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Shell game scam

Matty1973

Critical Thinker
M
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
253
I saw some guys doing the shell game scam today. Did it right in front of me and I couldn't see how he did it. I can see how he would place it under the new box but can't see how he got it from under the original one.

 
Oh, he's cheating for sure. I'd tell you how, but that would violate magician's code. If you want to know how it's done, you can get DVD's or books on how. I like the shell game, but I never use it to swindle money from people.
 
TBK is right. It is a trick, and not a particularly hard one. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to catch out the scammer. It is like Three Card Monte that way. Regardless if you know the method, you cannot tell when an expert makes "the move."
 
Garrett, he actually shows the "secret move" by mistake at 1:50 when he shows where the ball is.

I like the comments the guy filming makes at the end..."They're all together..."

On a brighter note, is that a carpet sample or maybe a car floor mat? Great surface to work on and the rubber backing probably gives it durability for street use.

Not a fan of working on the ground though -- too much leg and knee work. Imagine an hour or two of squatting or kneeling on the hard pavement. Yikes.
 
Garrette said:
TBK is right. It is a trick, and not a particularly hard one. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to catch out the scammer. It is like Three Card Monte that way. Regardless if you know the method, you cannot tell when an expert makes "the move."
Click to expand...

I think I see what you mean. From looking at the video some more, once I have chosen a match box he then makes the move.
 
Garrette said:
TBK is right. It is a trick, and not a particularly hard one. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to catch out the scammer. It is like Three Card Monte that way. Regardless if you know the method, you cannot tell when an expert makes "the move."
Click to expand...
For the umpteenth time, I echo what Garrette said. I learned this trick at TAM2 ... well, not actually AT TAM2, but at a magicians' convention that was being held at one of the other nearby hotels, with some really big names there ... but what I'm trying to say is that I learned it from a pro.

And, as is the case with a lot of tricks, the secret is ridiculously simple, and if you know what to look for, you can follow what's going on.

THIS performer was VERY easy to follow. He was far from being an expert. The experts, the really good performers, are much harder to catch. Even if you see them pushing the shells around and trying to misdirect you by pointing this way and that, you can't be sure when they've done the dirty work.

One of the better performers would even let the sucker turn over the shell himself, to see whether the pea was there. The sucker was always wrong, of course, and the performer would simply push forward a different shell and say the pea was really there, and usually it was (and if it wasn't there, it would be found under the remaining shell ... thus disproving that sucker's suspicion that there was no pea under any shell).
 
marplots said:
Garrett, he actually shows the "secret move" by mistake at 1:50 when he shows where the ball is.

I like the comments the guy filming makes at the end..."They're all together..."

On a brighter note, is that a carpet sample or maybe a car floor mat? Great surface to work on and the rubber backing probably gives it durability for street use.

Not a fan of working on the ground though -- too much leg and knee work. Imagine an hour or two of squatting or kneeling on the hard pavement. Yikes.
Click to expand...
The move at 1:50 is not the key move; that came much earlier. My point, though, is that both moves are indistinguishable from him not making the move, so that eve an expert cannot tell if he is switching the ball's location or merely looking as if he is, caveated, of course, with Brown's observation that I am referring to professional performers.
 
I found this news report from last summer of some people getting arrested for doing the same scam on a bridge nearby to where I saw it. I've taken some picture grabs from the video and the news report. They look quite similar to me.
 

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Scum like that should be jailed. Using conjurer tricks to swindle people is wrong.
 
Garrette said:
The move at 1:50 is not the key move; that came much earlier. My point, though, is that both moves are indistinguishable from him not making the move, so that eve an expert cannot tell if he is switching the ball's location or merely looking as if he is, caveated, of course, with Brown's observation that I am referring to professional performers.
Click to expand...

Sure it is. He means to flip the box over to show the pea, but instead slides it and the pea pops out. Maybe "secret property" is a better description than "secret move."
 
marplots said:
Sure it is. He means to flip the box over to show the pea, but instead slides it and the pea pops out. Maybe "secret property" is a better description than "secret move."
Click to expand...
Hmm. Yes and no. In a sense, none of the props needs to have any special properties. For example, it is not necessary that a shell seem to be solid, yet have a secret soft flap or trap door ...

Indeed, all of the props are capable of withstanding examination from a spectator. The spectator would see that each prop is exactly what it seems to be. Smart performers generally don't let spectators examine all of the props at once, however, lest one of the secrets of the overall effect be inadvertently exposed. In that sense, it could be said that the props, working in concert, have a sort of secret property.
 
Brown said:
Hmm. Yes and no. In a sense, none of the props needs to have any special properties. For example, it is not necessary that a shell seem to be solid, yet have a secret soft flap or trap door ...

Indeed, all of the props are capable of withstanding examination from a spectator. The spectator would see that each prop is exactly what it seems to be. Smart performers generally don't let spectators examine all of the props at once, however, lest one of the secrets of the overall effect be inadvertently exposed. In that sense, it could be said that the props, working in concert, have a sort of secret property.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is what I meant and why the mat was of interest to me as well.

This is my favorite on the subject: http://www.chefanton.com/scoundrelsstore/shell_game.htm

(No commercial interest on my part, I just really like the instruction in this one.)
 
marplots said:
Yes, that is what I meant and why the mat was of interest to me as well.

This is my favorite on the subject: http://www.chefanton.com/scoundrelsstore/shell_game.htm

(No commercial interest on my part, I just really like the instruction in this one.)
Click to expand...
It looks like Bob Sheets is one of the instructors. I watched Bob Sheets do his routine once, and his was the most entertaining to watch. He could fool you without making you feel like you were a fool (unless you were a "wise guy," in which case he could humiliate you). One of the techniques I've borrowed from Bob, not just for the shell game but for other effects, is:
When showing the spectators that I haven't done anything sneaky, THAT'S when I do something sneaky.
 
thaiboxerken said:
I use a standard mat myself. But I do lots of card tricks too.
Click to expand...

You mean the standard close-up pad right? How do you transport it without it getting all bent up, folded and so on? Mine have sponge rubber backings and absorb anything spilled on them -- also a bugger to clean. That's why I thought the "car mat" style in that video might be better, especially for busking.
 
I roll up the mat so it's not creased. I've machined washed it and it's like new afterwards. I ordered it at Hank's magic factory.
 
I might be inclined to ruin the guy's tricks if I came across. I'd demand to change the implements so that they make it very hard to do "the move."
 
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