Hi Ollie...

The best set of shells is the set and the method that works best for you!

With the shell game you can go get three bottle caps and cut up a sponge rabbit and go out and do it. It is not the shells it is the routine and the performer.

All the shells are great... Find a routine and start working on it.

I once left my case in my wife's car and Dan Fleshman called me up to sub for him at the local Dave and Busters. I said yes but my case was in my wife's car.

So I got a deck and my extra close up mat. Cut a professors nightmare. Chopped up a spongeball for some shell peas. Picked up a hand full of quarters for matrix. Opened and drank 3 sodas for the bottle caps...

Called a sitter for the kids... Got in my second car and drove to Dave and Busters and did the evening. No one there noticed that I put the show together and that it was not my usual bag of effects.

The magic is not the props it is you!

So find a routine you can make your own and then work out want you need to do it. With bottle caps, hard pea, soft sponge pea shells or whatever...

I hope this helps,

Glenn Bishop
http://www.mrhypnotist.org

Performed the shells regularly in a restaurant some years back - usually at the end of the meal - coffee and mints/cigars stage - then there is less crockery cluttering up the area. Week nights there was usually just one performer, on Saturdays there were several - maybe 3 or 4. There was a running gag amongst the diners that all the tables were rigged with invisible trap-doors (?) - don't ask me how that started. I saw more than one diner looking under the table to see if it was true! Seriously! I sometimes used this "trap door" to make the pea pass thru' the table top, bringing out a LARGE pea with the old line " did you see the pea that time? It's big enough!!"
Happy days.

Riley

The thing is I don't really know what shells work for me without buying them and I don't really want to buy more than one set.

p.s. There's a three shell game DVD at penguin magic by someone, Pascall I think (or something like that)

Has anyone got it, if you have then would you recommend it ??

Ollie,

Here's a suggestion to get you started...

Patrick Page - 3 Shell Game Video $20
Vernet - 3 shells and peas $5

The video will teach the basic sleights as well as provide some handling tips, the shells are plastic but they do work and they are easily modifed if you like.

An inexpensive way to explore the 3 shell game. You can determine if you like working on a hard or soft surface - which will help guide your shell choice... the video will be useful for a long time...

Hope this helps,
WoodRat

I agree with Woodrat get a vernet set if you can to start with. I have used a vernet set for years and it is the set that I use on the video of the shellgame at my web site...

Good idea Woodrat...

Glenn Bishop
http://www.mrhypnotist.org