I'm introducing myself to the three shell game and picked up some cheap shells on Ebay to learn a routine. I also picked up an order of Perfect Peas so I thought I was set. When I started practicing, I was having problems with the shells being too slippery for my big gorilla-like fingers; I didn't have good control and the shells didn't feel quite right.

For the heck of it, I put 4 coats of card roughing spray on them and they now hold much nicer and lost some of the sheen. Just a recommendation for anyone wanting a little more hold on yer' shells.

Here's another thought. You can get spray rosin for violin bows at violin shops. It is far less messy than liquid roughing fluid.

I was at a magic shop not to long ago and saw a junk set of shells made of plastic. These were worse than the old ss adams set...

When I started I used vernet shells and I still think that they are good and a great starter set.

Bottle caps, and thimbles. Or make them from real walnuts.

I also recomend getting a good set when you get the chance from the s4s...

I've never really got into the 3 Shells (partly because I have nowhere to learn how to do it), but the set I have came from a Marshell Brodien's Magic Set.

Iceman,

If you're interested in the shells, why don't you give Brent Smith or Barney Bedard a call? Both are really good guys living right in your area.

When I saw the three shell game actually done for money, plastic bottle caps and a paper wad were used. The working surface? A sheet of typing paper on a piece of cardboard.

Thanks Mike and Bill for the tips to cure the slippery. I am struggling with it too.

Iceman, if you want to look into the Shell game, you might want to look at Tom Osborne's book. It is great. And it is quite cheap, so if you end up not likeing the shell game, you wont feel like you wasted all your money.lol

I got a set of very rubbery, CHEAP shells. I figured since they were cheap, I my aswell play around with them, and make 'em not as slippery. I very lightly sanded the areas on the shells that I gripped. this took off the outer most layer of... and made them much more grippier.
Worth a shot if you are using cheap shells.

Thanks for this thread. I was having the same trouble. After reading several threads and looking at what I had on hand in the house, I'll share what I did. I'm very pleased with the results. I have Vernet Shells, and thought they were very slippery.

I painted on a coat of polyurethene on the shell tops. During the second coat, I spread a pinch of sand from my daughters sand art kit (tan color) into the wet polyurethene. As it dried I have a nice grippy surface that is hard and looks natural.

I also applied some fine sandpaper to the bottom edges. They were making some slight catchy noises on my matt. Now they are smooth and quiet, and very grippy. I can now resume the SFS Intro DVD...

Alan is right about this, if you want to perform this as a "street hustler" type persona, the right equipment is a must. In the 1970s, I used to see it played with "crown" type bottle caps, like the ones you need to pry off of beer bottles. Nowadays it's most commonly seen with the plastic screw off type soda or water bottle caps. In either case, the peas used would frequently be a ball of dried rubber cement rolled around on a newspaper to blacken it. If you are playing to the historical, riverboat gambler mystique, then you need the nuts.
It all depends on how you want your character to be perceived.
Don

I saw the game on the streets of Denmark played with matchboxes and a carpet swatch.

You can see the pictures I took of the game on the SfS DVD, vol 2.