Magic cat

[marplots]

Maybe a guy off screen shining a laser pointer of the back of the appropriate cup?

Yeah, but then how does that guy know which cup it is?
(Maybe a psychic off screen with a laser pointer?)

ETA: I think the whole film is just run in reverse so the cat picks first, then the mixing comes after.

 

[rjh01]

The guy with the laser gets a signal from the person moving the cups. This person knows where the object is.

 

[Garrette]

Nonsense. It was pre-show work.

Plus dual reality!

Some would call it instant stooging, but I wouldn't go that far.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yeah, but then how does that guy know which cup it is?

I was three-for-three on the shuffles in the video. I've played the shell game for fifty years.

 

[Aepervius]

A small dimple on the cup would do that fine. More dimples would indicated numbered cups. They wouldn't show on camera, suggesting that the low angle was ... convenient.

Just put a bit of cat mint on the bell.

 

[Senex]

I think it was done by taping a mouse on the side of the cup we couldn't see.

That sounds right to me. The cat could even have been previously rewarded for hitting the cup with the mouse. The jingly ball was simple misdirection while the cat just paws the same cup each time.

 

[marplots]

I was three-for-three on the shuffles in the video. I've played the shell game for fifty years.

Not me. I was beat out by a cat.