talkmagic.co.uk

100 Ways To Win A Tenner – Paul Zenon
Price: £7.50 + P&P
Available from (where else?!) http://www.emagictricks.co.uk/product_i ... ts_id=4565

OK, this is a book. But not your normal list of ‘smartypants things you can do’ kind of book, oh dear me no! Through the pages of this work of art, you will meet and greet various unnamed punters who are always going to lose a tenner a time for their further education in the Art of Scams etc. You will also meet Sid ‘The Kid’, cautious Jim, Mike, Smartarse Stan, great Uncle Harold, Bob the Belly, Gazza & Dave, Typhoon Ted the Pool expert, Keith and Einstein the Quiz Champions, Marilyn, cute but not too bright, Mickey, Fred the Football Freak, Dave & Baz, Gemma, and The Hulk – muscle bound and not quite as bright as Marilyn.

Split into five sections, Paul's book takes you on a tour of the finest scams, rigged bets and general cheating available. At the same time it’s like a succession of good nights out at the pub and almost reads like a novel.

Out of the 100 scams, I’d already heard of no more than eight which means I either live an honest and sober life or I was ready to be scammed! If nothing else, this book will show you how easy it is to lose a tenner (or more!) to subtle psychology and clever wordings. Buy it, read it, memorise it. It could save you up to £1,000!

Value for Money: Worth more than the price above!

This is the kind of book you don't want anyone else to own. Damn Mr. Zenon for being so popular!!

So very, very true!

If you're still humming and hahing over whether to buy or not, try this one. You are down the pub or wherever and the topic of the most used letters of the alphabet crops up. Probably because you steered the conversation round to it on purpose. You ask the local quiz expert if he could think of 100 words without the letter A and he has precisely 60 seconds to do so. He probably can - just about. You then ask if he could think of 100 words without the letters A, B, C, J, K, M, P or Q in them in the same restricted timescale. And just to make it interesting you not only wager a nice crisp tenner on it you also say that you will think of the first 5 words and barmaid Marilyn (nice-but-dim) will think of the other 95. Even though Marilyn isn't in on the scam, you carry on and name the first 5, she easily names the last 95 and, being a gentleman, you share the tenner with her as a reward.

And if that's not enough, this book also includes the trick Lance Burton does where he extends his arms, turns his hands back to front, links fingers and rotates his hands right round. The spectators trying to copy this can't do it without breaking several bones.

Now that's gotta be worth £7.50!

PS: No I'm not going to give out the answers - I might meet you in a pub somewhere one of these fine days!

I'm not dropping names or anything (would I do that - me???!) but, having passed on a mention of the review to PZ (we're on very friendly terms, y'know!) he replied with a lovely e-mail and said it would be appreciated if I also posted the review on Amazon. So I did. And on e-magictricks. I hasten to add that no money or other inducement has changed hands for this. Unfortunately!

It's nice to know that our heroes are very human - I'll try to remember that when I'm rich and famous!

Bought this book a couple of weeks ago in Waterstones having read Madrake's review. The scams are as entertaining as madrake says. I just wish I had the brass neck to go through with some of them. A frotune awaits...

If you pick your 'mug' carefully, you can easily get away with any of the scams. If you insist on leaving the premises with his/her tenner, that's another story! I did a few of these on holiday on Kos this year - just for fun, no money changed hands unfortunately, and it was good fun all round. Resist the temptation to be a smarty-pants and just about anyone will forgive you for trapping them so, with the party season about to burst on the scene, this is a good time to try a few out. Start off with the one about the 100 words above and the mood will be well set!

,,, and if you're a pub-lurker, the pool table scams work a treat - in fact - they work as described.

It's less about having the bottle and brass to do it - and more to do with knowing it will work. As Mandrake says, choose your victim wisely - as a tenner is a welcome addition to the pocket, but a bunch of fives is a certain enemy of the chin...

a tenner is a welcome addition to the pocket, but a bunch of fives is a certain enemy of the chin

Brilliant - I'll have to get that embroidered and hang it over the mantlepiece at home!

PS I seems to me that a collection of these sort of original wise sayings might be a saleable commodity at some future point!

ooops sorry mandrake, I missed out your "n". Wasn't freudian, i promise. Anyway will give a few a go down the pub. If I'm not around for a while, it's because my fingers have benn broken...

I don't mind you missing the 'n' as long as you don't take the 'p'! Mind how you go down the pub, concentrate on the specs who are considerably smaller than you are - or get in a lot of practice at running!

I have to agree with everyone about this book, it is an "absolute corker" so manny scams for under £8 quid, that is value for money. Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried the "Bermuda Triangle" scam, page 47. Ive read it a couple of times but dont have to bottle to try it yet. Probably end up covering some people in whiskey!!!!!!!

I haven't got the book but have to say, if you are going to spill whiskey please make sure it's Bells.
Please don't spill any Irish Single Malt or I will have to cry.


BaB

Seems like others are jumping on the bandwagon. I was in Waterstones books store on Saturday and saw a small volume, right next to PZ's book, by Martin Daniels (son of Paul) and somebody else, called Pub Tricks or something like that. Where some lead, others will follow like sheep!

"You Havent Bought This Little Gem Yet" Its Fantastic.
heres the scam im talking about,
You have a shot of whiskey (Bells ) placed in an upright pool table triangle and the aim is get the whiskey glass upside down without spilling the content.!!!

ooooo ya begger Andy, my mind is now in a problem solving loop!
Can't devide by zero, page 404 fault arrggghhhhhh.

tell me you just don't pick up the triangle, drink the Bells, retire to be ill and then flip the glass over. lol