The Modern Con Man 3-DVD Collection

The Modern Con Man 3-DVD Collection
by Todd Robbins

You may have seen America’s #1 Con Man, Todd Robbins, on Leno, Letterman, or Conan. But it’s just as likely you’ve never heard of him - because Todd is a well-known authority and practitioner of all things deceptive.

Now, in The Modern Con Man Collection, Todd shares his catalog of cons and playful scams. This 3 DVD set shows you how easy it is to scam, bet, and trick your way to a free drink, a few extra bucks at the poker table, and laughs at the expense of your co-workers. Expect to make friends too, with this fun, tongue-in-cheek guide to suckering those you love — and those you’d like to know.

Learn games you’ll never lose, tricks they won’t figure out, and cons they’ll never see coming. With his concise and witty direction, Robbins ensures that all you’ll need to succeed is a smooth smile. Everyone loves a good con. And now, thanks to Todd Robbins, everyone can get in on the action!

Based on New York City magician and Tannen's Magic customer Todd Robbins' bestselling book, The Modern Con Man.

WORKPLACE PRANKS and other Way to Con Your Coworkers

When con-artists find the perfect sucker, they know they need to strike fast. Which is why your nightmare 9-to-5 is every grifter's dream: dozens of marks with nowhere to run. So stop thinking that you're stuck in an office with a bunch of lame coworkers. They're the ones who are stuck there with you!

HOW TO SCAM YOUR WAY TO FREE BEER and Other Bar Bets

Sit back and pour yourself a drink. It's the last one you're going to pay for. Todd Robbins shows you why the local bar has always been the best place for a scam artist to find a victim, or "mark." Shot on location in one of LA's "Hottest bars of the year" (Los Angeles Magazine), Todd shares his favorite "bar betchas" games your marks can never win, puzzles they won't solve, and tricks they'll never see coming. These 30 scams include NIM, an Egyptian matchstick game that once won Nick the Greek $200,000 shot glass turnover, a simple challenge that will drive friends crazy... and loads more.

POKER NIGHT GAMES and Other Card-Playing Tricks

The cards have been dealt, wages have been made, and drinks have been served. There's no better set-up for a con artist with a catalog of tricks. Take advantage of the gambling spirit with these games, scams and bets all designed for poker night. Todd Robbins, master of the late-night swindle, shows you 25 new cons including Australian Poker, a variation that won't ever fail you; Best Hand, a poker challenge you opponents will lose as quickly as they accept; No-Chance Poker, a lethal one-on-one game you'll win no matter how often they demand a rematch and many, many more.

Run Time: 195 minutes

See video and get it here!

Kepplinger Holding Out

Two months ago we posted a photo of an early Kepplinger Holdout made by Will & Finck from the Doug Edwards Collection. This month Doug sent us a photo of the actual PJ Kepplinger apparatus as made and used by Kepplinger himself in 1888! He has researched this extensively and found an accurate description and depiction of it in the book 'Sharps and Flats' by John Nevil Maskelyne (1894). Although only four or five of these enigmatic machines were built by Kepplinger, this is the only one known to exist today. It is made of lightweight pen metal and still retains 100% of its original interior green felt lining. Doug says, "Of all the items in my magic collection, this is the most ingenious and most substantially made. The inner workings are a visual knockout."

For magic tricks using current Holdouts and their variants, order The Invisible Hand Set new 3-DVD set with device.

The Kepplinger Holdout pictured above is from 1888. Courtesy of the Doug Edwards Collection.

Up Your Sleeve

In 1888, P. J. Kepplinger, a San Francisco gambler, revolutionized the mechanical holdout. Laboring in secret, Kepplinger, an inventive genius, combined the best features of several mechanical holdouts and added some innovations of his own. The result represented a high-water mark in card-cheating technology.

The core of Kepplinger’s device was a metal slide attached to a rod, which retracted into a pair of steel jaws. Kepplinger concealed this assembly in a double shirtsleeve. When the player activated the device, the steel jaws opened and the slide extended, gripped the cards, and withdrew them between the layers of the double sleeve. The jaws snapped shut, concealing the apparatus from view. The process could be reversed to return the cards into the hand.

Kepplinger’s method of triggering the device was his greatest innovation. A cable ran through a series of tubes and pulleys to terminate at the shoulder. A length of flexible tubing beneath the player’s clothing guided the cable from there to a seam at his knees. Thus, by separating his knees, the player extended the holdout, and by pressing his knees together, he retracted it.

Brilliant in design, the device worked flawlessly. The sharp examined his hand, subtly crimping the corners of the cards he wished to hold out. Spreading his knees, he caused the slide to emerge, grip the cards, and extract them into the double shirtsleeve. Later he reversed the process, returning the holdouts to his palm. Unlike earlier machines, Kepplinger’s creation operated imperceptibly and invisibly. His opponents could peer up his sleeve and discover nothing.

Had he been judicious in the use of his invention, Kepplinger could have bilked suckers forever. But something got the better of him. Perhaps he was greedy. Perhaps he put too much stock in the brilliance of his own invention. Or maybe he was just a gambler. In any event, he pushed his luck.

He used his holdout in San Francisco’s “hard” games, poker games frequented by professional gamblers schooled in the ways of cheating. And he didn’t just use it for the occasional big score; he won almost every game. His opponents knew this couldn’t be attributed to fortune.

They developed a plan. At a prearranged signal they seized Kepplinger, held him down, and conducted a methodical search—and discovered his device. They gave him a simple choice: Build a holdout for each of them or face the consequences of having cheated them. His life at risk, he agreed.

Within a decade Kepplinger’s secret got out. The Kepplinger holdout became the common property of sharps everywhere. By the 1890s gambling supply companies were selling Kepplinger or “San Francisco” holdouts for $100 apiece—a very steep sum, but a small price to pay for genius.

For a modern version of the magician’s holdout, take a look at the “Black Widow”.

The Kepplinger Holdout pictured above was made by Will & Finck of San Francisco, California, circa 1890. From the Doug Edwards Collection.