How about it folks? I have a large, enameled one of these, and can't for the life of me "drop the slugs" to correctly cover the BIG red spot. Anybody help?

Steve

Take a look in John Scarne's "New Complete Guide to Gambling" at pp. 604-7, for a full discussion of "Spot the Spot," an old carny game.

Scarne says the game is combination of skill and luck; you need to make five perfect drops of the discs in order to win. He estimates that the chances of doing that are about 250 to 1 against the player. And if the operator switches in a gaffed set of discs, the chances of winning are zero. SETHB

I worked a fair where the operator would stretch the fabric on the cloth disc when "cleaning the mat" before the sucker tried it.. If you position your elbow on the table you get better aim... as well as potitioning yourself directly on top of the disc and table.. good luck...

Thanks for the info...mine is definitely NOT stretchable. It's enamelled steel, it weighs a ton, and the discs make a huge "CLANG" when dropped. I'll look it up and keep trying!

Steve

Although cloth circles have been used in the past, the odds against someone getting it right is so high, there's really no reason to "rig" this game.

Look at your slugs. One should be special. That's the key.

They're all exactly the same...

Steve

The metal discs should all be the same. As Dave noted, it's so difficult to win this game with a straight set of discs that no gaff is really necessary. The operator wins through misdirection, as John Scarne explains in his book.

However, if you want to make it impossible to win, you can use a slightly smaller set of discs, which would never cover the spot no matter what the player does. That may be what Craig is referring to. SETHB

You wouldn't have just one odd disc either. They'd all be undersized. That way, if someone stacks them together they won't notice one not the same as the others. Out of round would work, but it's too easily detected. A few thousanths of an inch is enough to make the game impossible. The highly polished discs will tend to "drift" a bit when dropped flat from a few inches according to the rules. This built in error makes this game even more impossible than it already is.

Of course the operator has his own set he uses to show that it can be done. Why not? At a booth he probably has a half dozen spots lined up and a whole stack of disc sets ready to hand out. Why wouldn't he have his own stack "handy" behind the counter?

Going back to the "straight" set, the operator can "help" the victim... I mean player... by volunteering to place a few for him. Even when placed correctly, it doesn't take but a small bump of one of them to set the whole game off. This "bump" can happen during the game as well if the player's not paying attention, and even sometimes when he is! This is truly a skill game that requires no gaffed anything. The odds are against the player before any "funny business" even has a chance to happen.

Steve, are the discs made of magnesium zinc alloy? If so, they will float when dropped. When I measured the discs and circle, only 1/1000 of an inch of room for error was shown.

If you use an out of round disc, that will increase your winnings. For the legitimate ones, practice is the key.

Glenn

The discs that came with the set I bought a few years ago are pretty thick and heavy. I did notice some rust on a couple of 'em, so they're definitely not stainless steel...they drop with a loud CLANG! They're not floating ANYWHERE! This is a nice set, the board is a little more than a foot square, heavy enamelled metal in white, with the circle in red. Wish I'd gotten the 2-sided (one side for kids) version that looks the same.

Steve

Steve, Besides the one I got off a carnival owner, my daughter made a set for a science fair project on measurements when she was in middle school. I had an out of round disc made with it to give her the advantage needed.

You may already have done this but, if not, try placing the discs down over the red and adjusting them to cover all red. If they don't cover it all, after making the adjustments, then you have discs that are too small. Hope this helps somewhat.

Glenn

Science Fair? Sounds like a scammer-in-training!

Steve

A chip off the old block, she is. Seriously, both my twins have used certain carnival games for science fairs to show physics laws, etc. They placed in the top three each time.

Glenn

Ian Kendall has a routine for cover the spot, which will be on UK TV (BBC3) on Thursday night apparently - should be interesting!

We had a spot joint at one time.It is basically a geometry problem,as is a game of pool.The spot agents I have known never had to resort to any gaffs.They were just so good at it they could make it look easy.Of course when learning it they practiced practically 24/7.

Does Ortiz cover this in Gambling Scams? I seem to recall that he did....but I may be wrong.
be well,
JW

You can find the basic layout and a brief explanation in John Fisher's 1976 book "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break."

You might try contacting Ian Kendall- he's a member here, and he at one time produced a tutorial on Cover the Spot. Perhaps he can give you more info.

Jeremiah

I just found this section of the Café!

Yes, I have a video turorial of Cover the Spot. Although it's been withdrawn from general release, it will be part of the Virtual Sessions and should be up later this week. You can read more about the sessions at http://www.virtualmagicshow.com/vsession

For the record, the game does not require any gaffs, but it is in no way easy to do!

Take care, Ian