What are the big advantages of using 2 peas in the 3 shell game?

Oh man. It's hard to even begin to describe. You're one ahead in the game first of all. They're only aware of one pea. You can accidentally "flash" a pea and narrow down their choice to two shells...like if it's not this one it has to be that one while you are going to reveal the pea in the third shell which was TOTALLY out of the question. Also, if they guess the correct shell, you can simply reveal the pea in a different shell very cleanly. They're only aware of one and it's so deceptive. Check out the Bob Sheets routine on Absolutely Nuts. It's fast paced and very good. I use it in my restaurant. I did the shell game for close to 5 hours yesterday at a grand opening of a Commerce Bank. It was the main staple of my "walkaround". I now have a rolling table so I just set up a station. The shell game was probably one of the best crowd builders because it's familiar, everyone thinks they can follow it, and people literally scream out loud in disbelief so it gathers more people. I'm sure Whit will jump in here soon to talk more about the shell game. Good luck and happy hunting!

Twistdace, thank you it made a few things clear for me.

No problem. Hopefully you've checked out the Sheets DvD.

I did thank you

Sheets DVD "Absolutely Nuts" is the only thing out there right now that goes deeply into the two pea idea.

Bob and I will be focused on this completely in our next dvd in the S4S series.

I have the three shell monte dvd from penguin magic. Overall...unimpressive. Can't say I'm a fan of Sal's teaching style.

Why? I thought it was very impressive. Sal is in fact, one of the very best out there on the subject. I thought Sal's teaching was very, very clear, unless you don't know how to follow instructions.

The two pea idea is SO deceptive.

get whit's DVD, the Kohler video, and if you're a 2 pea kind of guy, the Sheets DVD.

penquin? no thanks.

Even worse, it's a Magic Maker's production.

It's a shame too, it's actually not that bad... for a beginner. I still prefer Kohler's as it teaches a "routine" instead of just the moves.

If you want to see a good example of shells done badly, go to the Penguin Theater forum. One kid tries to emulate Sal, down to some of the bad jokes. It shows what happens when people concentrate just on the "moves" and not the whole package.

What kind of materials would you recommend for the pea ?
I tried blue tak, melted rubber band, bread

A little sequence, getting that extra in & out of play.
Sucker move for those familiar with the push steal/pull load.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-5No_41TSk

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I've enjoyed the Perfect Peas from S4S.

Lately I've been using the peas from 3shells.com
they are fabulous.

Would you need props, or just slight of hand?

I use 3 real shells from English walnuts and a perfect pea from School for Scoundrels. A soft but not perfectly smooth surface helps such as a layer of felt or a heavy dining napkin. I also have a sign that has two rules-"Don't touch the the pea or the shells", and "I lie and cheat." Because of the sign, 90% of the time I don't have to cheat. I tell them where I put the pea, but they don't believe me and lose.