When I was just 15 years old, in 1972, I went to London for the first time. I lived at the end of the Central Line subway. London held many promises and every young boy wanted to venture to see the lights and entertainment. There were so many interesting things to do or buy. I especially wanted to see soho, known for its underground culture and sex shops.
I readiness for my trip to London, I had drawn out all my money. I had four five pound notes with me. That was a huge amount of money for 1972. You would have to be mad to put so much money in your pocket.
The bright lights of London
I was having a great time walking round Soho, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Oxford Street, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square. People were everywhere.
It was so exciting. There were street entertainers, magicians, dancers, and street singers. All the shops had bright lights. There were slot-machine arcades, gadget shops and street sellers with crafts of all kinds.
The card dealer
In a side street I came across a small group of 4 or 5 people watching a man dealing cards. The dealer had an up-turned cardboard box. He was dealing cards onto it shouting "Find the lady and double your money. Everyone wins"
"Find the lady"
I approached to better understand what was happening. As if by magic the group parted to let me come close up and get a good view. The dealer had three cards - two low black ones and a queen of hearts, ("the Lady"). He would show the three cards, deal them face down, and mix them up. "Find the lady and double your money", he would shout.
It wasn't hard to follow "the Lady". People were betting on where the queen lay. Sometimes people got it right, sometimes they got it wrong. To me it seemed really easy to find "the Lady". I would have been able to win all the time. Most of the other punters didn't seem to be much good at following the queen card.
The exception was the player on my right. He could always spot the queen. He seemed to be winning almost every deal.
Temptation
"It's a £20 minimum bet" called the dealer. "Come on sonny, want to have a go?", he said looking at me.
"No, no no, I'm just looking", I said.
I was quite tempted. It seemed like easy money, but in those days £20 was a huge fortune. Funnily enough it corresponded to all the money I had in my pocket. I would need some of it for my train fare home. The rest was for all the wonderful things I planned to buy in London. I couldn't afford to take the risk of betting it, even on a dead-cert like this.
The winning player
The game continued. The man, standing next to me, on my right, seemed to be winning all the time. He would slam his hand down on the chosen card to make sure the dealer didn't switch cards. He'd put his bet, - a bundle of fivers, on the table, between his fingers and the card.
One time he slammed his hand on the card and said to the dealer "twenty quid for me and twenty kid for this man next to me". He was pointing at a man in a suit on his right. The dealer said to the suited man, "Show me your money first.". The suited man seemed reluctant and shook his head. The dealer turned the card over and sure enough it was - as I already knew, the queen. "Too bad", said the winning guy, "All you had to do was show him your money".
Another round of cards. The dealer shouted "Find the lady and double your money - it's minimum twenty quid". I was starting to be tempted. I knew which of the three cards was "the lady". I could feel the four five pound notes in my pocket. The winning guy once again picked the right card, and said the same thing to the dealer, "Twenty quid for me and twenty quid for this gentleman", referring again to the man in the suit.
"Put your money on the table sir - if you want to bet", said the dealer. Gingerly the businessman pulled out his wallet, counting out 20 pounds and put them on the table. The dealer turned over the card, and sure enough it was the queen again. The dealer paid the two winners £20 each.
The Sting
The dealer showed us the three cards and laid them face-down on the table, swapping their places before calling out "Find the lady and double your money". This time, the winning player on my right slammed his hand on the queen saying "Twenty quid for me and twenty quid for this little lad here", pointing at me. "Show the dealer your money son", said the guy.
I pulled out the four five pound notes from my pocket.
"Put your money on the table", said the dealer. I put my money down.
The adrenalin was running high. I was ecstatic at the thought of the £20 I was about to win. My heart was beating so fast. I couldn't wait for the dealer to turn over the queen and hand me back £40.
My Shock - It's not the Queen of Hearts!
The dealer started to turn over the card. I watched him intently. I didn't want any cheating when my huge fortune was on the table. I was going crazy with the anticipation.
My heart stopped. I froze. It was the 2 of clubs! What? Where was the queen? I saw him put it there. I always knew where the queen landed. I felt vomit and bile coming up into my throat. It was impossible for the queen to be somewhere else. I stared at the two of clubs. I wasn't seeing right? It must be the queen?
I was in shock. I couldn't understand it. The dealer had been paying everyone. Everyone had been winning. He had to pay me too? This couldn't be happening to me.
Asking for my money back
I stuttered "I...I... I.. er... made a mistake.... can I have my money back?"
Before I had finished uttering those stunned words, someone down the street shouted "The bill!". "The bill" was cockney slang for "The police". The group suddenly seemed to melt away, as if by magic. Six people went in six directions. I never saw the dealer leave. It all happened so quickly. I found myself alone on the side street next to the over-turned cardboard box.
Penniless with nothing but a cardboard box
I was penniless. I didn't have any money left to spend in London. I didn't have my train fare. Everything I had was gone. All I had left was an empty cardboard box.
The same thing happened to me in Caracas, on a visit to the capital. That mode of operation is a very common scam. while you take out your money, they turn the box over. The only way to avoid losing, is to be accompanied by someone who holds the card while you take your money and bets, or you already have the money at hand.
If you take your eyes off the letter, you lose. These scammers are very fast.
The best part is, do not bet.
and if it has already happened to you, that lesson is expensive, but it helps you shape your character for the future.
I know you are right. It is best not to bet.
This story happened 45 years ago.
I did not know that you can't win a bet.
These scammers still operate today on the streets of London.
You can see how the game is played in London here:
hehehe that man speaks very fast, I could hardly read the subtitles of the video. thanks for sharing my friend.
Temptation for a quick gain can sometimes backfire. Hope you learned your lesson and did not have to go through it again. I feel your pain as I been through similar scam but with playing dices. Really makes me feel sick to my stomach every time I think about it.
Thank you for sharing your first scam story. I had a visual in my head of them scattering like rats.
It triggers me remembering my own which maybe I'll post.
Have a great Sunday.
Eyah!!! It was a sorrowful experience. Those people are not ordinary people, they use magic. I could remember the time I fell into their victim around 2011 while I was doing my degree program. I went to market with the intention to buy a printer and food stuff. They were advertising fairly used phones for a cheap prices, it was tue price of the phone that enticed me. After I paid for the phone, they said I had to play before having it. I don't used to play gambles before but I saw people winning, so I picked, when I lifted it, it was the wrong one. Shit! My money was not complete again, I said to myself. They scoped me to play another one that I may be lucky. I played again, I still picked the wrong one. Now I started to be feeling pains inside. I couldn't figure out what was actually happening. The man that was winning now told me that he can help me recover my money that I should drop the remaining balance I had, that he would pick for me. I did as he said. But to my surprise, he picked the wrong card. I was totally in a confused state. They used the same format for me by shouting police!!! Before I know, everyone of them have disappeared. I was left alone.
Lol. This seems to be a very old trick which is always played on very new people.
This is really funny and at the same time not funny cos I've heard same experience before here in Nigeria. Don't know this same thing has been happening in London as far back as 1972. Those guys are real scammers.
Here is my own story......
It happened to me 5years ago in the the ancient city of Ibadan, Nigeria. I was going home from I program I went for and I only had 2000naira on me.
When I got to iwo-road under the bridge, I saw a group of people gathered around the card man(dealer). He will just shuffle 3 cards (2 black and 1 red) and ask someone to pick the red. The deal was to double the amount put if one can pick the red.
I watched for some time and felt it was too easy to pick though I never wanted to use my Money. All of a sudden the card man pointed at me to pick the red and asks me to put 1000naira. As I was about to pick, he immediately asked me to increase the amount to 2000naira just before I touched the card which I initially refused but when he insisted, I gave in as I was so sure to pick the correct card.
I was so surprised when I picked the card and it was black. I couldn't believe and I felt I've been charmed or maybe the whole thing was magic. He asked me to go another round which I declined cos I had no money left on me and immediately they realised that I was not ready to stake any money again, they asked me to leave. That was when I knew the card man was not alone. Other people I met there that has been winning are to gather with him.
I refuse to leave and wanted to create a since when one mane called me aside and asked to leave the place before the gang up to beat me.
I have to trek back home that faithful day.
After one week, I saw those guys again and went there to watch them, that was when I discovered what they do. After asking you to pick, if they discover that your hand is going to the right place, they will look for what to use to distract you and change the card. That was exactly what they did when they asked me to increase my stake form 1000naira to 2000naira.
Well sorry @swissclive for what happened and thanks for sharing this for everybody to learn. I hope everybody has learned from this your post especially Nigerians cos I still see this people around
Interesting that they distract you to increase the bet so they can switch the card. Many scams involve the use of distraction.
London is always a busy place, so one will definitely see different kind of people there. I still remember the crowd in Trafalgar Square when I visited in 2008
Sorry for what happened
Your experience in the hand of the scammers still happens openly till today and police seems to be aiding them.
Thanks for sharing this with us. I hope people will learn from it cos we now have scammers everywhere
I can equally remember an experience with a card dealer. honestly, I was told not to go around there but I didn't listen. I learnt a lot from that experience.
I equally learnt a lot too from all this card dealers and I made a vow never to go around where they are.
I have never had such an experience and I pray never to.
Hahahahahhahahaha gosh...sorry I am laughing but this is funny. You know why? Coz I was duped in just a similar manner in the streets of Lagos when I went visiting my aunt over there some years back. I think what kills us is our level of inquisitiveness . If only we were able to mind our business, we wouldn't have been duped. I will tell u my story.
Back then in 2002, I was still very young and my adrenaline was very high. I had high energy and wanted to explore everything I saw. Wanted to get involved with everything I saw others do.
On that fateful day, I was sent to the nearby market to get some stuff for cooking dinner. We wanted to have rice and stew that night and I was sent to get some tomatoes , meat and a few other items. Lagos has always been known for its mischivious occupants and so I was sternly warned to be careful...if only I listened.
I set out for the market and on my way there I saw a group of guys gathered and just like the inquisitive cat that I was , I went to know what was going on. This time they weren't dealing with cards but with a special kinda Stine and three cups. They guy would cover the stone quickly, roll his hand over and ask the spectators to choose the cup underneath which the stone was. And just like in your own case, people were winning and I was getting interested the more.
I though to myself , if I use the 2000 naira I was given to play this game, I could easily make 4000 and keep 2000 to myself. I tried fighting the urge but couldn't resist anymore and I finally gave in.
I opted to play the game and I won. When I won, I took the money and wanted to leave but they said I couldn't , that I had to play for atleast 4 times. I was scared but at the same time excited. I was excited coz it was another opportunity for me to win 4 more times and that's a lot of money (foolish me).
I played again and won. Again I played and won and at this point I was feeling really comfortable . After playing 3 times , I opted for the last shot so I could leave and that was when they struck . I was asked to put all in. I asked why and they said it was the rule of the game. I bet all I had and when it was time to select the cup, with sweat all over my face I reach out for the cup I new the stone was under and behold I lost...I couldn't believe my eyes. My eyes were Red and I couldnt say anything.
When I lost, the man started parking his stuffs to leave I asked him why and he said he was done for the night and at that point others started leaving one by one too...What I didn't know was that they were all working together and it was a collective effort to dupe me.
I went home that day without money and I was given the beating if my life.
If only I was less inquisitive, I wouldn't have fallen a victim. But I am happy is happens coz I learnt my lesson that day and have never fallen victim again.
Much later we learn that NOBODY ever wins this game.
Hello @swissclive
Glad to hear from you after a long time.
Being scammed at an young age must have hurt. Am sure growing up you let that mistake guide you.
No body wants to be scammed, at first it looks like a joke or a dream and in a fraction of a second you realize that you've lost something of importance to you.
Am from a country where scamming is the order of the day. Down here people take scamming as a serious business and everyday i pray not to encounter any of them, both online and offline.
I've also been scammed too, not at an early age.. Well none that i can remember.
But the last time, i can remember vividly how i lost 50k naira to a ponzi scheme, i was told I'll be getting 100% ROI in 48hours .... Sounds like a good deal, right?
I needed funds badly and i stuck with the saying "No risk, No reward".
To cut the story short, the next day the site was no longer available on the internet, i was kicked out of the group and i couldn't reach any of the admins. I've never felt so helpless in my life.
Ever since then i have been cautious. And i found a good philosophy to help me
:)
Wow! Sorry for such experience. Its common and i've also fallen for it here in my country. But here they don't use cards. They use matchbox, two empty and one filled matchbox. They hold the filled matchbox up and show it to participants and then shuffle it randomly on the table for you to identify the filled matchbox.
I was passing by this road on a sunny afternoon and saw people gathered. The dealers voice caught my attention and i went to observe what was happening. It didn't take me too long to give in, and i decided to play. When he raise the filled matchbox up, i saw it and my gaze never left that matchbox even as fast as he could try shuffling i was certain i was looking at the filled matchbox. I dropped my bet and boom, it wasn't. No one had to tell me to leave while its still early.
The truth is, some of the people around there watching the game are accomplice. They help make it look real to entice others. Like the guy who kept slamming his hand on the queen i your case is definitely an accomplice.
Well,lesson learnt for you. I'm you never tried that again and you will always advise people against doing such.
Sorry for such experience. You made a good choice by leaving when it was still early. Guess you didn't lose much
Yea @steemsoccershow. I just had to leave knowing it could never be profitable and at least i could still bear the little loss. No need staying there to lose everything
Well I see this happen in my country very often, most times I tell my friend when I'm walking by their normal junction that the winning guy is always working with the card dealer. Soon enough we just laugh and walk passed the place and laugh about it. At a point I almost got tempted.. I'm so sorry about your incident and I know most of that doesn't matter but thanks for letting us into this intimate part of you.
Awww! What a relieve!
When I saw your title:
I felt so sad and sorry, thinking It happened recently. Especially for the fact that it has been a long time I last read your blog post... I thought a lot had happened to you.
Sorry for that experience, but you learned a lesson thay perhaps has saved you a lifetime.
Lol... Same here bro, the story was really captivating
You are a good story teller. But I won't forget to ask about your baby.
@swissclive, how is the Miracle baby doing?
I trust he is doing great.
Do say me well to him. Cheers!
Gambling has never been a good means to earn real money, because it's just like putting money in a pocket full of holes,today you are rich and tomorrow you are poor, so I wouldn't get scammed with it anyway. You really had a hard luck, guessing it just wasn't a good day for you. We all need to be vigilant, so we don't get scammed, Scammers are everywhere even on steemit (lol) .
@swissclive thanks for sharing your experince with us here on this platforn.i believe we all have learn from it? Please let be very careful,mindful and vigilant.God bless you and increase your intelligency and creativity @ swissclive
Very funny.people are full of 419.just out there to make someone bittered and make them selfs happy.thats how they wanted to scam and dop me if not for God.i received a test that they have block my atm that i should call this customer number so as to unlock it for me and i did they now started asking me my atm pin number and bvn number.immidiately my friend collected the phone from me insult them and end the called.
I am so glad you did not give them your ATM pin number.-
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Evil never sleeps, how terrible are swindlers.
This happened 46years ago and its still fresh in your head, in reality this story is still trending in our 21st century.
I took all the salient point from every story line.
MY MORAL LESSON.
I SHOULDN'T ENGAGE IN WHAT WILL DOUBLE MY MONEY WITHOUT HARDWORK.
After I lost my phone I didn't have appetite for 3 days.
I was made a scape goat. The Memories are still flesh in My Head.
That will be all
HAPPY STEEMING @SWISSCLIVE 👌👌😉😉
I've not been scammed before but I ve been pickpocket by thief's, I lost the only phone that cost me my live savings worth roughly $20. The cell phone was just 5 days old I can never forget this, just like you said the six of them left in six different direction and you were left in "limbo" not knowing how the scammer left the cardboard scene.
That must be a bad experience ..so how did you finally get home?
That night I slept in the cardboard box. The next morning I started walking. It took me about 12 hours to walk home.
Wow... That was such a long walk back home ... I'm just glad that you were not hurt...we all learn from our mistakes everyday.. Keep sharing your experience because you might be saving someone
Hahaha. What an interesting story. I guess you learnt your lessons right away.
I've always been a hater of gambling and luck-games. Tricksters are everywhere. They are even actually very much here in Nigeria called money doubler and all sorts. It's interesting to know they're also here in England. I enjoyed the story and i hope people learn from it.
I remembered once asking where you're from and you choose not to tell. I guess I've found out now. Gat ya!!!! Lol
It's been a while you made a post though. You've been away for a while. Hope there's no problem??
Actually the problem is that real life sometimes gets in the way of my online virtual world. These parralle worlds both want to take all of my time.
It's not really easy dealing with both the real world and the internet world at the same time.
All the same we miss you. And we hope we'd be online more often.
https://steemit.com/ataturk/@ysmn/atatuerk-arboretum-known-as-a-living-tree-museum
That was quiet an experience having lost all your money.. The man that had been winning and the man playing the game all made up the team.. I can only imagine how you were able to go through the day with such an experience in London.
This is what the urge to gamble does to us, I know that feeling. I once paid for a fixed football game and placed a fortune to bet on it, the score turned out to be the opposite of what I paid for.
I felt like it was all a bad dream... Glad i finally quit betting.
Scam every, we all have been scammed one way or the other but this is a bad experience.
Sigh... A lot of people outsmart innocent people this days, this still happening everytime! I had similar experience too, I understand how it feels. But when you remember those days you fell victim you will just smile and hope those scammers will ever change!
Dont know if I should laugh about this or take it seriously, as I found it somewhat interesting to read and also a eye opener, personally I think they were all together and the man was the bait to fish you in and after going through the above process as you mentioned, you were convinced and it was time to bring the big fish
youin.Sorry to all that have been dupe, one way or the other.
Same thing happened to me some weeks back, but I always thought, in order for one to be dupe, you had to be careless until it happened to me.
Well if you ever be duped, I say this to you, its not your fault and there was absolutely no way you could know, so dont beat yourself, smile and move on, through experience we are able to become more vigilant and careful
Now when I look back on the last 50 years I can say I have been scammed many times - sometimes for far more money than you could imagine. But the one which had the most impact was the first one - that I described in this story. I maybe could tell 20 stories like this. For example, how I was taken to the Chinese tea festival by some nice young "students" in Shang-hai, only to get a bill for hundreds of dollars. you live and learn and get more wary as you get older and wiser.
Yes exactly anyway you could share some of these stories with us, probably when you a little bit chance, the above was really entertaining.
I cant recall the last time I had fun reading something lengthy like the above
Wow! That must be a hard pill to swallow my friend. You would feel like entering the ground. How did you manage to leave eventually? I have seen lot of people do that and the guy that always win which you said, i am sensing he is with the card guy just to pull crowd. So sorry cutie heart. That was some story. Feel good talking about it now, but not then.
I was soaked in the story! The scammers are everywhere, unfortunately, they gang up and make it seem so 'easy' to win, but that's one of their dirty tricks.
The older you get the wiser. It gets easier to spot scams as you get older.
Whoa! Organised scam, I've had my share of scam as well, I was 21 years old I went to Lagos, the most busy city in Nigeria where everything happens. I had about 15,000 with me, huge money then still huge now as the minimum wage here in Nigeria is 18,000 Maura which is about 13 sbd. It was a Sunday afternoon I went with my friend to a place known as computer village to get a phone but only few shops were opened, so we were strolling and we saw two guys discussing about a phone and the apparent seller said no as the amount the apparent buyer was pricing wasn't enough, it was a Nokia Symbian phone, immediately we walked pass them the seller just passed us and flashed me the phone, so I stopped him to know how much he was giving it out for, he told me 8,000 and it looked like a sweet deal to me, then I told him 4,000 but he insisted the best he could go for was 8,000 and had said the other guy pricing the phone had offered him 5,000 but he refused it, excited I asked my friend what he thought about the phone he said it was good deal so I offered him 6,000 so he took me to a corner, I gave him the money and he gave me the phone but before I realized he said he doesn't want to sell again that the money is too small and handed over my money but before I could say a word I saw three men crossing over from the other side of the road shouting so na una de buy stolen phones abi, they are referred to as agberos or omonile (touts) scares I quickly put my money in my pocket and boarded a bus with my friend to get of the scene, about to pay the bus conductor I reached for my money only to find papers wrapped with a single bill, I had lost 5,800 what was left was 200 from the 6,000 I gave him 😎 Lagos heart of scam.
Lol. This your own bad gan.. A lot of things happen everyday on the street. I'm sure the so called omonile were all part of the game..
This is a really bad experience , try to get over it, its just a challenge in your phase of life , be strong
That was sad really. Over here, in my country, they come with phones and wristwatches and a belt. They fold the belt into two then they wrap the belt about itself like a snake. Your job is to stick your finger into the hole in the middle and when the belt is unfolded, your finger should be in between the first fold to win either a phone or a watch. Folks fail all the time, as simple as it may have seemed when they did it at home.
The funny thing is, they tell you to try it without money first before you make your stake and when you try without money, you win. Lol... Scammers all of them
That's a very interesting trick. I would love to see how it works in practice.
The belt is folded like so
Your job is to put your finger into either of the two holes in the middle.
So when the loop is loosened, it becomes this
Simple right? People still lose. That's the part that baffles me.
Thanks for the pictures. It looks easy to win. Only one hole works?
Yes. You have to pick the right one. It looks easy; I don't know how they make folks lose
This is amazing, i practiced almost every day as a kid to know the secret, yet i know nothing about the trick till date....
Card scam is one of the biggest, you do without knowing all you av got as cash is gone... I can really relate to this
There is always a spirit behind gambling that makes one make mistakes (even when they are not mistakes in the original sense),
Unfortunately, it's always almost impossible to get a refund.
Sorry to hear your story.
I still get mad at myself for being scammed just December last year on football betting.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I had similar experience but mine happened last year and it's something I won't forget the whole of my life
Very good narrative, I do not know if you noticed but has a splendid ability to describe the moment, it seems as if it were a movie. The desire to earn a little money always blinds us a little, probably in your place, it is possible that I made the same mistake. But now I'm left with the intrigue, what happened next?
I slept that night in a cardboard box and the next day I walked hungry for 12 hours to get home.
So sorry @swissclive
Haha, really?
A bit sad, but at least you learned a lesson that you can use even now, never put at risk what you need most, if you cannot do without it, do not gamble, not even for something that seems safe.
It is similar to the cryptomarket, don't use the money you need to try to earn a little more, much less bet things more important than money.
This is quite painful, no one could really predict such times but we can take some precautionary measures. It is worth sharing and I have learnt from it. Thank you so much.
My dear, scammers are everywhere. There was a time in Nigeria that money doubling was rampant. They even made a movie out of it.
I am sure that experience made you wiser.
I am sorry to hear that you also have scammers in Nigeria. I thought we only had scammers in London. you must write about some Nigerian scams so we can all learn and be careful when we visit your country.
I definitely will.
♥
Scam in all it forms is very bad. I can bet it with you that all of them ( the six guys) are on the scam and you my friend is the prey. They are very cunning at preying on our covetousness afterall who wouldn't want to make more money without stress. I have witness different kinds of similar kinds and being a Nigerian, I can even make claim that they originated from here.
The golden rule remains never to wait, just ignore and go about your own business. The moment you stop or wait to see what's going on, then surely you'll be scammed.
It's just one of life experiences, thanks for sharing.
Hahahahaha you were young so I would say you did it out of curiosity, besides in games like that you only see the trick from the outside when you're not playing but as soon as you join in, it's a whole new world and you begin to lose details no matter how careful you are.Your write up was entertaining and educative at the same time, good thing it's a thing of the past now, Thank you.
Mehhhn over here in Nigeria that's how I went for shopping and found guys along the road playing matchstick.... The game is they'll empty one of the 3 matchsticks n fill it with groundnut so just like finding the lady, here we were finding the groundnut.... I lost up-to $18. That's when I realized I had where togo.
Its really a funny experience. My Adrenalin moves at the speed of light when i do things am sure of. You left all your fortune with them . I remembered being scammed too. Then I was new to cryptocurency, I was desperately looking for a way to earn from cryptos.I went to google, I joined many platforms. All they did then was asked me to refer and win free bitcoins, I obliged fully until I discovered I have wasted my data on scam.so how did you survived the shock you must have gone through that day?
It was 45 years ago. That day I learned a valuable lesson.
Now I am older and wiser.
I still see them playing the same scam in London and young men with little knowldge and wisdom fall for the scam believing the world is honest.
Sorry for the experience which I'm sure you learnt a lot from. Experience the say is the best teacher. I also have learnt from the experience of card tricksters. Here I was thinking that it's only in nigeria that we have such card scammers but your story just proved me wrong. The thing is, the dealer is always surrounded by various people most of which, I later learnt, are his accomplices. They would make bets, winning most of the time, and goad innocent naive bystanders who are attracted by the promise of easy money. My experience also cost me all the money I had on me and would have cost me my phone too, but for the reason that the dealer refused to allow me use it as a stake because he was so Bush that he wasn't familiar with touch screen phones at the time lol. It was an experience that would forever remind me to steer clear from such fraudulent gatherings, as I'm sure yours too is.
U knw sometimes its actually good to have parental advice on things like this.. Tho I have beem duped before but not by those card tricksters, and I dnt think they will ever see me. Right before I even became a teenager, my dad had always been telling and warning my siblings and I about several scamming techniques in our country Nigeria.. Thats why as I keep on growing and coming across several things related to what I have heard him say before, I run for my life.. But something about life is; sometimes, you must experience somethings.. And thats why I got duped too.. But I encourage parents to always let their children know about things like this so they be more careful as they grow
I didn't know there were scammers in Nigeria! I thought they were only in London.
Wow reminds me of the first time I was scammed well funny enough someone just entered my room in school and it's like it's a thief m a bit scared tho
Funny .
Most times i see people play stuffs like this and when i watch, i might just observe where the queen is but for the fear of not getting it Correctly, i simply put my money back and walk away.
What a staged scenario. This is almost the same format they use with cards. They set up a stage and also set the people around the stage, it is the decoy, the person appears to be neutral and with such can influence your judgements for the particular period. I have my own episode but I guess I should share it on the writing competition.
All of those people you met there were part of the same gang. They were there to make you feel more comfortable and relax. Well, I would have said sorry about that but I know such experience are there to help teach us lessons faster. But what I would wants to know is how do they always seems to hide the real card and no matter what you choose, its always the wrong card?
now we have YouTube, it is easy to watch on YouTube and see how they do the trick. Look up "Three card monte" or "Find the Lady"
EVER HEARD THE SAYING:
Most scammers feed on human greed. We always wanting to have more with little or no effort. I believe you learnt your lesson well after that day.
I will share my experience with you as requested in your other post
Yes I learned THAT lesson. there were many more I still had to learn.
It's terrible that they would even stoop to taking the money of a mere lad. Surely they had to have some idea that this 20 quid was all you had. Shameful.
How in the world did you ever get back home?
I had to sleep rough that night as I could not buy a ticket. The next day I walked 12 hours hungry.
These scammers are still playing the same trick in London.
That had to be quite a sad walk home as well as being hungry.
Wow, nearly 50 years later and they're still doing the same scam. That's kinda incredible.
oh my gosh! that is really really horrible. :(