A three-card Monte game in Jaffa, Israel. It has all the hallmarks of the con; the cards are slightly curved, the corners have been bent and the dealer has the cash in hand to conceal any sleight-of-hand. |
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| Origin | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Type | Gambling |
| Players | Np. |
| Skill(s) required | Chance |
| Cards | 3 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Playing time | 5-10 min. |
| Random chance | Easy |
| Related games | |
| Monte Bank | |
Three-card Monte, also known as the Three-card marney, Three-card trick, Three-Way, Three-card shuffle, Menage-a-card, Triplets, Follow the lady, Les Trois Perdants (French for Three Losers), le Bonneteau, Find the lady, or Follow the Bee is a confidence game in which the victim, or mark, is tricked into betting a sum of money, on the assumption that they can find the money card among three face-down playing cards.
In its full form, Three-card Monte is an example of a classic short con in which a shill pretends to conspire with the mark to cheat the dealer, while in fact conspiring with the dealer to cheat the mark.
This confidence trick was already in use by the turn of the 15th century,[1] having a great deal in common with the shell game; they are the same except that cards are used instead of "shells".[2]
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The three-card Monte game itself is very simple. To play, a dealer places three cards face down on a table, usually on a cardboard box which provides the ability to set up and disappear quickly.[3] The dealer shows that one of the cards is the target card, e.g., the queen of hearts, and then rearranges the cards quickly to confuse the player about which card is which. The player is then given an opportunity to select one of the three cards. If the player correctly identifies the queen of hearts, the player wins an amount equal to the amount bet; otherwise, he loses his stake.
Since there are only three cards, the jack of spades and jack of clubs often complement the "money card", which is usually a queen.[4] The Queen is often a red card, typically the Queen of hearts. Sometimes the Ace of spades is used as the money card, since the Ace of spades is viewed as lucky, which might lure the mark into playing the game.
When the mark arrives at the three-card Monte game, it is likely that a number of other players will be seen winning and losing money at the game. The people engaged in playing the game are often shills, confederates of the dealer who pretend to play so as to give the illusion of a straight gambling game.
As the mark watches the game, they are likely to notice that they can follow the queen more easily than the shills seem to be able to, which sets them up to believe that they can beat the game.
Eventually, if the mark enters the game, they will be cheated through any number of methods. An example of a simple scheme involves a dealer and two shills:
Dealers employ sleight of hand[5] and misdirection to prevent the mark from finding the queen. Several moves are in common use.
In the throw, the dealer holds two cards face down in one hand. The top card is held between the thumb and second finger; the bottom card is held below it, between the thumb and third finger. The dealer then sweeps his hand down and throws one card on the table. The mark naturally assumes that the dealer has thrown the bottom card; however, the dealer may throw either the bottom card, by releasing his third finger, or the top card, by releasing his second finger.
Done properly, the throw makes it virtually impossible for an observer to tell which card has fallen. Even shills can't reliably follow cards through the throw. Three card Monte crews use secret signals so that the dealer can tell the shills where the queen is.[5]
The throw accounts for the characteristic sideways motion of the dealer's hands as the cards are moved around on the table.
If the mark picks the right card, one of the shills will simply post a higher bid, which the dealer immediately accepts, saying "I only accept the highest bid." In other words, the mark may put down $20 on the right card. A shill will then throw down $40 on top of the card, thereby winning the "right" to play that round. Of course, if the mark picks the wrong card, the dealer takes the bid and the money. The dealer will never, ever, accept a winning bid from a mark.
If a mark should happen to pick the queen when the dealer doesn't want it, the dealer can use a Mexican turnover to exchange it with another card.[5] First, the dealer picks up another card—not the one that the mark has chosen. The dealer holds it by a corner between thumb and forefinger, and slides it under the chosen card—ostensibly in order to turn over the chosen card. In fact, as the two cards come vertical, the dealer shifts his grip from the unchosen card to the chosen card, taking the chosen card away in his hand and leaving the unchosen card to fall face up on the table. Like the throw, a properly executed Mexican turnover is virtually undetectable.
If other surrounding players become aware of a dealer possibly cheating, the dealer can "prove" them wrong with the Drop Move. If a mark picks the correct card, the dealer begins to pick up the other cards. Using sleight of hand, the dealer then accidentally "drops" a card he tried to pick up over the box. He then reaches over the box and acts as if he can't reach the card. While still bent over the cardboard box, the dealer asks a player or shill to pick up the dropped card. The card is dropped face down, so the mark doesn't see that the card is wrong. While the player or shill picks up the card, the dealer picks up the two other cards and switches card positions while still hovering over them, so the mark doesn't see. When the dealer gets the card back, he flips over their card, revealing it to be incorrect.
In Canada, under section 206(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal to do the following in relation to the three-card monte:
They are indictable offences, with the maximum penalty of two years in prison.[6]