Gambling is more popular than ever, with multi-million dollar poker tournaments on television, gambling themed movies like Rounders gaining in popularity, and casinos opening in just about every state of the U.S. How to Cheat at Everything is a roller-coaster ride through bar bets, street hustles, carnivals, Internet fraud, big and small cons, card and dice games and more. You'll even find the exact frauds that the NYPD regard as the most common and dangerous today, and learn top tips on how to avoid each one. This inside information comes from Lovell's lifetime of experience in the field, along with additional information from both sides of the law. Not just a "here's how the con works" book; this guides you through the set up, the talk, the sell, everything about the con, and how you can be suckered into one. If you think that you can't be conned; then you are already halfway to being so! There is no preaching here, just a fun ripping ride through a world so few know about. You'll meet wild, eccentric and larcenous characters and you'll learn how they work their money-making deeds, all without having to risk a penny of your own money.
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From magician and reformed con-man Lovell comes this seemingly comprehensive guide to cheating with props, cards, numbers, coins, telephones, sleight of hand, dice, and more. The book is written with an impish grin (hey, we all know you wouldn't do this stuff, but here's how to do it, just hypothetically) and features dozens of hustles that anyone can perform, with a little practice. Most depend on a simple trick--when you bet that a tossed paper match will land on its edge, the trick is to bend the match in the middle first--but there are some that depend on elegance of execution, or on selling the mark a story (like "work at home" schemes or e-mails offering to enhance parts of the anatomy). For those who are willing to accept the larcenous premise, this is a thoroughly fascinating and even charming book, chock-full of fun and adventure. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Simon Lovell is a magician, former con man, and professional card cheat. Currently he stars in the one-man Off-Broadway show Strange and Unusual Hobbies. He is the author of seventeen books, has produced 14 videos and 5 DVDs on the subject of cheating, and has lectured to both police and casino operatives on the subject of cheating. For more information, visit his web site, www.simonlovell.com.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Lance
Format:Paperback
Covers a HUGE array of cons/cheats...from bar bets that are a sure thing (for you) to cheating at cards to criminal scams going on today. Detailed descriptions with occasional illustrations to help you understand. I'm giving it 5 stars because I loved it, and to help balance the one-star review from the guy below who didn't even read the book.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Keyser Soze
Format:Paperback
If the cons had just been spelled out for us the way John Scarne would have spelled them out, I'd have given this book four stars at a minimum and possibly five. However, the cons are condescendingly told through the annoying fictional persona of "Freddy the Fox," who is 73, lives in NYC with his cat Boris and his ferret Armageddon, speaks seven languages fluently, is learning Japanese, and so on. These Freddy stories, which are not amusing or useful in any way, add nothing to the book but length and make it twice as long as it should be. By the time you get to the end of the book, should you make it that far without tearing your hair out, you're told (as if you needed to be) that Freddy is a creation based on several people, and you're left wondering how the author could have possibly thought he picked anything but the most annoying way possible to explain things.
The book wastes very little time getting on the reader's nerves, even before the author introduces us to Freddy the Fake. Indeed, on page xxv we're screamed at at twice, in caps, to buy the book without browsing any further. "Don't read any more, BUY IT NOW!" It was that and the next two equally annoying sentences that motivated me to wait until it was available in the local library and not buy it at all.
Once I checked the book out from the library, I was repeatedly reminded what a good decision it was not to buy it. While the info in the book is superb when you can find it, there's so much useless fictional Freddy schlock one has to read just to get to the useful parts that I was quick to understand why they didn't want you to read past the introduction before buying it.
Never before have I seen a book with so much useful and interesting information that was such an agonizing chore to read. I give it 4.5 stars for the information within, I subtract three stars for the annoying writing, and round up from the remaining 1.5 stars to two for my rating. If the author had even the slightest idea how much I hated all the Freddy-related drivel, he'd know how charitable I'm being with a two-star rating. The book has the feel of a condescending adult trying to tell you about Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny ten years after you've figured out the truth, so do yourself a favor: take notes throughout your first read so that you don't have to subject yourself to the book a second time.
The book wastes very little time getting on the reader's nerves, even before the author introduces us to Freddy the Fake. Indeed, on page xxv we're screamed at at twice, in caps, to buy the book without browsing any further. "Don't read any more, BUY IT NOW!" It was that and the next two equally annoying sentences that motivated me to wait until it was available in the local library and not buy it at all.
Once I checked the book out from the library, I was repeatedly reminded what a good decision it was not to buy it. While the info in the book is superb when you can find it, there's so much useless fictional Freddy schlock one has to read just to get to the useful parts that I was quick to understand why they didn't want you to read past the introduction before buying it.
Never before have I seen a book with so much useful and interesting information that was such an agonizing chore to read. I give it 4.5 stars for the information within, I subtract three stars for the annoying writing, and round up from the remaining 1.5 stars to two for my rating. If the author had even the slightest idea how much I hated all the Freddy-related drivel, he'd know how charitable I'm being with a two-star rating. The book has the feel of a condescending adult trying to tell you about Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny ten years after you've figured out the truth, so do yourself a favor: take notes throughout your first read so that you don't have to subject yourself to the book a second time.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've made it about 70% through, and I'm very pleased. It's a broader study than The Big Con, and doesn't go into as much depth, but it hits the kind of thing the average person is more likely to see. One thing lacking is the pictures on such things as the false shuffles. I suppose you'd truly need high-speed video to really see what's happening, but more than one picture per shuffle would be a good start.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read but a little dated at times
This book was definitely a fun read, and the authors clearly know all about the con world. The only reason I can't give the book 5 stars is that some of the information is a little... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Mike Harper
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining
I bought this book to help me get information on how someone would scam a bank. I was writing a screenplay and one of the characters was a con man. Read more
Published 20 days ago by H. Walter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended for anyone interested in the subject
I'm not even a third of the way through, but this book has already provided me with more than enough information to satisfy my expectations. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gereon Elias Decker
3.0 out of 5 stars
It not what I expected
I was looking more for a book on the psychology behind the cons and the marks. This is more of a book of little cheats. It tells you how to set up a trick and perform it. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lclore
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mislabeled title
Weaker than clock radio speakers, this book is a tease. A half ass attempt at making a quick buck. IF you like cards and dice games, then this is fine. Read more
Published 16 months ago by J. Douglas
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bought as a present
My son the entrepreneur wanted this book just to see if it had any valuable information in it so I bought it as a Christmas present for him. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. X
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really Interesting Book
Lovell creates an interesting story, weaving facts and anecdotes in along with practical advice. His ability to make some of he more dry subjects, namely cards and dice,... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Alec
2.0 out of 5 stars
Meh...
A somewhat interesting book but uneven writing and odd digressions make for a tough read. It contains an interesting inside look at carnival games but not so much how to win at... Read more
Published on May 10, 2011 by Edward Gittines
1.0 out of 5 stars
ewwwwwe. I gave it away. not an easy read.
This book was 98% card and carnie games. Not at all what I thgt when I read the review. Guess I got "cheated".
Published on November 19, 2010 by YOLANDA A. BANKS
4.0 out of 5 stars
Oh the mind of the unconvinced...
Any book on con men reveals how easily smart people can be lead to do strange things. This book is no exception. The book is quite thorough in the topics it covers. Read more
Published on December 1, 2009 by Dantalion Jones
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
- House of Games by David Mamet on page 48
- Loaded Dice - The True Story of a Casino Cheat by John Soares on page 328
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