just tell them that the best tip they can give me is to tell a manager how much they enjoyed the show.  Your goal is to keep the managers flooded with complements about YOU.  You may also want to take the tip and pass it along to the waiter or waitress who was working that table.  Tell him or her that you always split tips with the staff (even though you gave her the whole tip).  Tell her this is your trial night and that she should tell the manager how much the table liked you.
    When you leave, let the manager know that you are going and that you will be calling to discuss where they want to go from here.  The next step is going back in and negotiating your fee.  I think you should try to always get at least $100 for 3 hours of work (all prices are 2003-2004 prices).  If they contend that’s too much or they only need 2 hours then I would adjust some, but rather than lower your price, why not try to get them to give some of the pay in gift certificates?  In other words, if they say they can’t afford $100, tell them that you might settle for $75 in cash and $25 in gift certificates.
    I like to eat out and so gift certificates are a welcome mode of payment for me.  Eating out at a nice restaurant on a regular basis does wonders for making you feel like you are truly stepping up in life (unless you eat out every night, now).  I should point out that whenever you do eat at the restaurant where you work, you should tip big--at least 20-25%.  Remember that you want the employees to like you and you want them to want you to stay employed.
    I’ve often contemplated getting a job in an upscale restaurant where I accepted payment in gift certificates ONLY and not even take a check or cash.  My thought was that I could use the gift certificates as promotional give-aways to clients and potential clients.  Imagine if every customer of yours who referred another customer would get a night out at the city’s nicest restaurant.  The business would be happy to have new customer’s coming in, your customers would be happy to get to go out for free, and you would be getting a high-paying show in exchange for every gift certificate.  Think about this.
    Now that you have this understanding, remember that you can’t read your way into the restaurant gig.  You can’t practice your way in, and you can’t “Think Positively” your way in.  You have to get up, brush your teeth, put on a suit, and go do it.
    So if you want a restaurant gig, why are you still reading this?

Keep Motivated
    Here is a nice way to prompt yourself to action everyday.  You can establish a point system for various aspects of securing and keeping a restaurant job.  For example, you could give yourself 1 point for getting a restaurant owner’s name, contact info., and a person to refer or introduce you.  You could get 2 points for making contact with an owner or manager or submitting a press release that somehow promotes you and/or another of your restaurant jobs.  You might award yourself 3 points for working a free trial night of entertainment.
    You can change these point levels and add other objectives like creating and posting flyers about the “magic show” at your restaurant, designing and fabricating a lobby board and having it placed in the restaurant where you work, etc.
    Your goal is to earn 3 points per day.  You don’t stop until you earn at least 3 points (or 4 points or 5 points, depending on how busy your day time schedule is and how motivated you are to get a restaurant job).

Keeping the Job
    The secret to keeping your job as a strolling magician is to understand the needs of your employer.  She wants to have her guests have a great time, but if it isn’t profitable to keep you on the pay roll then your position is tentative at best.  Not to fear.  All you have to do is make sure that she is fully aware how much business you generate.  Which of course, means that you either need to generate lots of business or at least let her know you are trying.
    Lobby boards are one of the most important items a strolling magician can have.  It is like a full time announcement of the nights and hours you perform so people can come back and see you.  It also adds credibility to you.  I have been working before and approached a table of women who thought I was hitting on them.  Even after telling them I was employed by the restaurant they didn’t seem to believe me.  Then I pointed to the lobby board which had my picture on it (even though it was just sticky-taped over the regular magician’s picture, for whom I was covering that night).  They instantly relaxed and enjoyed my presentation.
    Table tents are the little pieces of paper that sit on a table and tell you what food or drink specials are available.  The idea is to make one for YOU.  It’s nice in concept, but the working magicians I know don’t use them.  I would wait before spending any money on table tents.  Part of the problem might be that table space is at a premium in most restaurants.  If the management is putting on table tents, it is generally to promote something that generates money.
    Talk to each table that comes in.  Tell them about what nights you are there and have them talk to the manager in lieu or in addition to tipping you.  This increases the likelihood that when they return it will be on a night when you are working (which looks good for you at the end of each month).  When they tell the manager how much they liked your show it is instant feedback that will keep you in good with the management.  Remember, in all reality, you are the least vital person in the restaurant and yet probably the highest paid.  It is very important that you are constantly validating your cost to the company.
    While it is important to be seen encouraging guests to return, you should also be marketing the restaurant outside.  You should have a mailing list and/or email list of all your past clients, agents, friends, and family members.  When you first get a new strolling job you should send out a notice to your people and let them know about your opening night.  Invite them to come in and give them the number of the restaurant for them to call for more information.  If the management is swamped with phone calls and guests coming to eat because they knew you would be performing, you can be assured of staying on for a while.
    Don’t just mail out on opening night.  While you don’t want to bombard those on your mailing list, it is nice to stay in front of their eyes so that you are first on their mind.  I think you should try to send out a note of this sort once or twice a year.  You should check with the management, but most will allow you to give away a free desert with each meal so that your mailing (or e-mailing) becomes a coupon.

    The management will do this because it is free advertising for them and it’s good for you because, not only is it good to stay in front of your clients, but then management can track just how much business you are bringing in.  Ten free desserts means you brought in ten paying guests.  It also increases your value to your past clients since it appears that you are personally providing a gift of a free dessert even though it cost you nothing besides a postcard and a stamp.
    A press release is simple, free, and more convincing than any advertising you can buy, because it is written up as a news article.  The catch is that it can’t be too self-gratifying and it must have some semblance to something newsworthy.  The process is simple enough, you type up the basic facts and mail copies to all the local newspapers.  Then move on to your next project while hoping that at least one of the papers is having a slow news day.
    Your chance of having a story run increases if you can include a picture.  This could be as simple as a head shot of you, but better if it is a picture that tells a story: you floating a dollar bill, a look of shock on a little girl’s face as she opens her hand to discover two sponge balls where she thought there was only one, etc.
    Press releases need to sound newsworthy, but they don’t actually have to be terribly newsworthy.  For example, the fact that you finally got a strolling gig in your home town after returning from college may not be material for CNN, but the local paper might run a story titled “Local Magician Returns from New York to Perform at Hank’s Grill”.  You write up the five W’s (Who, What, Where, When, and Why) and make it sound interesting.  Pick up a copy of a newspaper and read a few of the smaller articles to get an idea of writing style.
    You can recycle these articles, too.  Six months after you’ve been working there you might try and submit something about “Strange Phenomenon Finally Explained” as you go on to talk about the mysterious accumulation of cards on the ceiling of Hank’s Grill.  You explain that ever since you’ve began performing there six months ago you routinely perform the famous Card-on-Ceiling trick.  Build it up and tell people that the only way to truly understand the phenomenon is to go to Hank’s yourself on Thursday nights from 7-9 pm and ask to witness this miracle.  With a little creativity there is no reason why you can’t find your name and face in the local fish wrapper on a regular basis.  Of course, be sure to clip these articles for your files and also present them to your manager and the restaurant owner.  This type of initiative goes a LONG way.
    Another great way to get people into the restaurant on the nights you work is to invite potential clients to come see you perform.  This is really win-win because the restaurant gets more guests, the client has a chance to “try” before they “buy” and you win because once they see you they will surely hire you to work for them!
    You also want to keep the wait staff happy if you intend to work there very long.  If you upset them they can make your life miserable and your career there short.  You don’t have to kiss up to them, but remember that they make their money through tips.  Many times they live by the phrase “Turn ‘em, and burn ‘em” which means get a table served and get them out so they can get another family sitting and eating.  The faster they “turn” the tables, the more guests they serve and the more money they make.  If you have a habit of causing guests to linger for some time after they have eaten and paid, you may build up some resentments, especially if you take tips.
    Many waiters feel that your tip might have come from what the guests were going to tip them.  Thus the money you make in tips they feel almost came from their pockets.  I have never experienced this, but I have heard about it happening.  You can eliminate it, and make some really good alliances, if you suggest to your table that they give your tip to their server and let him or her know why they are giving it.  Be sure to emphasize to the guests that they should tell the wait staff why they are tipping larger than usual.
    Many times a waiter will want you to perform for a certain table of his.  I try to comply with these requests to the best of my ability, but in really large restaurants, during really busy times, you simply can’t be in enough places at once.  However, the more you can appease your co-workers, the better off you will be in the restaurant.

Promoting Yourself on the Job
    Let’s face it.  If you were able to make $100 per night (which is pretty good income for a strolling magician working 2-3 hours) and you were able to work 6 nights a week, that would add only $31,000 to your annual income and it would dominate almost all your evenings.  That’s not a bad idea, and $31,000 for working fewer hours than 21 hours a week is nothing to scoff at.  But even better are the leads you will generate so that you can perform strolling magic for company functions at $300 an hour or birthday parties at $200 for an hour.  This is one of the real values to having a strolling venue.
    So how do you promote yourself?  I can tell you because I wrote the book on promoting yourself through magic.  It’s called Promotional Prestidigitation.  It’s a collection of various effects that leave the spectator with a souvenir that conveniently contains your contact information.  The book is full of ideas and is definitely worth the paltry cover price.  Here are some of the ideas and techniques in the book:
• a fantastic out-to-lunch effect using your business cards that plays to more than 1 in 4 restaurant tables on any given night of the week.
• One-ahead mind reading using personalized note pads to write on, and you leave them with the paper at the end.  Plus, you will how to make personalized note pads just like a professional printer, but at a fraction of the cost, that can be run in small batches rather than ordering 144 cases.
• Getting personalized playing cards printed and doing signed card effects
• Do a ring-on-string routine using a steel nut and hand it out at the end with your business card saying “If you can figure out how to open it, call me”
• Any prediction effect where you can write the prediction on your custom printed note pad paper.
• Using name tags to remember names and leave your contact information.

    Even without all the great ideas in the book, you will be asked frequently enough for a card.  As long as you carry some with you, and your magic is reasonably well performed, you should have no problem getting referrals from your restaurant work.  Just make sure the restaurant(s) you are working caters to the people you want to perform for.

Tips
    Most strolling magicians accept tips and there are, in fact, many methods of increasing tips.  I’ll give you both sides of the argument and you can make your own decision.
    ACCEPT TIPS - Not much writing needed to convey this side of the argument.  Tips increase the amount of money you take home each night.  Tips are generally cash money, which is always nice.  Besides, it’s an ego boost to have people tip you.  It implies that your magic was above expectation.
    Accepting tips can actually double the amount of money you make on a given night.  There are some magicians who are so confident in their ability to win over their audiences that they will perform for tips only and still make enough to make it worth their while.  So why would any one NOT want to accept tips?
    DON’T ACCEPT TIPS - I already wrote about how accepting tips may upset the wait staff, but probably the most succinct argument against taking tips that I have ever heard comes from Charles Greene III, in his audio recording “The Restaurant Magic Business” available from www.ammarmagic.com.  The recording is a valuable asset to anyone interested in becoming a strolling restaurant magician, and I definitely recommend it.  Greene does not accept tips, in a nutshell, because he feels that it demeans him in the eyes of the audience.
    By accepting, and worse, encouraging tips, Greene feels magicians bring the art of magic to the level of a street hustler.  Not only does it discourage the long range goals of earning $100,000 per year, but it lessens the image of magicians for future generations as well.  How difficult would it be after accepting a $5 tip for a 10 minute stint to then charge $300 per hour?  A patron is liable to assume that if $5 bought 10 minutes, then an hour should cost no more than $30-40, $50 at the most.
    Another, rather convincing argument is that anyone earning $300 per hour and $100,000 a year should not be accepting $5 tips.  Most people cannot even imagine tipping their doctor or lawyer and if they did, most would agree that $5 would be insignificant to such a professional.  If we want to be like-compensated we must take on a like-attitude.
    I realize that not everyone has the goal or aspiration to earn $100,000 per year.  That’s fine.  Whatever your income goals or objectives are, try to remember the bigger picture when developing your tactics for dealing with seemingly little issues like this.  I know some magicians who work for tips only.  This is great if your objective is to earn a few extra dollars and get in some practice time in front of a live audience.  But even the exposure is of limited value.  A person seeing you perform must imagine that if you would work for hand-outs that you should be glad to get a birthday party show at $50.
    It should also be noted that Charles Greene worked a few years as a restaurant magician and then did just what he said he was planning on doing.  He positioned himself as a high-paid professional to his potential clients (the restaurant guests at the upscale places he worked) and now makes a very comfortable (well into the six figures as I understand) income doing corporate and trade-show magic out of Washington, DC.  Ask the guys who accept tips how long they’ve been working as a restaurant stroller and how close they are to breaking $100,000.
    My policy is to deny the tip twice but accept it on the third offer, just because I figure that they really want to say thank you in a way that means something to them.  When they first offer a tip during my restaurant strolling I tell them “Thank you very much, but tipping is not necessary.  My services are provided by the restaurant management as a gift to you.”  If they offer again, I state “Really, I am paid very well for my services.  Feel free to leave that with your server and tell her why you are leaving it.  In fact, the very best way to tip me is to tell a manager how much you enjoyed my performance.  Managers usually only hear from guests if there is a problem and you would be amazed how far your kind comments go with them on my behalf.”
    If they still insist I take the money, thank them again, and then tell them that I still expect them to compliment me to management as I point out a manager or the manager’s office.  I figure that if they want to thank me that much, then they will be happy to speak to a manager if they realize how important that is to me.

Approaching Tables
    I’ve read hundreds of routines, and there are probably thousands more, for magically introducing yourself to a table.  The idea is that if you capture their attention with a quick, flashy, and very visual magical effect, then you can go right into your routine and they will be captivated.  Most of these routines were written based on the assumption that if you ask a table “Would you like to see some magic?” that it is quite possible that they will say no.  Then what do you do?
    My thoughts on the subject differ.  I approach a table, smile, and say “My name is Julian Franklin.  I’m part of the entertainment tonight: a strolling magician.  Would you like to see some magic, compliments of the management?”  Other magicians have asked me what would I do if they said “no”.  This might seem a strange response to many magicians who feel that the audience is there for them to perform for rather than the other way around, but I simply say “Okay.  Thank you very much, and I hope you all have an excellent time here tonight.  If you change your mind feel free to have your server let me know and I will be glad to come back.”  Then I walk away and approach another table.
    WHAT?!  You mean you don’t FORCE them to watch your most recent variation of the side steal?  You mean you don’t TRICK them into a 7 phase routine using three borrowed bills, a memorized sequence of numbers, and only 37 simple steps?  You don’t even reach up and pull a quarter out of their ear in an attempt to change their mind?
    For me, the answer is no.  If they don’t want to see magic, then I simply honor that wish and move on.  People go out to eat for all sorts of reasons, entertainment and celebration are two of them, but an intimate night together, a chance to discuss important business, and simply to eat are all valid reasons, too.  Sometimes people don’t want to be disturbed by a strolling magician.  Sometimes people simply don’t like magic, no matter what.  Maybe they were embarrassed by a magician when they were young, maybe their confidence level is at a place where they can’t tolerate “being fooled”, or maybe, like my own brother, they feel that magic is somehow related to the worship of Satan and want no part of it.  Don’t feel compelled to show these people the error of their ways.  You won’t change them in the ten minutes you have.  Your time is much better spent entertaining a table that WANTS to see what you have to offer.
    Most of the nights that I worked I was unable to get around to every guest in the restaurant anyway.  I would hate to know I was doing magic for someone who didn’t care while I missed performing for someone who would have loved to have seen my performance and might possibly have hired me at a later date for other functions.

Dealing with Unruly Guests
    It is not uncommon to approach a table and get into a routine and discover that one or more of the guests have either had too much to drink, or for some other reason are giving you a particularly difficult time.  How do you handle such situations?
    Finish the effect you are on, thank them for their time, invite them to come back and see you again, and then walk away with a smile on your face.  That’s the great thing about strolling!  I once left a table after only one phase of one effect.  I was there less than 60 seconds, but I could tell it was going to be one of those tables and I simply left.  There are plenty of other tables and they don’t know how long you are “supposed” to be there, so when you leave after one effect they won’t know the difference.  They don’t feel slighted and you don’t have to put up with their difficulty.
    Please note that I’m not recommending that you storm off or walk away in mid routine.  You should never “teach them a lesson” nor should you be leaving in order to punish them.  You simply smile, thank them sincerely, and move on.  If your attitude is good then you can walk away and they will have no idea that you performed at their table for a much shorter time period than at anyone else’s.

What to Perform
    Whatever you perform needs to fit into your pockets, so animal productions are out with the Hippity-Hop Rabbits.  It’s also good to have things that reset with a minimum of fuss, so I don’t usually use my Scotch & Soda, even though it is a great effect.  Personally, I prefer effects that either don’t use gaffed items, or at the very least the effects begin and end clean.  This way if a spectator asks to examine something (and they will) I have no problem.  So that’s what NOT to perform.  What about good effect to work?
    As mentioned before, I think a few good card effects are mandatory.  I am not a card man and my repertoire of sleights is rather limited.  But I do some effects that seem to baffle laymen and involve very little manipulation of the cards.  I do prediction effect with a patter about tarot cards, I do an effect that I call “The Birthday Card Phenomenon” and explain it as being, not a magic trick, but rather a phenomenon that for some reason just seems to happen.  This is further backed up by the fact that the spectators remember that they shuffled the cards and I never touched them.  Both of these effects as well as some others are included both in presentation and explanation in my lecture notes “6 Tricks that Earned me $100,000” and I’m thinking of putting the info on video or DVD.  If you are interested contact me for more information.  I do a color changing aces, a signed card to wallet and a few packet tricks like Color Monte and Virginia City Shuffle.
    In addition to this, I also carry at least one gaffed or stacked deck to use as a nice closer, once my audience has already handled, shuffled and feels comfortable with the deck.  I can put the deck into my pocket and then pull out the gaffed deck as if I just thought of one more effect I want to perform.  So I frequently carry an Invisible Deck, a Color Changing Deck, a stacked deck (which I use in a great mind-reading effect),  I know some people are opposed to a gaff deck and personally I would never use one as an opener, but once your spectators have confidence in the fact that your deck is NOT gaffed, I am a big believer is switching and blowing their mind.
    As great and important as cards are, and contrary to what many magicians will try and tell you, a deck of cards is NOT a complete strolling act, though it could be in a pinch.  Every strolling magician should carry sponge balls because these are perfect for the kids.  But I’ve gotten even better reactions from adults.  If you don’t already have a great sponge ball routine, or would like to add one to your arsenal, you may enjoy by book “The Ultimate Spongeball Routine”.  It incorporates appearances, vanishes, multiplications, transpositions, color changes, audience participation, a sucker effect, and a whole lot more all presented in a logical way as you move from effect to effect.  It also resets by moving one ball from your left pocket to your right.  It’s a dream of a strolling routine.
    A good ring on string routine is a good way to involve your audience, as is ring flight, though many magicians fear this effect because of the risk of damaging a borrowed ring (I am one of these).  Rubber bands pack small, play big, and can be handed out after the effect is done.  A good Out-to-Lunch effect using your business cards is an easy effect that plays big and is instantly and automatically reset, as well as being self promoting, which I always like.

    People love money and if you are working for tips it is a common practice to perform a money trick as your closing effect in order to “get the money on the table”.  I do an interesting variation on the Hundred Dollar Bill Switch where I hand out a small coin purse for investigation, borrow a signed dollar and switch it for a dollar upon which I have written “Julian’s Dollar”.  I then cause the signed, borrowed dollar to reappear inside the purse by reaching in with the thumb tip on, pulling out the signed bill from the thumb tip and leaving the thumb tip in the purse.  It plays big.  It is also in my “6 Routines” lecture notes.
    I do a simple coin transposition with a English Penny and a Half Dollar, and then I put the coins into my Himber wallet as if I am done.  The wallet then switches the coins for my Hopping Half Set which I then go into.  When I finish I can always make the coins reappear in the wallet by opening the other half and removing the two ungaffed coins, thus they have been inspected before and after the effect, if desired.  A version of a $1 and $5 transposition is a good effect.  Personally I use Tom Ogden’s Beswitched.  Obviously if you can borrow the bills and switch one out for the gaff (Himber Wallet!) then the effect is even more powerful.  I also use my Himber Wallet to switch out a gaffed $2 bill in order to perform an effect where a $2 bill is torn into half and each half becomes a $1 bill.  Again, there are many versions of this available, but I use the one Michael Ammar teaches on Volume 2 of his “Easy to Master Money Miracles”.  I don’t perform this often, but occasionally someone will have a $2 bill and ask me if I can do something with it.  Okay, it’s only happened twice, but when they ask and I seemingly tear THEIR $2 bill into two ones, the miracle is mind blowing!
    As a side note I personally NEVER do any of the standard Himber Wallet tricks.  I don’t want them to think of the wallet as magic.  Instead, it is a nondescript item that I use to switch gaffs for legitimate, inspectable items.
    There are some amazing effects that pack fairly small, reset quickly, but use a fair bit of table space in their performance.  Any four coin assembly like Matrix or Shadow Coins is a good example, as is a chop cup routine or even a mini cups and balls routine.  If you are adamant about doing these sorts of effects or any trick where you need to ribbon spread the cards or use a close-up mat, then you will have to figure out some way to provide your own table.  You simply can not ask the patrons to move their tableware to make room for you.  Restaurant tables are small enough as it is, without you crowding in (another reason why I think table tents are not very popular).
    I developed a unique surface I call “The Restaurant Worker’s Table”.  It is a velvet covered surface just the right size to cover with an eighteen inch close-up mat, though the velvet makes the table nice enough that you don’t really need a close-up mat.  The table has two very cool features that allow you to use it in both your strolling shows, and your larger stage or birthday party shows.  First of all, it has specially designed “arms” that instantly reach out and effectively grab virtually any table at all.  There is no need to adjust anything, tighten any nuts, or pull any strings.  The table attaches instantly and securely to the edge of their table and takes up absolutely NO surface area, while providing you with a very solid, stable surface to work from.  In addition, the table has a flange that allows you to use it as a table top on a rolling pedestal; great for birthday parties and stage work.
    I do not produce this table for sale, but I’ve included for free in this book the plans for making one if you are interested.
    There are other ideas for tables out there, too.  Scott Hollingsworth, a major player in the Restaurant Strolling Business in the 1980s and now the entertainment director at Houston’s Magic Island recommends a custom designed rolling carrying case with a table top mounted.  This way you can carry an array of props easily from table to table.  There are brief cases that mount to folding stands, tables that fold up quickly and unfold instantly, as well as the traditional rolling table.
    Shane Wilson, a good friend of mine who works as the house magician at a Japanese steak house in Houston built a large, felt covered table with heat resistant “feet”.  He painted the bottom with fire resistant paint normally used on barbecue grills.  Now, when he approaches a table he can place the huge work surface over the top of the grill and turn an otherwise unusable (and even dangerous) area into his own mini-stage.  Shane also claims that the table adds a sense of authority to what he does by clearly demonstrating that he is a part of the restaurant.

BONUS:
    I am no longer manufacturing my “Restaurant Worker’s Table”.  However, I will give you the plans for an easy to make version that you can create for just a few dollars.  All you need are the following:
•    A table top surface (could be a top from another table, or it could be a piece of plywood covered with black velvet)
•    “Universal Table Grips”.  This is the “secret” to my table and I give you a pattern to the right.  Cut this out from a piece of plywood using a band saw or jig saw.
•    Metal “L” brackets to hold the Universal Table Grips to the bottom of your table top.
    You may want to make a prototype of the Universal Table Grips from cardboard and make sure they fit on the tables where you work.  Some tables (like certain folding tables) have a metal strip a few inches from the edge of the table (you've bumped your knees on these pesky things before, I'm sure).  Anyway, these strips can cause some trouble with the grips and you will either need to make your grips longer or shorter if you have these metal barriers under the tables where you work.

The Ultimate Sponge Ball Routine  $8