| The three card monte is an old street game usually run by con artist and swindlers. They're usually very good at what they do- making winning almost impossible. The game works like this. Three cards are bent and placed in a row, one card is a red queen and the other two are black numbered cards. After mixing the cards slowly then quickly the con-artist asks you where the queen is.
You and I are going to play a little three card monte. In this case you are the swindler and I'm the player.
First you need three cards: a red queen and two black spot cards. Hold the cards in your hand, face down. The queen should be on the top of the face down packet. That is, the card closest to you.
Now, you get to mix up the cards by your own formula. Think of a small number, for instance one between one and ten... but it's up to you. Remember this number. This is your secret mixing number.
Now transfer one at a time that number of cards from the top to the bottom of the packet. Go ahead and do that now.
Obviously I don't know how many cards you moved from the top to the bottom. But you may still know where the queen is so I want you to mix the cards just like you did before- again using that secret number. This time do it a little bit faster.
Now I'm going to complicate things so both you and I have trouble keeping track of the cards. My secret number is two. Move two cards from the top to the bottom one at a time. Good. Do that again, a little bit quicker. Two cards from the top to the bottom one at a time.
Finally you get the last move, so go a head and move your same secret number of cards from the top to the bottom as before.
Great! Hold the packet face down in you hand. I hurried you along so that you'd have trouble keeping track of the cards. I hope that you actually don't know where the queen is. That's the idea. And, of course, I don't know where it is because you moved the cards according to your own number- a number I don't know- and you made the last move.
Still, despite all of your quick random shuffling, I'm going to try to find the lady and win the game. Take the first card, the top card of the face-down packet. Set it aside. That's not the queen. Now, take the next card. The new top card. Put that aside. That's not the queen.
The last card in your hand... that is the queen!
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