10 Levels of Sleight of Hand: 3 CARD MONTE

my name is daniel roy and today i'm going to demonstrate 10 levels of 3 card monty now level 1 is how the game was originally played it used a black queen another perfectly identical black queen and a third perfectly identical black queen and they would just mark one of the cards with a big x to distinguish it from the other ones now the problem with the black queens is that there's so much ink on the cards that the marks are kind of hard to see so level two is how the game was subsequently played where they would use a red ace and then they would use another red ace and they would use a third red ace and they'd mark one of the cards but the markings are way easier to see because of all the space on the cards now level three is the rather obvious next step instead of marking the cards just use contrasting cards like for example a red ace and then two black queens and that's how the game was played for many years and that's how we're going to play it today so watch very closely i can toss the money card down in the middle or i can toss it down on the end and then i'm going to mix the cards around a little so here's level four i will toss the money card the ace of diamonds down in the middle and then i'll mix the cards around now it can be confusing because i crossed my hands but you probably saw that the money card went over here right no well let's try again for level five i'm going to move a little bit more quickly this time i will toss the money card down on the end then i'll mix the cards around again now imagine that you had some money in your hand and you were trying to decide where to bet would you bet on card number one or card number two or card number three most people here would bet on card number two in the middle which is what i'm hoping that you'll do because the money card is back over here on the end now i should mention that the game isn't played like this anymore it was too difficult to keep track of the two black queens and the red ace people found it too confusing so level six is how the game is played these days with one black queen and two red aces that's how we'll play going forward for level seven i'll show you how the game is being played on the streets of new york city where it is still being used to separate suckers from their money now remember this is the money card this is the card to follow these days the operator will toss the money card down and then it'll show you that these cards here are both red so when you bet on this card and find out that it two is red some people theorize that in fact all three cards are red which is true just like at the beginning all three cards are red i mean this card here is red and this card here is red and this card here is red so all three cards are red except for this one which is black well for level eight i'll show you how the game works and i will explain why it's so easy to lose when the operator tosses the money card down you have to keep your eye on the money card you cannot so much as glance at either of these two red cards here because the moment you look at those cards they'll switch the money card for one of those red aces you see they always keep the money card where you least expect it so now that you know how the game works for level nine why don't you pretend we're playing for real now remember this is the card you want to follow so don't get distracted by these two red aces here this is the card that you care about so i will toss the money card down and remember don't watch this red ace here don't watch this red ace here the card you want to follow is the black queen and i will mix these cards as slowly as possible now once again imagine you have some money in your hand which card would you bet on card number one card number two or card number three i think i put a little bend in the corner of that card oops let me uh straighten that out oh lucky me now for level 10 we're going to take this many many steps further you might remember that at the very beginning i explained that when they used to use identical cards they would take a marking pen and they would put a big x on the money card to distinguish it from the others i'm going to do the same thing but on the back of the card so i will put a big x on the back of the money card and this will mean that it'll be very very easy to tell that queen of clubs apart uh from the back it'll be very easy to distinguish the card from the two red aces i'm going to add one more detail i'm also going to tear a corner off of the money card so now it should be completely obvious which one the money card is because it literally has a corner torn out of it now i will leave this corner down here under the pen now watch closely because i'm going to mix those cards around and i have to tell you it's truly amazing how many people would bet on what seems to be the surest thing because you can see that that corner is an ace of diamonds and it matches perfectly front and back and that is why you should never ever play three card monty and i really do mean that you really should never ever play three card monty even after you've seen all these levels and even if you think you understand the mechanics of the game you should still never play why well let's imagine you're walking along the street and you see a game of monty now this might be a game of monte that uses cards or it might use disks with markings on them it could even use some shells and a pee or bottle caps and a little paper ball it doesn't matter what the props are it's the same game every single time and it's the same scam every single time now the word scam and con are often used interchangeably but there are some subtle differences between them although they're both very applicable to three card monty so what's the difference between a scam and a con well a scam is just a crooked game that you can't win what makes three card monty a con is a little bit when i accidentally bend up the corner of the card because for a moment you think you're cheating me and that's the definition of a con now the way three card money is really played on the street it's both a scam and a con it's a scam because it's certainly a crooked game but there are also parts of it where you will be made to feel as though you're going to cheat the operator but of course he's going to cheat you and that's why it's a con so you might be walking along and you see a crowd of people and some people are betting and some people are winning and some are losing and you might think oh well i should just join in the crowd because it's all of us against that one guy running the scam no it's all of them against you because every person you see there with maybe one or two exceptions is part of the con if you ever see a player bet and win they are a shell they are part of the game they're working with and working for the operator the person who's actually mixing the cards around if you see someone egging people on and trying to get them to bet more money and trying to stir up the crowd they're also part of the game if you see a very large imposing guy standing near the back he's also part of the scam he's there to make sure no one does anything outrageous this is a very carefully orchestrated con game where the entire team is working together to find the best possible mark on the street and then to take them off for as much money as possible and there's this old adage that oh they'll always let you in the first time if con men did that they'd be broke that's not true at all they will cheat you the very first chance they get and then they will leave they may make you think you've won and make you think that you're going to be given money but they won't do it they will never pay you off even if you were to find the right card how well there are a few methods often the operator will say something like oh i'm only going to take the highest bet on each round so if you happen to bet on the right card the operator would simply signal to one of the chills to out bet you and of course then if they bet on the right card the same one you did and they win you think oh man i should have bet more on that card and then of course you might bet more the next time if instead they bet on the wrong card and they're wrong and then they lose their money you think wow i got outbet by this idiot this person didn't even know where the card was and they bet more than me and that's why they won and of course as a result you'll be even more motivated to bet money on the next one the other reason that you should never go into the crowd is because often they'll also just pickpocket you if they're going to con you out of your money anyway they might as well just steal your wallet or your phone or anything else on you so don't even go into the crowd it's a rather dangerous space because you are amongst an entire team whose sole purpose is to take your money now of course three card monty is also illegal in many places so that's another great reason not to play another part of three card monty that draws people in is that if you watch the operator play when he's just playing against the shills he will not mix the cards too quickly and he also is not going to use any of the sleight of hand that actually secretly switches the cards for each other so that you can't follow the game so what you're going to watch is a guy throwing cards around and you're going to see people inconceivably betting on the wrong card and losing their money and when they do bet on the right card it was easy for you to follow as well so you're thinking okay well that guy's an idiot because i could see plain as day that the card went on the end and he bet in the middle and he just lost his money and then of course you see on the next round someone bets on the card that you think it is and they win like five thousand dollars or something and it's like i could have been that person and i'm smarter than all these people who keep getting it wrong i'm smart like that guy who got it right and if i just walk up to the game i will win a lot of money too and that is the very first step in a whole series of errors that you could make if you don't just keep walking three card monty essentially preys on our desire to make a quick dollar to get something for nothing and to feel like oh we just we got that guy we were better than that guy a con game fundamentally puts you in a position of psychological power or at least perceived psychological power you think that you're about to cheat this guy because he's just too stupid to hold on to his money but actually you have walked into a whole context in which you are being manipulated to do exactly what the hustler wants you to do so it is the illusion of having great power when in reality you are completely powerless so the moral of the story is the only way to win a con game is to simply not engage and this is a scam and a con that has been designed to take advantage of our ingrained flaws and our ingrained desires and it is something that has existed for hundreds of years and will certainly exist for hundreds of years into the future because it just works so damn well so on that rather depressing note thank you so much for watching i hope you enjoyed if you liked this video please give it a like and if you want to see more consider subscribing to the channel and following me on social media if you're interested in taking private lessons i teach magicians of all levels or if you want to book a show you can contact me by email or on my website links are in the description along with the credits and the inspirations for this video see you next time

Channel: Daniel Roy

Views: 742,376

Keywords:

Id: ALJx7yU4S7M

Length: 11min 33sec (693 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 21 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/UnSafeThrowAway69420]

Tl;dr: Don't play money games with strangers on the streets unless you want to get the shit beat out of you, get scammed, or get robbed.

[u/respondin2u]

After watching this Penn and Teller Fool Us clip, I would be afraid of playing cards with strangers:

https://youtu.be/TwFIJyWKs1k

[u/haekuh]

For anyone confused from the time the video starts there are two red aces and one black queen.

When you see him "throw" a card onto the table he is just picking any card in his hand and putting it down, not the card he shows you. He will show you one card and then put down a different one. The cards being bent/curved have nothing to do with the trick.

When he rips the corner of the card he shows you a queen but then swaps it with an ace when he flips the card over. He then grabs a pre torn queen corner from behind him just after he tears the corner and oddly put his hand to his side. Show us the pre torn queen corner but then puts the actually torn ace corner on the table.

The card with a bent corner is just a common bait for three card monte. He just bends/fixes the corner as he deals the card for the final time. There could be a special method here for how the corner bends/unbends but I'm not sure.

[u/grinr]

He missed the last, but maybe most important reason - even if by some miracle you manage to win, and another miracle occurs and the guy pays up, you won't make it far before that money is taken from your beaten body. There is ZERO chance to "win" money from this game.

[u/UnicornTitties]

I don’t understand any of what just happened.

[u/ilearnquick]

It’s obvious, he’s a wizard.

[u/Skins212121]

Bighead’s brother has got some serious skills!

[u/cannotbefaded]

Watch his video on stacking the deck at poker

https://youtu.be/0EluYGR291M

[u/sav86]

So basically don't play money games in back alleys or on the street if you don't have back up or you can't defend yourself...got it.