Three-card Monte

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"Bola bola" redirects here. For the Philippine meatball, see Meatball.
"Find the lady" redirects here. For the 1976 film, see Find the Lady (film).
"Three-card monte" is also a name for the original, non-casino version of Three-Card
Poker.
Three-card Monte

A three-card Monte game in Jaffa, Israel. It has all the

hallmarks of the con; the cards are slightly curved and the
corners have been bent and the dealer has the cash in hand to
conceal any sleight-of-hand.
About
Origin Spanish
Skills required Chance
Gameplay
Type Gambling
Players Np.
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, 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]

Contents
[hide]

 1 Rules
 2 Usual card selection
 3 Drawing a player in
 4 How it is done
o 4.1 The throw
o 4.2 Dealer's scams
o 4.3 The Mexican turnover
o 4.4 The Drop Move
 5 Legality
 6 Historic
 7 References in pop culture
 8 See also
 9 References
 10 Notes
 11 External links

[edit] Rules
The three-card Monte game itself is very simple. To play, a dealer places three cards face down on a
table, usually 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 spades, 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 spades, the
player wins an amount equal to the amount bet; otherwise, he loses his stake.

[edit] Usual card selection

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.
[edit] Drawing a player in
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
invariably 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:

A three-card Monte stand in Warsaw, July 1944

 The dealer and shills act as if they do not know each other. The mark will come upon a game
being conducted in a seemingly clandestine manner, perhaps with somebody "looking out"
for police. The dealer will be engaged in his role, with the first shill betting money. The first
shill may be winning, leading the mark to observe that easy money may be had, or losing,
leading the mark to observe that he could beat the game and win money where the first shill
is losing it.

 While the mark is watching, the second shill, acting as if he is a casual passerby like the
mark, will casually engage a mark in conversation regarding the game, commenting on either
how easily the first shill is winning or how he is losing money because he cannot win at what
appears to the mark to be a simple game. This conversation is engineered to implicitly
encourage the mark to play, and it is possible the second shill could resort to outright
encouragement.

 If the mark does not enter the game, the dealer may claim to see police and will fold up his
operation and restart it elsewhere, or will wait for another mark to appear on the scene.

 If the mark enters the game, they may be "had" (cheated) by a number of techniques. A
common belief is that the operator may let the mark win a couple of bets to suck them in, but
this is virtually never true. In a true Monte scam, the mark is unlikely to ever win a single
bet. It is simply not necessary. There are just too many ways for a well-run mob to attract the
marks, suck them in, and convince them to put money down.
  When the dealer and the shills have taken the mark, a lookout, the dealer, or a shill acting as
an observer will claim to have spotted the police. The dealer will quickly pack up the game
and disperse along with the shills.

[edit] How it is done

Dealers employ sleight of hand[5] and misdirection to prevent the mark from finding the queen.
Several moves are in common use.

[edit] The throw

In the throw, the dealer holds 2 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.

[edit] Dealer's scams

If the mark picks the right card, the dealer keeps raising the bid until the mark gets scared and backs
out. If the mark doesn't back down, the dealer and the shills take off running.

If the mark picks the wrong card, the dealer lets the mark bet all his money.

[edit] The Mexican turnover

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 their grip from the unchosen card to the chosen card, taking the
chosen card away in their hand and leaving the unchosen card to fall face up on the table. Like the
throw, a properly executed Mexican turnover is virtually undetectable.

[edit] The Drop Move

If other surrounding players are becoming aware of you possibly cheating, prove them wrong with
the Drop Move. If a player picks the correct card, begin to pick up the other cards. Using sleight of
hand, accidentally "drop" a card you tried to pick up over the box. Reach over the box and act as if
you can't reach it, even if you can. Then while still bent over the cardboard box, ask a player or shill
to pick up the card you dropped. By the way, try to get the card face down, so they don't see that the
card is wrong. While the player or shill picks up the card, pick up the two other cards and switch
card positions while still hovering over them, so they don't see you do this. You will then get your
card back from the person and when you flip over their card, it will be incorrect.

[edit] Legality
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:

 Receive bets
 Induces any person to stake or hazard any money or other valuable property
 Carries on or plays or offers to carry on or to play in a public place
 Employs any person to carry on or play in a public place
 Allow the game to take place (the owner of the premise)

They are indictable offences, with the maximum penalty of two years in prison[6].

[edit] Historic
 It was taking a victim with Three-card Monte, on July 7, 1898, that caused the shooting
death, two days later, of infamous con man Soapy Smith.[7]
 After revealing the secret behind the trick on British television, American illusionist John
Lenahan was expelled from the Magic Circle.
 The play Topdog/Underdog features three-card Monte as a significant plot device.
 "Canada Bill" Jones (1820-1877), was considered a master of the Three Card Monte in the
middle of the 19th century in America.[8]

[edit] References in pop culture

In the television series Everybody Hates Chris, a young Chris Rock loses at this game repeatedly
and must be given pointers by his mother, whose father loved to play Three-card Monte.

In the British television series Hustle (TV series), the character, Ash Morgan is an expert at the trick
and is oftern seen using it frequently throughout the series.

In Jay-Z's song "Empire State of Mind", he references the game's strong association with the culture
of New York City.