A random history lesson that won't be useful unless you're in a different world with a deck of cards, Three Card Monte was an infamous scam played throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. People got smarter, and the scam stopped being as effective.
How it works is that when the dealer grabs the cards, he tosses the top card down instead of the bottom. It's very easy to learn the most basic version. There are more advanced versions of this scam, such as the bent corner, but I never learned about it.
However, the scam starts even before that.
"Would anyone like to place a bet?" I asked the crowd. Everyone just looked around until Andres put down a bet of one gold coin. Everyone's eyes widened at this.
"Alright kiddo, keep your eye on the Queen," I said. I began mixing the cards up at a moderate speed.
"Where is the queen?" I asked Andres. He pointed to the center. When I flipped it over, the Queen was there. I took out another gold coin and handed it to him.
"Good eye sir!" I said as I placed it on our makeshift table. "Would anyone else like a go?" I scanned the audience until I found a person that looked well off. His pocket had a bag-shaped bulge.
"You sir!" I said, pointing to him. "You look like you want some quick cash. Come on!"
The person had a greedy but hesitant look on their face. I looked at Andres and signaled to him.
"Come on man! You just watched me make a gold coin," Andres said confidently. "Don't be scared, it's easy!"
"How many gold coins do you have?" The man asked me.
"Six sir. I also have a lot of silver and bronze coins as well," I said. The man's face perked up as he took out his bag and placed it on the table.
4 gold coins and 6 silver. A crazy amount of money for a game like this. I saw Andres' eyes widen at the sight of this money.
"Woah! Someone's going to get rich," I commented. "Alright, keep your eye on the lady," I picked up the cards and began the routine, this time throwing the top card instead of the bottom. When he picked the card on the left, I flipped it over, revealing a Joker.
I quickly grabbed his money. "Oooo. Better luck next time sir!" He kept staring at where the cards were supposed to be.
"Bullshit!" He screamed out as he placed another bet on the table. This time, two gold coins. I hope I wasn't making a gambling addict.
I did the whole routine again and he fell for it again.
"What the? It was right there!" The man yelled out. He put his hand on his head and began walking away. I came up behind him.
"Sir, on the house," I told him as I handed him a silver coin. He yanked it out of my hand. I fell over on him as he began walking away, yelling obscenities. I smiled as I got the bag I stole from him and emptied it into my pocket.
Honestly, I should've considered a career as a stage magician. But alas, that life is long gone.
The routine continued until it was completely dark at night and there was no longer a crowd. I put the cards back in the box.
"How much did we make?" Andres asked. I took out the earnings and organized them.
"24 gold coins, 17 silver ones. You get 20%, so that's 5 gold and 3 silver for you," I said as I handed him his earnings.
"Really?" He asked, on the verge of tears. "Thank you so much."
"You did your work, it's only fair you get payment," I told him.
He hugged me before walking away. I was left on the street alone. I was waiting for the situation at home to clear up before returning. After all, I could still take advantage of the perks that come from being a noble.
I had one last thing to take care of. I walked back over to the relic shop. The lights were still on, which surprised me, so I entered. The man suddenly jerked up.
"Did I wake you up?" I asked, walking over to the counter.
"What do you think?" He grumbled.
"Close up the shop next time," I said with a chuckle as I placed five pocket watches on the counter.
"Where did you even steal these from?" The man asked as he slowly dragged them over to him and examined them.
"Their pockets. I have good fingers," I replied as I went to browse the store.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" He asked.
"Isn't it past yours?" I snarkily countered.
The man sighed. "I can give you four gold coins for all of them," He said as he began to yawn.
"Sure, why not," He handed me the coins and I put them in my pocket. "You know any good motels nearby?"
"One right around the corner," He grumbled. "Good night."
"I'm beginning to think you don't li-" I began before a blast of wind blew me out of the store. The doors quickly shut and the lights turned off.
"You could've just said please!" I exclaimed before shaking my head and making my way to the motel.
I was looking around, making sure there was no one about to mug me. I had an ominous feeling, but I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, which was reassuring. I continued making my way down the street until I was faced with the motel.
The motel looked extremely fancy. It was a standard two stories, but the paint job looked fresh and there was a well-maintained pool to the side. I began walking into the lobby and was greeted by a woman wearing glasses.
She was engrossed in paperwork, and being short, I had to jump for her to notice me.
"Oh, hey kiddo," She said. "Are you lost?"
"Why does everyone ask me that?" I said in frustration. "How much will a room cost for a night?"
"1 silver coin for a night," She said, frowning. "Where are your parents?"
"Does it really matter? I'm a paying customer," I asked as I handed her a silver coin. She just took the coin and gave me a key.
"Room 204," She said. "And I need a name for the room."
"Zack Zephyr," I said. Her face contorted to a realization look and she dropped the silver coin. "If your next question is if I'm that Zephyr; yes, I am."
Her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something, but then closed after a few seconds. I began making my way out, and as I did I noticed a BlackJack table. Half a table, the dealer sits at the top and players sit around. Why do they exist in this world?
"Is that a gambling room?" I asked, pointing to it.
"Yes it is sir," She responded respectfully. "We host a game of 21 every Friday."
A grin formed on my face after that. "How many decks are used?"
"Four decks are used sir," She responded. "The minimum bet is one bronze coin."
The ratio of bronze to silver is about 10 to 1, and silver to gold is slightly higher.
My first thought was, 'I could make so much money!' All I'd have to do was the math for card counting, and courtesy of God, it was simple.
I walked back to the counter. "I'll stay for three more nights," I handed three more coins over to her and began making my way to my room. When I went outside, I saw that Andres was going to the lobby with what looked like two other people, there were two older males around 10 and 13.
"Yo!" I yelled out as I walked towards Andres. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm getting a room for me and my siblings," He said as he gestured to the people near him. "Sergio and Daniel, meet Zack."
"He's the con artist?" Sergio, the oldest, asked with some resentment. "Aren't you Zack Zephyr? Why do you need money?"
"We all have our problems," I responded. Did news really travel so fast that even commoners knew about the whole scandal? "You live on the street?"
"Y-yeah," He admitted while rubbing his neck. His siblings were both glaring at me because of that question. "What? I'm just curious."
"Not all of us are born into a rich family," Daniel commented. It made me smirk. The commoners were more honest than my family. Even though I helped them, they still didn't like me.
"That's true, but you three are so young."
"Yet we're old enough to struggle," Sergio replied while shaking his head. "I appreciate you helping Andres and us out. But our issues are our issues. You don't hear us asking about why you don't have magic."
"Fair enough," I said with a yawn. "Good night peeps. Andres, you wanna help out with three card monte again?"
"Yeah," He responded softly.
"Alright. I'm in room 204. Come in the morning," I said as I made my way to my room. It wasn't as good compared to my room in the house, but it was way safer. I lay on the bed and had my first sound sleep ever since I got into this world.