I have never actually performed the 3 shell game as I find it a difficult one to present as it is a game and so makes it a challenge type effect which can be dangerous ground ? Most people when asked which one it will be under especially when doing the 50 50 bit where you use two shells will say the opposite just because they assume you are going to cheat if you know what I mean ?
does anyone perform this on a regular basis ?

Any good routine should have overcome these obstacles already. I suggest you study some of the strategies of successful performers such as Gary Ouellette, Bob Kohler, Eric De Camps, etc. before trying to create your own routine.

I like the phil cass routine its bold but if you can pull it off its a thing of beauty and everything that Wit said too cause He's just a freakin genius

Thanks Whit I will try and find some performances of these people (i have only seen sal piacente dvd ) and don't see a full performance .Do you present this as a demonstration of an old hustle ? I do 3 card monte and maybe would be a perfect time to introduce this as well into some sort of routine?
Also I noticed a dvd on pool hustles on your site which looks really interesting ?

If you looked on the S4S site in Whit Haydns signature you'll find Kohler's "golden Shells" Video. I really liked it. I would like to see it on DVD. I believe it is only in VHS now. I got mine a while back (Tannens I think) and it has a pretty magical feel, not so much of a gambling routine.

I suppose it all depend on your style, how about having a little fun by giving the spectator some toy/monopoly money to bet with? I expect it all depends on how you can handle the audience etc.

Not sure if this is the right thing to say, just thinking out loud

Giving the spectators money or chips to play with can be a very good way of helping with crowd control. This is one of the the things that is discussed by Bob Sheets on our new dvd on the shell game.

Oh my god! I had a reasonable idea about how to deal with a problem....I must be turning onto a real magician.

I would be interested in the new dvd you mentioned, can you pass some information on to me, thanks

The dvd is called "Introduction to the Shell Game" and is the first in a series of dvds on the shell game. It has more than an hour of video and over 100 pages of .pdf files with further info and study guides. It features myself and Bob Sheets along with Chef Anton, and teaches the basic moves that make up our new combined system for the shells, as well as teaching a basic routine with patter, and an advanced routine with atter is included in the .pdf files.

The dvd is finished and we are waiting on cover artwork and duplication. Should be out soon.

BTW, guys, please don't pm me asking when it will be ready. I get way too many of these to answer individually. If you join our email mailing list at http://www.schoolforscoundrels.com you will be among the first to know when they are shipping.

I'm going to resurrect this thread, to mention a thought I am toying with. Give the specs play money in the form of 1 million dollar (obviously phony ) bills, by producing them first from blank pieces of paper transformed by Pat Page's Easy Money (the original version, which I think is still the best). (I'm still following Bob Sheets/Whit Hadyn's suggestion, just using funny money instead of chips.)

OK...how about this? Do a routine...in most routines you clean them out of their chips. Then give them the million dollar bill as a consolation prize. On it you have printed, "I WON A MILLION AT THE SHELL GAME". The idea is to make them like the end of the routine, even though technically you clean them out.

Oriental Trading sells "coins" of all types which would lend themselves to the games. They are cheap, about $4 a gross. I feel that although the coins are not personalized, people will give them to their kids to play with rather than throw them out.
I tried to find personalized coins, but they were are expensive in the quantity that they have to be ordered.

Mota

I like your thinking! It then becomes a pleasant remembrance and keepsake as well as a possible means of future contact… with web site or name & number tactfully printed as well.

Excellent idea!

I like the idea of poker chips. I started using them after watching the School For Scoundrels DVD. It's not like people are deciding on how much to bet, it just gets them to commit to a pick, sometimes they hem and haw. For a bonus the SFS store has a devious little gimmick if you have chips laying about. It was down a little on my wish list but I'm getting there.

The oriental coins also sounds like a good idea, anything to mark a pick.

Anyone using something personalized other then a working pro is sort of strange. But if you are a pro then it's great gorilla marketing.

As a street performer I experimented with handing out half dollar coins during the shell game. (opening effect) Once I got all the coins I would go into a coin routine.

Bob's idea with the chip seems simple, but it's one of those brilliant "why didn't I think of that" ideas that really makes performing the shell game so much easier. It provides control of the spectator (no pointing or picking up the shells), it's clear which shell they have indicated for you and the rest of the audience, and it fits the idea of laying money down or betting without having to lay actual money down. Bob has also incorporated the chips into a holdout, which I think is devilishly clever.

Jezza,
consider using the "Fast and Loose" routine which is a similar method as the Shell Game. But gives a different direction. Instead of using shells you use a chain. And is 100% surefire.

You can play this as a gambling routine or fun ... whatever your style.
The delivery choice if yours!

regards,
WulfieSmith