Shell game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article deals with the con game. For other meanings, see Shell game (disambiguation).
The shell game (also known as Thimblerig, Three shells and a pea, the old army game) is portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is an illegal confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud. This famous swindle, is referred to, in bunko slang, as a short-con, because it is quick and easy to pull off.
Contents |
[edit] Play
The game requires three shells (thimbles, walnut shells, bottle caps, and even match boxes have been used), and a small, soft round ball, about the size of a pea, and often referred to as such. It can be played on almost any flat surface, but on the streets it is often seen played on a mat lying on the ground, or on a cardboard box. The man perpetrating the swindle (called the thimblerigger, operator, or shell man) begins the game by placing the pea under one of the shells, then quickly shuffles the shells around. Once done shuffling, the operator bets with his audience on the location of the pea. If played fairly, which it never is on the street, a player will win an equal amount bet, by correctly picking the shell containing the pea; otherwise, he/she loses the money. Even when played, without betting, as in when a magician performs the trick, the same sleight-of-hand techniques are utilized, so that the player does not, and cannot win, unless the operator wants them to win.
Viewing a game on the streets, by a confidence man, it would appear to the uninitiated, that the game has numerous players, but in reality, most of the persons standing around a game, are a part of the confidence gang and work for the operator. Operators prefer to swindle one victim at a time. The remaining "players" are collaborators, called shills, whose job is to pretend to play the game, and entice the victim into betting. They also can keep other pedestrians from crowding in and disrupting the bunko gangs action on the main player (victim). Much of the enticement involves personal insults between the operator and the victim. Once angry, the shill will "disclose" to the victim, how the game can be won. It is all a ruse to get the victim to place a large bet.
The operator often moves the shells in such a manner that it is obvious to all close observers where the pea is. He then touches all three shells, as if to move them to their proper places (asking his victims, "Is the pea here, here, or here?"). This is the crucial time when the pea gets its final position: the first shell he touches is always the one that everybody knows the pea to be under; he deftly removes the pea out from under the shell (known as the steal) and repositions it under another shell. This action is difficult to detect. Even knowing how to perform the trick will not help a viewer know where the pea is for certain.
When the operator has finished moving the shells around, he asks the player (victim) if they wish to bet on the play. If a player agrees, they have to place their money down, before they can point to a shell. They invariably choose the wrong "obvious" shell, and lose their money. The operator begins to insult his victim about their stupidity, which entices more "revenge" play, sometimes losing many times in a row.
If no victim wants to play, one of the shills may start the play in order to animate the victim. The shill will either lift a shell which is "obviously" wrong and will lose his money, or he lifts the "obvious" shell and wins. He wins because the operator touched all three shells again, moving the pea back to the "obvious" shell.
There are many variants of this scheme: sometimes the operator will not move the pea away from its "obvious" position by touching the three shells until a victim has handed over the money.
Occasionally, the first game will be played fairly for a lower amount, to entice the tourist to risk more money. Cheating will start with the following games. Sometimes repeat losers are kept in the game with an occasional win.
Sometimes a shill will place a finger on the "obvious" shell, as if to help the playing tourist and prevent any irregularities. However, the operator will still touch the three shells, the shill lifts the finger shortly at exactly the right time and the pea again wanders to another shell invisibly. Or, as explained above, the adjustment takes place after the money has been handed over.
The game should not be mistaken for an honest game. It is not possible for a victim to win, even if they know how the trick is worked, or even if they "accidentally" pick the shell that actually has the pea under it. Through very skilled sleight-of-hand, the operator can easily hide the pea, without the victim seeing. Any player who is suspected of understanding the trick, or does not place a bet and just wants to watch, will be quickly edged away from the table by the shills. The shell game set-up and lay-out is quick and simple, so that in the event of trouble, or if they are signaled that authorities are approaching, they can remove all traces of the game in seconds.
[edit] History
The shell game has been played at least since the Middle Ages, as evidenced by several paintings of that time. A book published in England in 1670 (Hull Elections - Richard Perry and his fiddler wife) mentions the thimblerig game. In the 1790s. It was called "thimblerig" as it was originally played using sewing thimbles. Later, walnut shells were used, and today the use of bottle caps is very common.
It was believed to be introduced to the U.S. by a Dr. Bennett, who became famous for his skill at the game. The swindle became very popular through-out the nineteenth century, and games were often set up in or around traveling fairs. Fear of jail kept these shell men traveling from one town to the next, never staying in one place very long. One of the most infamous confidence men of the nineteenth century, Jefferson Randolph Smith, known as Soapy Smith, led organized gangs of shell men through-out the mid-western States, and later in Alaska.
Today, the game is still being played for money in many major cities around the world, usually at locations with a high tourist concentration (for example: New York and Los Angeles, in the United States, Rambla in Barcelona, Spain Gran Via in Madrid, Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, Germany, Bahnhofsviertel in Frankfurt am Main). The swindle is classified as a bunko game, and illegal to play for money, in most countries. It should be noted that the shell game operator and shills are criminals and are always prepared for victims who might cause trouble when they lose. They can be very dangerous if provoked.
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- Bishop, Glen, The Shellgame - For Tableside Tricksters, 2000
- Price, Paul, The Real Work: Essential Sleight Of Hand For Street Operators, 2001
- Whit Haydn and Chef Anton, Notes on Three-card Monte
[edit] External links
- Play the shell game, Play the several versions of the shell game and see video clips of the shell game being performed.
- How do big city shell games work?
- Snatching the pea, See video clip of shell operator "stealing" the pea.
- School For Scoundrels, see The Tetley's, a complete street swindle re-enactment with three-card Monte, which is relative to the shell game.
