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bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
In the Magic Digest (By George B. Anderson) page 87 the routine is called the “Australian Belt’. This swindle is known today as a swindle called fast and loose. The game is played with a loose circle chain and the chain is placed on the table. The mark puts his finger in the one of the loops. The chain is pulled away and if it catches on the persons finger the mark wins. If it comes off the finger the mark looses.
There are two good ways to put the chain down. The figure eight method like it is written in the magic digest. Or the flower or rose method. This flower or rose method you can make as many loops as you have length of chain. I use the flower or rose method and I like it much better than the figure eight method. I make two loops and have it a guessing game. I like to play it with two people. A guy and a girl. I like to use a couple that are dating or married. And I let the girl win because it gives the entertainment a lot of situation comedy. I have found this to be a great outside entertainment feature if you make a long drapery cord in a loop, Do it on the sidewalk or the ground and lay down large loops. And let the spectator stand in one of the loops. I have used this to stop a crowd when doing street magic and the rose/flower method can be done with a very large loop of cord. There were some occasions that I also used this as a stand up feature in my stand up close up act. I have also used this at festivals as a walk around routine and it is quite entertaining and effective. The flower/rose method of putting the chain down is in a few magic books but I do not remember what books. But I do remember it is on one of the Johnny Thompson Video’s or DVD’s. Enjoy!
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
swatchel-omi Regular user 116 Posts |
What a great post Glen !
Magic digest is one of my favorite magic books. The cords of phantasia / grandmothers necklace with the coat hanger and the tea cups is a great routine. Regarding the endless chain, the flower loop method is explained in Loopy Loop by George Blake. There is a lot of good stuff in the booklet. There is double figure eight as well as the one finger method that is on Johnny's video. It also explains the pricking the garter swindle. I developed a method of throwing the chain from this book in the early eighties, and have been using it ever since. I hadn't thought about the flower method in a long time. Thanks to your suggestion, I might take a second look. Thanks. Joe |
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Does anyone know WHY its called Australian belt?
Fast and Loose makes sense as does On The Barrelhead (where it was played) |
Euangelion Special user 688 Posts |
I believe Marc DeSouza teaches it on his video, as well.
Bill Esborn
"Lutefisk: the piece of cod that passes all understanding." |
ursusminor Elite user Norway 443 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-04-29 10:25, bishthemagish wrote: That is a great way to do a swindle-routine without confronting/alienating the audience! I'd like to share an idea I got from Toreno, a Norwegian pro. When he worked cruiseships, he did a stand-up tencard-deal with jumbo-cards in that way. But he had a medallion or charm that he placed around the neck of one of the players. As long as he/she wore the medallion the player would always win. When the medallion was given to the other player, the luck changed... Bjørn Quote:
On 2005-07-22 21:17, Nicholas J. Johnson wrote: I don't know where the Australian bit comes in, but "on the barrelhead" was done with a belt (or garter) in the old days. (Few men wear garters these days, I suppose...) The layout is quite different, but Bob Farmer described it in one of his "Flim-Flam"-articles in Magic - magazine. Bjørn
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them
pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened." - Winston Churchill" |
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Post aboriginal Australia was founded on the deportation of convicts and the like from England. Perhaps this is a word from the late 1700s to reference that.
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bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-07-23 17:03, ursusminor wrote: I think that is a great idea. I think a rabbits foot would work well. Thank you very much for the idea.
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
Erik Anderson Regular user Des Moines, Iowa 171 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-07-24 18:09, bishthemagish wrote: With the line, "Personally, I don't believe in rabbits' feet myself because that would just be superstitious ... and that's bad luck!"
Erik "Aces" Anderson
"I never let my schooling get in the way of my education." ~ Mark Twain http://www.acesanderson.com |
bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
Neat line Erik Anderson.
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
"Fast and Loose" has been used as a title for this trick since Shakespeare's day. In fact, it shows up in Love's Labours Lost act 1, scene 2. It was a well enough known scam that Shakespeare went through a whole series of plays on the word in that one scene.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Euangelion Special user 688 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-08-05 22:10, Erik Anderson wrote: Besides it didn't do much for the rabbit.
Bill Esborn
"Lutefisk: the piece of cod that passes all understanding." |
Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
A reference to the game "Fast and Loose" appears in three of Shakespeare's plays: Cleopatra, Love's Labors Lost, and King John. The term first appears in 1557 in a popular "Miscellany."
The game goes back much further, possibly developed by the eastern European gypsies who came into Spain in the 15th century. The term "Australian Belt" for "Pricking the Garter" (also known by con men as the Strap, the Belt) is a typical approach of con men enticing someone into a rigged "game" that is really just a swindle. Newcomers to the bush would want to see the "Old Australian Belt" just so they could feel like they knew about it--to knock off some of the their tenderfoot "shine." In the same way, Three-Card Monte got its name from a popular Spanish card game called "Monte." Hustler's wanted their greenhorn victims to think that they were learning the famous western game they had heard of, but never seen. The familiar sound of the name, and the desire to become knowledgeable as soon as possible, sucked many a man into this short con. Three-Card Monte, The Shell Game, and Fast and Loose have all been called the "Old Army Game" at one time or another for exactly the same reason. "Hey, rookie. You want to play the "Old Army Game?" |
bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
I have found that doing this to stop a crowd outside it is better to use a nice bright drape cord that looks nice. Rather than just a rope.
I have used a chains of different sizes and some of them are to heavy to use with a long chain if I want to make three loops. The drape cord is nicer and is easy to wind up like a cowboy lariat and put over your shoulder. Doing this at a festival or a fair as a walk around item is great entertainment and a great time user that looks big in performance! It also is a great photo opportunity for both parents and news media that are at most outside fairs and festivals.
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
A, sadly deceased, old friend of mine, Teddy Yip (owned a couple of casinos in Macau) was at the table one night having dinner with our team (race team he put some money into) and after dinner, as was usual, I started to do a litte magic. When I brought out the cards Yip grabbed them from me and started to "toss the broads" (do 3-card monte) and was actually TAKING money from some of us!
The waiter came over and said, "YOU CAN'T USE CARDS IN OUR RESTAURANT." Yip, being a REAL hustler gave me the cards back and immediately took off his belt and started TAKING MONEY doing the belt loop routine. I just kept my mouth shut and watched. He was good! No, he was GREAT.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
That's a real hustler -- able to work anytime, anywhere.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Whit Haydn V.I.P. 5449 Posts |
That is a great story Pete. You shared it with me sometime ago, and I think there are some real lessons in it about performing expertise.
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wolfsong Regular user 190 Posts |
I have a hard time pictureing how this works. I just ordered a dvd on the subject. Is there a picture anywhere of this being performed?
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bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
Neat story Pete.
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
jezza Elite user 469 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-08-16 13:39, bishthemagish wrote: doing the fast and loose routine with people standing in loops is a superb idea glenn. I will try this |
bishthemagish Inner circle 6013 Posts |
Thank you - I like it to. Packs small plays big!
Glenn Bishop Cardician
Producer of the DVD Punch Deal Pro Publisher of Glenn Bishop's Ace Cutting And Block Transfer Triumphs |
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