"The problem with getting a real street education is that you have to go through a lot of hard knocks and pain for the degree. Jim Rose has remedied that dilemma for the masses by contributing monthly to Punk Globe Magazine ." It is Jim Roses opinion that the psychology of being street wise is crucial to protecting ones self, furthering careers and in some cases just fun to know.
The contents of this article could be dangerous. Misuse of the material can cheapen an art form or at the very
least make you look stupid. More importantly, misuse of this information may result in jail time or death. Do not attempt any of these tricks without the direct supervision of a responsible professional. I know more about snake oil than any person alive. I've been selling it for most of my life. Quite simply, snake oil is my lifeblood. Magic, circus stunts, hypnotism, hustles, mind-reading; any and every graft known to man. If there's a con, I know about it. Snake oil, ladies and gentlemen, is the art of the gyp, hoodwink, shuck, sandbag. Identify a weakness or susceptibility and manipulate to your personal advantage. The term originates from traveling "salesmen" in the 19th century who peddled a concoction, usually giving it an exotic name like snake oil, promising to cure all ills. Of course, it was a big scam and eventually the term snake oil came to represent any deceptive product or enterprise.Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, life's calculations, misdirections, and manipulations became a fascination of mine. During this semi-lawless era reminiscent of the Wild West, slicksters, con-artists, and hucksters roamed the terrain looking for easy marks. Phoenix has now, I've been told, become quite civilized and the days of flim-flam are long gone. Don't believe it. The art of selling snake oil is constantly being reinvented, bastardized and ultimately improved in a perpetual, strangely perverse evolution. Just like me. My introduction to the swindle of snake oil began during my formative teenage years. Working at the state fair, I was initiated into the world of eccentrics with a school-of-hard-knocks education in street smarts. In the late eighties, this education allowed me to found the Jim Rose Circus, touring the planet non-stop for fifteen years. During this odyssey of the odd, I became part of a living eclectic encyclopedia.
|
|
Monte Myth # 1
The Three-Card Monte is an old street con game.
It works like this: the dealer holds a red queen and
two black kings that he throws face down on a table
or cardboard box. The rule is to guess which one is
the queen. The victim puts his money down on the
card he thinks is the winner, then the dealer turns
it over to show which one it is. It appears to be a
simple game to beat. There is a general perception that street hustlers
working the Three-Card Monte games always let
you win the first time you play to get you hooked.
This myth grew from seeing money changing hands
with other betters. The other betters are in fact part
of the scam. It is their job to make you feel comfortable
enough to take out your money and try to beat the dealer.
When you first walk up to the game, you see
a guy who is winning most of the time with great
enthusiasm. He makes the game feel like it's a lot
of fun and an easy way to make money. When he
wins, you see how he did it. When he loses, you see
where he went wrong. The dealer has a bag full of
money stuffed in his pocket that he uses to keep his
winnings and pay his losses. Since only one person
bets at a time, the "other better" offers to let you
play. If you accept, the dealer will hustle you out
of twenty dollars on the first bet.
After a quick loss like this, you might take a
step back to reassess your strategy. This allows our friend, the "other better," to start betting again. He loses three times in a row and out of anger throws
the losing card. When the dealer turns his back to
retrieve the card, the "other better" bends the corner
of the winning card. When the dealer returns, the
game starts again. This time the other player picks
the bent card and wins every time.
After sustaining several losses, the dealer says:
"That's enough, let someone else play," and he looks
at you: "One last bet. Five hundred dollars limit.
How much do you want to bet?" When you open
your wallet, the "other better" excitedly snatches
all your money and throws it on the bent card. The
dealer turns the card over and you lose. He grabs
the winnings, and puts it in his money bag that he
stuffs back in his pocket. The dealer had secretly
taken the bend out of the winning card.
When you start to argue to get your stolen
money back, his partner, the "other better" screams
"Police!" and takes off running. The dealer runs
in the opposite direction. If you chase him he will
throw his money bag. Once you get it, you'll find
that it's a duplicate bag stuffed with newspaper and
a rock. The rock adds enough weight to throw the
bag far enough for the hustler to get away while
you're chasing the bag.
Monte Myth # 2
Three-Card Monte is one of the easiest sleights to
learn. You only have to lift your middle finger first
when throwing the cards onto the table. The simplicity
of this trick means many people know how to
do it. They know exactly where the winning card is,
but they never win. If they pick the right card, the
dealer says: "Double or nothing?" That is the cue
for his partner to slap the money on the table first.
Since only one person is allowed to bet at a time,
this negates the deal.
The Talking King
Ask a volunteer to place four cards facedown
under four objects. Tell him you will use the help of
the king of diamonds to guess each card. Slide the
king face up under one card at a time and bring it
to your ear where the king "whispers" the name of
the card in question.
Secret: This trick is very simple to learn. First
ask the volunteer to shuffle the deck. Once done, go
through it to take the king of diamonds out. While
doing that glance at the last four cards at the bottom
of the deck and memorize them. Ask the volunteer
to cut the deck, and to pick a half.
Whatever he chooses, make sure he ends up with
the half that has the chosen cards. Then ask him to
count the cards; this move will bring the four cards
on top. Whatever the number of cards he comes up
with, just say: "Yeah, that's about right." Ask him
to put each of the four cards that are on top of the
deck under four objects.
Now the rest is easy. Since you remember the
cards, the king doesn't have to say anything.
If the Shoe Fits, Steal it
Show your audience the front and back of a playing
card, let's say the ten of hearts. Place it on the
floor face-up. Put your foot on top of it, fully covering
it. Lift your foot again. Everyone is astonished
to see the ace of diamonds instead.
Secret: Two cards are needed. The ace of diamonds
is carefully and tightly held behind the ten of hearts
as though both cards were one. Prior to the stunt,
stick a piece of gum or beeswax on the sole of your
shoe. Cover the card so it cannot be seen. When lifting
the foot up, the ten of hearts will stick to the
sole leaving the ace of diamonds on the floor.
Craps Props
Craps players pride themselves on their knowledge of
the laws of probability, but they are not always prepared
for a hustler's angle.
First, before getting into this, if you don't understand
craps, then you should learn.
Second, never take a proposition bet.
Game # 1:
Any dice player knows betting on "hardways
combinations" is a sucker's bet. So if a hustler approaches
them with a proposal that if they will be
the bank, he will only bet the "H.W. Combos." He
says he will put two dollars on all H.W.'s., and every
time they come up he gets casino odds. When hard
four or ten (2-2 or 5-5) come up, he is to be paid
off at 7 to 1 odds, which will give him $14.00 for
his two dollar bet. When a hard six or eight come
up, he is to get 9 to 1, which is eighteen dollars.
Any time a seven, soft four, soft six, soft eight or
soft ten is rolled, he will lose his two dollars and
have to ante up again. The key is that the hustler only loses two dollars.
In a casino he'd have to bet eight dollars to
cover all of the hard ways. The dupe always seems
to overlook that important part and only hears the
7 to 1 and 9 to 1, which is the legitimate casino
payoff. Even at two dollars the hustler can win a
lot of money fast.
Game # 2:
This one is called "the bar six-eight game." The
hustler tells the dupe that the six and eight will be
void on the come out roll. Anytime the six and eight
are rolled on the come out, it will be ignored and
the dice will be rolled again. If the six and eight are
barred, the dupe will want to bet against the dice,
fading the shooter.
He will do this because he knows the six and eight
are the easiest points for the shooter to make. But he
forgets that in casino craps, the odds only favor the
shooter on the come out, after that, they shift to the
"don't" bet. But since the six and eight have been taken
out it allows the hustler to roll over and increase the
odds for instant wins from seven and eleven.
The experienced player will let the hustler throw
all night thinking he has the best bet and that he's
just going through a period of bad luck that will
turn at any minute.
The Sure Bet
Forcing is a way to make a volunteer pick a particular
object card while he thinks he had chosen
freely.
Every trickster should have several forces at their
disposal. Most require practice, but here is a simple
one to get you started: The performer takes out a
deck of normal cards and secretly peeks at the bottom
one. He sets the cards on the table and says to
a volunteer: "There are fifty-two cards in a deck. I
want you to cut them to where you think there are
thirteen left on the bottom."
Then the performer picks up the bottom cut and
counts them one at a time, placing each card face
down on top of the cut that was left on the table,
until finished. It doesn't matter how many cards are
counted because the bottom card is now on top. The
performer tells him to look at the top card but not
to let him see it, and to shuffle it anywhere into the
deck. All the performer has to do is reach into the
pile and pull out the designated card.
Now you are ready for the greatest card scam ever
devised. It's better than Three-Card Monte. Let's say
the seven of clubs is on the bottom, it is brought to
the top, looked at and reshuffled into the deck by
the volunteer, and the force is complete.
Take the cards into your hands and start turning
them over one at a time, placing each card on top of
the previous one face up on the table. When you get
to the object card, in this case, the seven of clubs, don't
stop!
Be sure to read more of "Jim Rose Circus Scam, Fraud, Rip Off, and Con Artists Beware" in next month's Punk Globe Magazine...e with four or five more cards on top.
|
