I do love the shells! And my New Years Resolution is to try to perform the wonderful 3 Shell Game at as many gigs as I can this year!
On the left you can see some of my shell sets. The ones at the front are my favourite, a gorgeous set of solid brass 3-No-Evil Monkey Shells! On the left, a wonderful set of nickel silver Monk Shells. They were cast from an original 18th century carving and are very intricate! In the middle a nice set of Top Shelf resin shells and on the right a set of antique copper traditional "Chanin Dip" shells.
The major drawback with performing the shells is the fact that you need a table and ideally a little bit of room too. A close-up pad is also a great help although not essential. A table cloth is fine and even a bare table top can work with a little care!
I have put together a nice little routine that although gambling based is not really a spectator picking and getting it wrong type of thing. I like to present it as a light-hearted and amusing, interactive demonstration of why people should not play this game for money!
I put a little short video up on YouTube a few days ago called "High-Speed Shells" and hopefully will try to get a longer video up very soon. So, as they say "Check it out"!
So hopefully in the future I will not only be known as a Close-Up Magician (and maybe THE London Magician?) but also The Shell Magician!
On the far left are a large and lovely set of Buffalo Plus Shells, on the right a set of Top Shelf Ghost Shells (performing the shell game with clear shells changes the game!) and at the front a second set of 3-No-Evil Shells.
Above you can see how massive the Buffalo Plus Shell is compared to standard shell and also the differences between my two sets of 3-No-Evil Shells sets - one is a bottom ridge set and the other has the classic bottom.