Visual ability

Factual Questions
1

To everyone who doesn’t yet hate me (there must be some),

I’m sure you have all seen the game where a guy puts a ball under a cup and he then rotates 3 identical cups, one concealing the ball, and when he stops you have to guess which cup is concealing the ball.

Well, are you aware of a place (on the net) that can test how good you are at it? Because at http://www.iwin.com, there is a game called “cups” which simulates the above game, and my friends are amazed at the pace that I can keep up with. I don’t mean to sound like I am bragging but I’m just wondering if there is a place that can determine one’s ability at it?

Thanks.

2

I lived in New York City for years. I used to have a blast, watching the three-card monte guys. It’s at least a two-person gag.
The trick was always to fixate on ONE part of the card, not the pattern- which becomes a blur if the runner is good. I guessed very well, but only laid money down once. I won another $ 20.00, and when I tried to double or nothing, I was shoved aside by the runner’s partner. It’s a game that is only designed to have one winner, and it ain’t the rube in from Milwaukee. ( No offense to anyone from the great and fair city of Milwaukee ).

3

Ahh I see. So when someone comes along that starts winning does the other guy jump in so you can’t bet anymore?

What a bunch of sly pricks.

4

3 Card Monte –

Normally, there is no fair way to win this. Cartoon – it sounds like you actually played a legit game of 3-card Monte, which I’ve never seen in my life.

Generally, the drill is this:

Dealer shows you three cards, tells you to “follow the queen” or “follow the bee (in a Bee deck, Ace spades)” etc, etc, etc. Now, normally, he’ll let you win the first time, maybe even the second time, hoping you’ll be suckered into another double or nothing. Now the third time, what he does takes a bit of explaining. When he shows you the three cards in his hands, he’ll lay them down one-two-three cards down. BUT, he doesn’t lay them down in the order he showed them to you. He’ll lay 'em 2-1-3 is the way I normally do it, but depending on your sleight-of-hand skills you can do it any order you’d like. If you do it right, it’s extremely difficult to notice.

Also, another variation is the dealer has an accomplice, who plays the game and ends up either losing horribly (meanwhile, you’re watching thinking "Man, this guy’s a MORON! It’s card number 2 obviously) and you dive in, bet $10 and lose. Or the guy is winning, and you figure, man, this guy is just GIVING money away. Once again, you bet your bucks and you lose.

There’s often a third guy out in the periphery who’s watching for the police and gives a signal if there’s trouble coming that way.

Plus, please note the example I gave of mixing up the cards is only one of several ways to do this trick. I’ve also seen someone who squares up three cards in his hand, shows the “top” card, which in fact is the second one, resquares the deck and deals off the cards one by one to the table. Of course, you think the card to follow is the first, when in fact it is the second.

It’s a con game. You can’t win it. I’ve done it to my friends at bars for beer.

5

I think Penn & Teller once pointed out that another variation is that the dealer is just figuring out how much $ you are carrying and then an accomplice around the corner later mugs you for any money you have or might have “won”.

6

Some years ago, when I was still young and foolish, I lost a substantial amount to one of those guys in the street with a little table, three cups and a ball.

Only later did I learn it is a rigged thing and you can’t win. It was an expensive lesson but no one is born knowing anything.

I hate to admit my girlfriend at the time advised me against playing on the grounds that the guys really didn’t look too honest. What do you know, prejudice sometimes is right.

7

In the three cups and a ball scam, the “ball” is a piece of sponge - it will fit in the crook of his thumb. The ball is not under any of the cups. The scammer just releases the ball when he picks up the cup where he wants it to be. if he lets you win, it is only because he expects that you will bet again with more money. You will not win this game. If you see someone winning, that person is a partner. You can save time by just throwing money at the man.

Three card monte is just a variation on the theme. It is a scam.

8

Which actually can be pretty entertaining in itself, if you’ve just come back from the Isle of Yap and have some spare change with you.

9

Another way the partner protects the ‘integrity’ of the game is when the mark puts down the cash on the right card/cup, the shill will drop a larger bill on one of the others, and the operator will give the mark his money back apologetically, “Sorry, only one bet per game, high bet takes it.”