Hello Everyone,

In March of this year I had the opportunity to present a "TED talk" at TEDx Nashville.

If you aren't familiar with TED talks, TED is a platform for "ideas worth spreading". TED was originally started as a conference in the 80's and focused on Technology, Entertainment, and Design. The "TED Talks" series has some of the most interesting and inspiring speeches that I've ever watched.

Anyway, the title of my talk was "Hook, Line, and Sinker: The Anatomy of a Scam". The talk was very well received the day of the event and I had a blast meeting a lot of really nice people who were interested in my subject. I figured that everyone who frequents this forum would get a kick out of the talk since it is about scams and cons. I hope you enjoy it.

You can watch the full talk, which includes a performance of the 3 Card Monte, at the TEDx Talks YouTube Page and at this link - http://youtu.be/Z6BXeIjnaYE

I am also attaching the graphic recording that Peter Drand from Alphachimp.com did.

I hope you enjoy it and I welcome your feedback!

Jason Michaels

Click here to view attached image.

That was really fun to watch. Thanks for sharing.

Good fun. Thanks.

Good job. The operator never lets a sucker win, though. The sucker who wins $10 will happily walk off with it, and his new story about beating the con man. You want to take the spectator first, and then get the money up when he tries to recover it on a sure thing. Only shills win.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll make adjustments for future audiences. Great stuff!

I wish someone would come out with a book on the psychology of scams, marks and basic mark reading.

"Whiz Mob: A Correlation of the Technical Argot of Pickpockets with Their Behavior Pattern," by David W. Maurer might have something similar to what you're looking for Robbin. Apollo Robbins (world renowned stage pickpocket) has this on his list of 11 must read books (http://www.trutv.com/shows/real_hustle/must_read_books.html).

Maurer's book "American Confidence Man" has some things on the psychology of marks as does Devol's "40 Years a Gambler on the Mississippi."

Thanks for the info guys!!! Has either one of you come across this book and if so is it worth the read "Book of Tells: How to Read People's Minds from Their Actions"
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553814591/ref=......XV38TKR6

Caro's Book of Poker Tells is worth a look - he's focused on poker (obviously!) but there's a fair bit that's universal, I think.

http://www.amazon.com/Caros-Book-Poker-T......80420826

Maurer's book "The Big Con" is (IMO) the bible on this subject matter, and contains information that is available nowhere else.

This is the book that David S. Ward, who wrote the script for the movie "The Sting" got his information from, it contains the basic premise of every "Big Con" in the genre.

That "The Sting" won Academy Awards that year for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, and four more Academy Awards to boot speaks to how compelling the contents of Maurer's "The Big Con" actually are.
The movie was actually so heavily dependent on Maurer's book that Maurer sued the studio and producers of the movie for lifting much of his original research. Maurer didn't actually win in a court case, but "won" in that the studio paid him almost half a million dollars to settle and not go to court.

As an aside, it's also one of the best books on any topic that I've ever read.

(BTW, Caro's poker tells book contains nothing of value in terms of references to hustling, short cons, or big cons).

"American Confidence Man" and "The Big Con" are the same book.

Correct Pop.

"The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man"
and:
"American Confidence Man"

The title I noted is the original title of the book when it was first published.
The title you noted seems to have started showing up sometime in the 1970's.

Same book.

I'm sure you both know better than me because I don't own it, but I was looking at the ebook version of The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man (Anchor Books, 1999), and in the introduction by Luc Sante, he lists Maurer's other books including, "The American Confidence Man (a more scientific enlargement of the present book; 1974)..." [emphasis added] which makes me think that they aren't exactly the same, but how they differ, I can't say (maybe not so meaningfully?).

The Big Con is great.
However, if you read The Biography of The Yellow Kid you’ll discover a scene by scene description of the movie The Sting and much “inspiration” for The Big Con.
It should be a law that everyone who touches three cards and uses the word Monte, should have to read Devol’s book, Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi!
If you don’t know about Canada Bill, you shouldn’t do the cards or shells!

Alas, I’m over five years too late on this post.
And sadly there’s still no such requirement.

So Pop.
Put it on the Castle application!

Peace
Docc

Born with three shells between his fingers and a Bible in his other hand.