In this email, I’ll explain what it means to ‘rack the shotgun’ and why it can be the key to giving incredible group performances.
First, a true story:
There was a teenager who we’ll call ‘Dave’ who at age 17 dropped out of high school, hitchhiked to Vegas, and hustled for four years as a professional gambler.
Every day 50,000 people would show up at Sin City expecting to go home with some success.
This teen was the guy that ensured the city lived up to its reputation of ‘Lost Wages.’
A teenager running loose on the Las Vegas strip quickly figures out he needs street smarts.
And luckily for him, he met just the right guy!
(a seasoned gambler we’ll call ‘Jack’ who decided to take the teen under his wing.)
One of the first lessons he learned is this:
“You have to play games you can win. You need to play people who are not as good at poker as you are. Those people are called marks.”
Just to prove his point Mark took him to a cabaret that very same day.
They walked through the door to Hard rock pounding at 110 decibels, women snaking around dance poles, and pretty much everyone around them greedily absorbed in the entertainment.
Jack had a sawed-off shotgun in his jacket.
He carried it everywhere he went.
He pulled the shotgun out, slipping it under the table.
He pressed the lever, popping the chamber open as if to load it. But instead of inserting a shell, he loudly snapped it back shut, with that sharp, signature ratcheting sound shotguns are famous for.
Which enthusiasts call ‘racking the shotgun.’
A few heads twisted around, trying to see where the sound came from.
Everyone else was oblivious.
The owner of the club, concerned, slipped over to the table.
“Everything OK here boys?” He asked.
“Everything’s fine,” Jack responded, “just teaching this boy here a lesson.”
“Dave, the people who turned around—those guys are NOT marks. Do not play poker with them. Your job is to play cards with everybody else.”
Pretty cool story huh?
Well, here’s how we think you can ‘rack the shotgun’ in magic.
See, there’s something we saw Derren Brown do live that’s stuck with us ever since.
He purposely messes up routines, and he purposefully creates ‘fake’ situations where he can route out the susceptible from the savvy.
It’s EXTREMELY important to his routines, and it’s equally as important for you!
Something I’ll often do is purposefully mess up a sleight/shuffle, just to see who’s watching.
It’s my own way of ‘racking the shotgun.’
Whoever notices, and especially those that make a big deal of it, I won’t bring them up on stage.
(or to the front of the crowd/room if it’s a smaller setting.)
Here’s another way you can ‘rack the shotgun.’
Check carefully how well an audience member understands basic instructions BEFORE bringing them up on stage.
In a lot of gimmick work it is ESSENTIAL you find someone who will completely understand what you’re asking them to do.
(and not work against you in the process.)
Hopefully, this all makes sense…
I hope to see you all ‘racking’ your own proverbial shotguns starting today 😉
Your friends,
Jacob and Benji
The Daily Magician Inner Circle
Helping You Think Differently.