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As The Economy Continues to Crash, Here's How to Make Some Cash Flipping Nickel Bags
If you really wanna know how that shit goes, let me break it down for you. You’re gonna need some plastic baggies. You’re gonna need some weed—not that good good, but some decent shit, you know what I mean. And you’re gonna need to get yourself situated in a place where you know parties are happening. But I’m not talking about just any party. Don’t go to the hood trying to do this shit, ‘cause you’re gonna get robbed, brother. You’re robbing people with these prices, so you gotta be smart.
A nickel bag is 0.5 grams. The average price for a gram if you’re selling on the ground is about $10. But here’s the move: you’re gonna take advantage of what I call the Six Flags phenomenon. You know how a case of water is like $5, but a single bottle at Six Flags costs $8 or $9? People pay that shit ‘cause it’s convenient. It’s there.
So, you’re at a house party in the Domain in Austin, Texas—the richest part of Austin. Someone wants to smoke. Okay, well, you’ve got a backpack full of little baggies. You took a hair straightener, sealed it up, and broke down a whole zip into nickel bags. Now, you’re gonna go to this party and move that whole pack. If you pull this off, you got the zip for $120. It’s dirt weed—not good shit, strong mid at best—but you got a good deal on it.
These people are drunk. They don’t give a fuck. You sell each nickel for $15 to $20. You take that cash and use it to buy another zip. Now you’re in the game. This is how I was paying my car note for a long time. If you sell each nickel for $15 to $20, you’re looking at a cool $440 profit. That’s after buying the first zip.
If you just wanna cut out and make your money, do this once. But for it to matter, it’s gotta be a repeat hustle. Take 28 grams, multiply that by $20, subtract $120 for the cost of the ounce—that’s $440. Then take another $120 away ‘cause you gotta buy the next pack with the profits from the first. Now you’re making $320 per run. That’s a good fucking return on your investment. And that's if you're only flipping the nicks for $10 each, with the right finesse, you can double this profit.
Here’s another thing: once you become the dude with the weed, you’ll get invited to more parties. Even if you’re just sitting there finessing motherfuckers. What I would do is bring some blunts, smoke on the patio, and be like, “Yo, you wanna hit this?” Next thing you know, they’re asking, “You got any more of this shit?” Yeah, bro. Open up the backpack, make your money, make your deal. That’s the whole finesse.
It helps when you’ve got upstart income. You’ve got the money to buy the sack, go to the party, have the clothes, the outfit. There’s a little social network game to it, but once you’re in, it’s not hard to make some money.
Now, I’m being a little hyperbolic with the prices. If you’re selling a nickel for $20, chances are the person buying it is wearing boat shoes and a polo. But it’s absolutely possible to sell that nickel for $10 or $15 and still come out on top. That’s literally how the shit works.
Just keep in mind: motherfuckers will try to rob you. Motherfuckers will try to finesse you. And you’ll need to handle business like a G when that happens.
Febuary's Zine Rack Additions are Live
The February zines are live! Just wanna give a quick thank you and shoutout to everyone who submitted to HOUDINI this month. We’ve got seven new zines in the rack—lots of great stuff. Poetry, art, queer politics, retro gaming, everything in between. Our catalog keeps growing as this medium gets revived.
Someone asked me recently, “Is this, like, an old-school thing? A ’90s thing?” And yeah, from what I can tell, zines peaked in the ’90s. Then the internet came along, and they got pushed into niche political corners. But starting in the late 2010s up to now, there’s been a burgeoning revival, lead by a variety of artists, including our own Shem Shelley.
Why do I love zines? They bridge spaces. On one hand, they exist digitally—where we’re all stuck these days, because we’re so alienated, no third spaces to just exist. But zines are also meant to be physical. You print them, distribute them locally. So suddenly, what used to be hyper-local becomes hyper-global too. Zines are accessible. You don’t need a publisher, a budget, or even fancy tools. Just your ideas, some paper, and a way to share them.
I’m into TCGs for similar reasons. If you play Goat Format Yu-Gi-Oh!, you know the best games are in-person, but most of the community’s online. Zines work like that: local events—TCG tournaments, hardcore shows, raves—can use these pamphlets to spread culture.
Imagine writing a poem in Brazil, posting it here, and someone in Wisconsin prints it out, hands it out at a random show. People who’d never read you before suddenly do. That’s beautiful. That’s why we’re pushing zines—this medium still matters.
New Zines Added on the Second Thurday of Each Month
Art Posting...Asher Brown Durand - The Stranded Ship (1844)
Art Posting, Every Thursday on HOUDINI
Super Bowl Spectacle, Genocide, and the One Person Who Said Something
Art by Good_Violinist5351
Yesterday, during the Super Bowl halftime show, one of the backup dancers for the performer—who really didn’t have anything important to say, so we’re not gonna talk about the performance or the game, none of that matters—well, what does matter to me is this one particular incident where someone who was ostensibly from the working class had something to say and used what small position they had in the spectacle to say it.
According to Trump, 600,000 civilians have been killed by Israel with American-made bombs. According to the Gaza Health Administration, the actual bodies that have been able to be counted are closer to 50,000 to 60,000. There’s a large disparity there, and we probably won’t know the real number for some time, if they ever let the Palestinians count their dead. You know what the difference is? Capitalist math. Whether it’s 60k or 600k, it’s blood money. Those bombs are bought with your taxes, built by Raytheon engineers, approved by Congress, and dropped by pilots who probably watch the Super Bowl too. This isn’t foreign policy—it’s our national anthem. Profit. Exploitation. Death. Repeat.
So you go to the Super Bowl, and what do you see before any football game? You see the fucking jets fly over. Oh man, you see the fighter jets fly over. Well, in Gaza, Palestine, those same jets were flying over every fucking day, dropping bombs made by people here in America to kill innocent civilians using AI targeting systems built by companies like Google and Microsoft.
There were countless opportunities for many, many powerful people at the Superbowl to say things that were on the same level as this individual backup dancer, whose career is more than likely ruined for doing this. But none of those people had the same principles as him. None of those people were willing to manipulate the spectacle toward revolutionary ends. And that’s why I don’t fucking care about talking about any of those people. They don’t matter to me. What they said doesn’t matter to me.
What matters to me is that this backup dancer stood on principle and did what a lot of people had hoped Kendrick Lamar would do. There were definitely people tweeting, Why didn’t he say something? Why didn’t he do anything? Not understanding that somebody like Kendrick Lamar is not an activist. He’s not a political person. He doesn’t give a fuck. The only thing he gives a fuck about is making more money for himself and his people because he, unlike the backup dancer, is aligned with the current American cultural standard of fuck you, I got mine.
He is aligned with the same cultural standard that allowed us to commit a genocide. The backup dancer isn’t. And a whole lot of people on the streets aren’t. But the rich and powerful? They will always align with the status quo that allows them to continue with this shit, no matter how many innocent people die. No matter what their lyrics say, with their hollow performances as bold as they are, they will always stand for what makes them the most money. And in America, what makes the most money is killing innocent civilians.
And what do they do about this back up dancer? They chased him out. They bannned him for life. They won’t report on it. They’re scrubbing the footage of the halftime show to make sure you can’t even see this man stand on principle. His career, is job, his ends, all ruined. In a country that’s built on not having any principles, that’s built on being as unempathetic as possible, that’s built on fuck you, I got mine—this motherfucker, who has a lot less cushion, a lot less in the bank, no millions to fall back on, no clout, no publicity—stood up and said something that was more important than the whole entire Super Bowl itself.
We don’t need celebrities. We need an army of regular-ass people with principles.
We have done a genocide, and this is something that we must reckon with as people living in this country. Failure to do so is a failure on all of us.
One of the Best Post-Punk Albums of the 2010s
One of the standout post-punk albums of the 2010s. This record always brings back memories of an old work crush—someone you might jokingly refer to as a "work wife," you know? She was older, mad into 90s grunge, and I ended up introducing her to this band. Tbh, she was incredibly attractive, even though she was about 15-20 years older than me. Those memories still linger whenever I listen to this album.
Madame Saturday's Reading on America
I asked my tarot cards the important question "What is up with America right now???"
Please remember this is fully accurate and actionable advice—NOT FOR ENTERTAINMENT. I don’t read reversals unless I feel like it, and I properly shuffled the cards because I’m not a hack.
At the heart of the reading, we have the Knight of Wands, which I’m interpreting as the a cowboy card, passionate, excited, and driven. This represents the American Dream as seen in popular culture: independent, fiery, and pushing toward new frontiers. Whether you view this as good or bad, it’s being challenged by The Star, a Major Arcana card that here symbolizes hope.
The core issue is that long-term hope is fading, and this is eroding the American Dream, even among those most conditioned to believe in it. The Knight of Wands crossed with The Star suggests that America is weakening largely due to a perceived lack of strong leadership and a failure to inspire its own people, let alone the world.
Below this, we have the 6 of Cups, representing the underlying influences affecting America right now. Cups symbolize emotion and feeling, and the six emphasizes long-term sentiment. This card reflects the force behind movements like MAGA—a yearning for an American golden age. It doesn’t matter that this golden age never truly existed. The Star, viewed through this lens, further underscores the loss of hope that America can return to its former height of power. Society feels stuck in damage control and maintenance rather than growth.
In the goals and ideals position of the spread, we find The Emperor. This is straightforward: those currently in power aim to maintain and uphold America’s empire. This is not a judgement on the actual decisions being made by the ruling class, which have lately been incredibly reactionary and counter-productive, this is saying the overarching goals of power and control remain unchanged even as they are becoming increasingly incompetent in grasping them—only the individuals benefiting have shifted.
The next card, representing the recent past, is the 10 of Wands. This card marks the end of the suit of passion (the same suit as the Knight of Wands, which we have in our reading symbolising America). It signifies a difficult adjustment, questioning what comes next after achieving your goals and fulfilling your passion. This reflects America’s current directionless state. Having reached the top, where do they go next? Built on the cowboy vibes of the Knight of Wands, America now finds itself with no easy frontiers to conquer and is beginning to consume itself.
The following card, representing the current trajectory, is The World, the final card of the Major Arcana. Its meanings are complex, but in the context of the previous cards (spent passion, lost hope, rigid adherence to empire), it suggests the end of this phase of the American Experiment and the decline of America’s role as a global superpower. Whether this is good or bad likely depends on your perspective and proximity to the imperial core.
Now, onto the staff and final four cards. The first is the 9 of Wands, representing the ruling class’s current approach. It signals a return to isolationism—barriers are being erected because too much is being asked, and too many things are going wrong. However, as the Knight of Wands crossed with The Star indicates, America is weakening due to a lack of strong leadership and an inability to inspire its people. The barriers of the 9 of Wands won’t solve this.
The next card, representing the global environment, is The Moon. This is straightforward: nothing is straightforward. The global situation is extremely unclear, with much happening but little clarity on what truly matters versus what will be forgotten in a few months. This encompasses rapid technological changes, such as AI, whose long-term impacts remain unknown, as well as unresolved conflicts like those in Palestine and Ukraine. The Moon emphasizes that it’s a challenging time to be a global superpower. America is navigating a rapidly changing world where decisions must often be made with limited information. It’s a time for caution and reevaluating outdated modes of operation.
The second-to-last card is the 6 of Wands.
As an aside, there’s a lot of fire energy from the Wands in this spread. Passionate, unpredictable energy is probably not the direction you want from one of the most powerful nations on the planet. The absence of Pentacles, especially, highlights a lack of grounded thought and a minimal focus on tangible, sustainable outcomes like infrastructure and long-term planning.
That said, the 6 of Wands offers the advice America needs: global collaboration is vital. Many of the cards representing America’s ruling class—The Emperor and Knight of Wands—are highly individualistic and accustomed to throwing their weight around. The 6 of Wands warns that America must change course and recognize that its days of ruling purely by might are fading. To succeed, the country must prioritize diplomacy, humility, and a willingness to share power. This does not seem likely.
Finally we have the outcome, where all this is leading to. The card here is the Page of Swords. My quick surface interpretation is that a Page is obviously much lower in status than an Emperor, the goal card from earlier. Which suggests a massive drop in global influence. It can however also suggest a time of experimentation and adaptation which could be a good response to the challenges faced, especially those indicated by The Moon. My feeling though is that it represents greater power in the hands of the tech freaks like Musk and the annoying rationalist mentality that thinks there is a Golden Path that can be logically worked out to lead America to a new age of supremacy. It’s individuals carving up the greater whole and failing to account for the long term direction.
TLDR:
America is running on fumes, with a deep, pervasive hopelessness that anything can change. The ruling class is desperately holding on to the remnants of the American empire, refusing to admit the systems that built it are fundamentally broken.
This is a turning point for the American experiment, unfolding in a world that’s uncertain, rapidly changing, and where the old rules don’t apply anymore. Instead of adapting, America’s response is to double down on isolationism and brute force, trying to prop up the empire instead of embracing collaboration.
The current trajectory into America's future as told by the Page of Swords is grim: a bunch of tech bros and rationalists are gonna try to algorithm their way out of the mess they helped create. Trying to find some perfect logical path that both maintains American supremacy while also ensuring they maintain their personal power.
Overall the reading suggests they don't have the skill to do either.
-Madame Saturday
This post made possible by submissions from readers like you.
HOUDINI Magazine DSi Photo Challenge
Get ready to bust out a childhood favorite for this HOUDINI Magazine challenge. It's super simple. Join our discord "The Velvet Room", then post your photos in the arts-n-creations channel. Favorite photos will be shared on the site.
Check out a few of the submissions we've already gotten:
Let's Talk the Site, the Money and the Message - HOUDINI Magazine Needs Your Help
I’m writing this post to talk about the finances of the magazine, the website, and where things are at with the brand. Money stuff is awkward to talk about, but I’m not about to sugarcoat it—I’m struggling, and I need your help.
First off, the beginning of this year kicked my ass. My company screwed me over, and with the economy collapsing around us, I’m barely keeping my head above water. If you’re in a position to help, I’ve set up a GoFundMe for immediate support. You can check it out Here for the full story, but the short version is: any assistance in sharing this goes a long way right now.
Now, let’s talk about the clothing shop. I’ve decided to put it on an indefinite hiatus. Honestly, it was losing money. Making clothes, sending them to influencers, and trying to get posts out there just wasn’t worth it—the returns were minimal, and it wasn’t aligning with what I want to do with the brand right now. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s not a priority anymore. It was something that would have taken significant personal investment to make happen, several thousand dollars. We don't have that budget.
Since the site relaunch in November, I’ve been dropping my Cash App link in every post. If you feel like sending a random one-time donation, it’s hugely appreciated. On the real though: I haven’t gotten any yet, so I figured I’d mention it again. Every dollar goes directly to supporting the site—whether it’s commissioning writers, growing the brand, or getting more zines out. I’ve got big plans, but they all cost money, and right now, I’m just trying to keep the lights on.
I also have a Patreon, but I’ll be honest—I haven’t really gotten it off the ground and haven't promoted it prior to this. I’m not super keen on paywalling content or making stuff that isn’t accessible for free. That’s not what this community is about. But if you’re into the idea of supporting me that way, it’s there, and there are a couple of tiers if you’re interested. I’m still figuring out how to make it work without compromising what we’re building here, and would love feedback on how to do this.
Another idea I’m playing around with is running light banner ads on the site. Not Google AdSense crap—I’m talking old-school internet vibes. Ads for people in my network, websites I support, or folks who want to support me in return. It’s not set in stone, and I’m not trying to turn this into an ad-heavy mess, but I need cash to keep this thing growing. This might end up being a patreon tier, more word on this soon.
Some people see the traffic and assume I’m making bank, but the truth is, it costs me money every month just to keep the site running. That’s not even counting the hours I pour into it. I’m not some high-end fashion brand faking it until I make it—I’m just one person trying to build something meaningful.
On a brighter note, I’m stoked to announce HOUDINI Radio, which is coming soon! You can get more details in the Discord server. I’m also looking for people to help out—this is a community, not a corporation, and I want you to be part of it.
Thanks for sticking with me. Your support—whether it’s through donations, sharing my work, or just being here—means everything. Let’s keep pushing forward together.
—Erik Houdini
Like Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat, HOUDINI Magazine Presents... Gough - eviLinsideus, Full EP out Spring 2025
Interview with Kerem: The Heart of Atlanta’s Goat Format Scene
Who are you, and how’d you end up making waves in the Atlanta Goat scene?
I have been a long-time Yu-Gi-Oh player who really fell in love with Goat format. There hadn't been a GOAT scene since probably the SJC days here in Atlanta, so I took it upon myself to build one. I tried initially with local stores, but none were open to the idea. So, I contacted my now venue host Charlie of Charlie's Collectible Show, and he has provided me with a top-tier venue to host premier tournaments.
If someone’s never heard of Goat format, how would you sell it to them? What makes it its own beast compared to modern Yu-Gi-Oh?
It is PEAK Yu-Gi-Oh to me. There are only a few handful of formats that peak my interest, let alone the player base interested in past formats. It plays like a finely tuned machine, with intense nuances that may initially deter newcomers from getting into. However, sticking with it, growing with the game, its competitive sphere, and learning the ins and outs of the format are probably the most rewarding things.
Modern's issue is that the formats are so unhealthy generally that it pushes out players constantly who inevitably come back to the game later on. There is too much going on and the matchups feel more like solitaire than a game of deck building.
Out of all the games and formats out there, what pulled you into Goat? What’s the spark?
GOAT is pure nostalgia that dragged me in. I was sick and tired of modern and the short games. GOAT offered a balance of skill, deck building, and the competitiveness that I sought.
These days, everything’s online—but in-person events still hit different. What’s the magic of IRL tournaments, and why’s it worth putting in the work?
I don't know if it’s worth putting in the work necessarily, but the rewarding thing is hanging out in a space you built for others with similar interests to yourself coming together and competing.
Atlanta’s got this long history of subcultures—music, art, gaming, you name it. Do you think the Goat scene here taps into that vibe? How does it fit into the city’s cultural DNA?
There is a sense of pride that fills Atlanta. The pride and egos of Atlanta and its players drive this. It creates a unique experience of rivalries and drama that fills the air of these events, causing for exciting outcomes and storylines.
Running events without big corporate dollars backing you can’t be easy. How do you keep it all going?
Honestly, just barely. Everything falls upon my shoulders at the end of the day. The thing that drives me again is the community.
In a grassroots scene like this, where the community holds it all together, what’s been the biggest challenge for you as an organizer? How have you worked through it?
Appeasing players. There is a fine line to walk where there are players who will always support you and show appreciation, and then there are those who try to be most vocal and bring you down. A lot of people just don't want to see others succeed and lavish in praying on others' downfalls. With anything, you have to block out those trying to bring you down and surround yourself with a core of players who believe in you and your vision.
If someone’s never checked out the Atlanta Goat scene, why should they? What’s waiting for them if they show up?
Because we offer the most and best when it comes to prizing, venue, and experience. We’re a destination for players, even collecting a lot of outside travelers to make the pilgrimage to compete in Atlanta.
Dive deeper into the world of Goat Format.
Don't miss out on the epic Wrestlemania 3v3 — coming soon to Atlanta.