Magic Tricks

Many thanks to Tom Gaudette (and Gary Plants) for introducing and facilitating this highly interesting and illuminating talk/demonstration, by John (Fast Jack) Farrell, to the magic community. This video provides and preserves an important oral history of a seldom (if ever) explored aspect of Americana — the life, times, and techniques of a professional card and dice mechanic. While the video straddles the crossroads of magic and hustling, it does not present glamorous and polished moments of infotainment as so often seen in performances of so called "gambling experts." Rather it is a fascinating exposé of the hard reality of Jack's education and journey to the elite levels of card and dice hustling. Jack explains the card and dice moves that earned him the money; more importantly, he puts them in the context of the actual situations in which he was involved. If Penguin had just presented the stories that Jack tells, it would have been a gold mine. If Penguin had presented just the demonstrated techniques, it would have been a gold mine. This video is a double gold mine!