So you do it again. And again they fail. This time they can't miss: you've bent the corner of the Queen, making it easy to spot. Guess what? They miss again. It's a 100 per cent con trick and they've just been suckered by a master hustler - you!
The history of the Three-Card Monte goes back to the 18th century and you'll still find it played all over the world today. Sometimes the conmen use playing cards, sometimes they use plastic, rubber or leather discs with a piece of paper stuck to one of them. The idea that it's a fair game of chance is just a way of hooking you; the outcome is always the same - you lose.
Even when you've learned how it works, don't be tempted to play for real - it's a game run by hardcore gangs whose sole purpose is to take you for whatever cash you have. They have no scruples and more often than not there are more players involved than you might at first realize; in addition to the operator there'll usually be a stooge or two in the crowd as well as lookouts and heavies. Don't ever challenge them. Trust me: you iv/7/lose.
The Props
The routine here employs the same basic moves the conmen use. You'll need three cards. Two are identical: say, the nine of hearts. The third is a contrasting card, for example the Queen of spades. Prepare the cards by placing them together and then bending them in the middle along their length. This bend makes the cards easier to pick up by the ends. One further bit of preparation is to weaken the outer right and inner left corners of the cards. Just bend them backwards and forwards a few times, but don't break them; you'll learn why shortly. Now let's start at the beginning.
Throwing the Cards
Lay the three cards face-down with the Queen in the middle (1). Pick up the outer two cards, one in each hand. The thumb holds the inner end of the card while the middle finger holds the outer end of the card (2).
Now pick up the Queen too, so it's below the card already held in the right hand (3). The thumb is at the inner end of the Queen but the outer end is held by the third finger rather than the middle one.
This grip makes it easy for you to throw the Queen down without dropping the other card in your hand. "Three cards: one's a Queen. Keep your eye on the Queen 'cos this is a game of Find the Lady." Turn your hands palm-up to display the cards. Then turn them palm-down again, holding them about nine inches above your work surface.
You now throw all three cards back down, one at a time, as you say, "One, two, three cards." Move your right hand to the left and throw the Queen, face-downwards (4). Move your right hand back and then toss the left-hand card across in the other direction so that it lands to the right of the Queen, leaving a space between them (5).
Finally, toss the remaining right-hand card down, in the space you just left, so that it becomes the middle card of the row. You should throw the cards so that the spectators can't see their faces as they're going down (6). "Okay, where's the Queen?" you ask.
If the spectators have been watching properly, they'll point to the card on your left. Turn it over and show them that they're correct. "Well done." But the conman has already suckered you in on the first stage of the Monte hustle. He's got you playing along and you actually think this is a game that you might be able to win. Let me show you why you can't. "Let's start again." Turn the Queen facedown and put it back in the middle of the row. "The Queen's in the middle again. Watch her go."
You appear to repeat the same handling again but in fact this is where you work a switch, and instead of throwing the Queen to the left of the row, you'll have it end up in the middle.
Pick up the cards exactly as before. The Queen is the lower card of the two in the right hand. Turn the hands over and show the Queen once again. Then turn the hands palm-down. The right hand appears to toss the Queen to the left as before, but actually you keep hold of it, release your grip with the middle finger and let go of the upper card instead (7). You need to practice to make sure that this fake throw looks exactly like the real throw, but it's not as difficult as you'd imagine. Just make the move at the same pace as the genuine throw. So instead of the Queen going to the left, a nine of hearts is tossed down instead. The left hand now throws its card to the right, leaving a gap between it and the first card.
Finally, the right hand throws its remaining card into the space between the two face-down cards. This puts the Queen in the middle. "Business as usual. Where's the lady?" Everyone should point to the card on your left again. Turn it over to show that they're wrong. Turn over the right-hand nine and then the middle card to reveal it's the Queen. "Don't worry about not getting it right. Very few people do. I'll show you why."
The Convincer
You appear to repeat the last phase again but this time you add an extra bit of business which will convince people even more that the Queen must be on the left.
"Let's start again." All the cards are once again face-down with the Queen in the middle. Pick the cards up exactly as before and turn your hands over to show the Queen on the bottom of the right-hand cards again. Make the same throwing moves as described in the Fake Throw. This positions the Queen in the middle.
As soon as the cards have landed, follow up with this sequence of moves: The right hand picks up the middle card between the thumb and middle finger. Without showing the face, it then it picks up the card on the right below it. This card is held between the thumb and third finger. It's the same starting position for the fake throw, except that the Queen is above the nine this time. Turn your right hand palm-up as you say, "No lady here." This displays the nine.
Use the fake throw to apparently toss it immediately to the right of the card already on the table. The fake throw means it's actually the Queen which goes down instead. Now turn your right hand palm-up again, showing the same nine. "And no lady here." Throw this card face-down to the right of the two cards already down. Point to the card on your left: "So you know that she must be here... don't you?" Wait a beat and then flip the card face-up. The audience will be shocked to see that it's not the Queen. Flip the card on the right end of the row face-up to reveal another nine. Then flip the middle card over to show the Queen. "She's always in the middle."
The Bent CornerThis final phase makes use of the fact that you softened the corners of the cards earlier. "Sometimes the hustler has a secret accomplice, known as a shill, in the crowd. The hustler will glance away as though he'd been distracted by something and the shill will quickly lean forward, pick up the Queen and mark it by bending the corner like this." Hold all three cards in a fan with the Queen on top. You bend up the outer right corner of the Queen (8).
Place it face-down with the bent corner towards the spectators. The right hand now comes over the other two cards and, as it takes the top one, the third finger secretly bends its corner up. This is easy; the left hand holds the cards and the third finger just pushes up on the softened corner of the top card (9). The photo shows an exposed view. This card is held in your right hand in the usual position with the fingers hiding the bent corner. The left hand takes the other card in a similar position. The right hand moves over the Queen and picks it up as before in preparation for the false throw. "Remember: the Queen's got the bent corner." Turn both hands face-up momentarily to show the cards, then down again. Pretend to throw the Queen to the left, but actually use the fake throw to toss the other card instead. The left hand throws its card to the right, leaving the customary space between it and the card on the left. At the same time, your right hand moves towards you and the right third finger retains its grip on the outer end of the card as the little finger pushes down on the bent corner to straighten it.
The more you soften this corner before the trick, the easier it will be to straighten out. The right hand drops its card, the Queen, with the corner now straightened, into the middle of the row. "Anyone should be able to find the lady now," you say, pointing to the bent corner. "You know that she isn't here or here."
The right hand picks up the middle card and then the card on the right and then you again perform the convincer, apparently showing both the cards as nine of hearts. "But, as I said, don't bet on it. The only sure thing is that you'll lose." Turn the card on the left over. It's a nine. Then the card on the right. "You know what they say about a fool and his money..." Finally, turn over the Queen in the middle. "They were lucky to get together in the first place!"
NOTES
It's usually better to perform the Three-Card Monte as a demonstration rather than an actual gambling game unless you're incredibly good at it. Once they start to lose, or if you move the cards around too quickly, people will usually stop trying to follow the Queen and just guess where it is instead. And, by the law of averages, they'll sometimes be right!
Instead, it's safer to present the trick as a story about how con games work. That way, the spectators can enjoy it for the clever trick it is rather than feeling you're challenging them to a battle of wits.
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