zenboy
09-18-2009, 09:50 PM
Alright, I've been watching Scam School for a while now, and only now have gotten around to registering. Yeah, sad, I know. Anyways, here's a little sleight-of-hand move I use occasionally to snag me a free beer, I thought you'd all enjoy it.
All you need is a quarter. Yes, that's right, no trick money or expensive magic gimmick, just a plain 'ol quarter. This scam is disguised as a game of chance. Simply put, you flip the coin and guess the outcome.
I'm sure all of you have done this at some point, so I shouldn't have to explain how to flip a coin... but that's not the focus of this trick anyways. This is how I do it, and if I could remember the name of the move used, I'd tell ya... But it's been years since I read about it. Anyways, here's how you do it:
You're happily chatting with a new friend you made at the bar, and after a while you pull out a quarter and suggest a friendly bet. You bet your newfound friend that when you flip the coin, it'll land on heads. (Or tails, it doesn't really matter.) He/she/it accepts, you flip the coin, catch it and slap it onto the back of your other hand. Now, whether your prediction was right or not is irrelevant at this point. If you're right, then good on you! Suggest you try it again, but to be a little more fair to your friend, you'll hold the coin face up in one hand, then simply slap it on the back of your other hand. For the sake of this example, we'll say you started on heads. You then ask your friend what side will show when you pull your hand away. Naturally, (if they have no reason to question it) they'll choose tails. You pull your hand away slowly... and the coin is sitting there, heads-up. Obviously, a beer would be on the line for this one, so you'd let your friend inspect the perfectly normal quarter, have a good laugh, then enjoy a frosty cold one.
But how did you do it? How did you flip a coin 180 degrees, only to have it still face the same way it was sitting in your hand? That's where the sleight-of-hand comes in. Now, this move takes a bit of practice, so do it a few times until you're comfortable with the motion before you bet anything on it.
Simply put, the coin didn't rotate at all when you slapped it down on your other hand. Place the quarter heads (or tails) up on the ring finger of your dominant hand, with the edge of the coin resting against the side of your middle finger. That's the easy part. The motion you use to flip is different from how you'd normally do it. Basically, you want to move your hand up a bit more when you initially lift it, so the coin stays in place while your hand rotates around it. This may be a bit confusing, so if anyone's having difficulty with it, I'll be glad to put together a quick video explaining it.
Have fun with this one, the look of surprise on their face is priceless, especially when they grab for the quarter, thinking it's double-headed. Hell, if you're feeling generous, let 'em keep it as a souvenir. If you have any questions on how to do this, feel free to ask!
All you need is a quarter. Yes, that's right, no trick money or expensive magic gimmick, just a plain 'ol quarter. This scam is disguised as a game of chance. Simply put, you flip the coin and guess the outcome.
I'm sure all of you have done this at some point, so I shouldn't have to explain how to flip a coin... but that's not the focus of this trick anyways. This is how I do it, and if I could remember the name of the move used, I'd tell ya... But it's been years since I read about it. Anyways, here's how you do it:
You're happily chatting with a new friend you made at the bar, and after a while you pull out a quarter and suggest a friendly bet. You bet your newfound friend that when you flip the coin, it'll land on heads. (Or tails, it doesn't really matter.) He/she/it accepts, you flip the coin, catch it and slap it onto the back of your other hand. Now, whether your prediction was right or not is irrelevant at this point. If you're right, then good on you! Suggest you try it again, but to be a little more fair to your friend, you'll hold the coin face up in one hand, then simply slap it on the back of your other hand. For the sake of this example, we'll say you started on heads. You then ask your friend what side will show when you pull your hand away. Naturally, (if they have no reason to question it) they'll choose tails. You pull your hand away slowly... and the coin is sitting there, heads-up. Obviously, a beer would be on the line for this one, so you'd let your friend inspect the perfectly normal quarter, have a good laugh, then enjoy a frosty cold one.
But how did you do it? How did you flip a coin 180 degrees, only to have it still face the same way it was sitting in your hand? That's where the sleight-of-hand comes in. Now, this move takes a bit of practice, so do it a few times until you're comfortable with the motion before you bet anything on it.
Simply put, the coin didn't rotate at all when you slapped it down on your other hand. Place the quarter heads (or tails) up on the ring finger of your dominant hand, with the edge of the coin resting against the side of your middle finger. That's the easy part. The motion you use to flip is different from how you'd normally do it. Basically, you want to move your hand up a bit more when you initially lift it, so the coin stays in place while your hand rotates around it. This may be a bit confusing, so if anyone's having difficulty with it, I'll be glad to put together a quick video explaining it.
Have fun with this one, the look of surprise on their face is priceless, especially when they grab for the quarter, thinking it's double-headed. Hell, if you're feeling generous, let 'em keep it as a souvenir. If you have any questions on how to do this, feel free to ask!