Cheats, Cons, Swindles, and Tricks: 57 Ways to Scam a Free Drink Kindle Edition

I first met Brian Brushwood at a live Diggnation event in New York City in 2008 shortly after he launched Scam School on Revision3. He was handing out copies of an earlier edition of Cheats, Cons, Swindles, & Tricks. While Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht were busy being swarmed, I went over and talked to Brian, told him how much I enjoyed his show, and ended up going home with a copy of his book in dead tree form. Had I not talked to Brian and received a copy of his book, I may never have kept following him on Twitter, watched all Scam School episodes, discovered BBLiveShow and NSFW, created BBpedia, defeated an alien as Horseboy at Dragon*Con, and made a lot of great friends and fellow fans. I would be sad and alone and living in a sewer. Brian Brushwood saved me from that dreadful life with this book.After getting the book, Cheats, Cons, Swindles, & Tricks, I read through it and learned the tricks he featured and was soon trying them out on co-workers at the bar after work, friends at parties, and even entertaining my niece. The tricks were always a hit. Now, years later, I am able to get the book in Kindle format for essentially the same amount of change I find in my couch or under the seat of my car. You should not be on the fence about buying this book. If it earns you just ONE free drink, you've instantly made up to 5 times the cost of the book...but the respect and admiration that it can earn you from your friends and family is priceless.Also, a hobo told me that if you don't buy this book and gift it to 10 friends, you will have bad luck for 7 years.

I definitely fell into the trap of seeing so many 5-star reviews (at the time of this writing there are 57 5-star reviews and a single 3-star review), and was convinced that this book was going to be fantastic.At $1, it's not an outright scam, but I can't see myself using any of the "tricks" in this book to impress any of my friends. I think I was expecting some interesting close-up magic tricks that would be relatively easy to pull off using things you'd find at a bar, but those are largely absent from this book.Here are some of the "highlights":1) Ask your friend which city is further West: Reno or Los Angeles? (SPOILER ALERT: It's not Los Angeles). That is actually one of the 57 "tricks". This is what I'm paying for?2) Carefully peel an orange, trying to keep the peel intact. Wrap the peel around an apple. Peel your new "orange" in front of your friends... yup - that's it. I'm not sure that's going to win a lot of free drinks at the bar!3) Tell your friends that you have a pencil that can write any color. Ask them a color they want your pencil to write. Let's say they pick "red" - take a sheet of paper and write "R-E-D" on the paper. Ha! Free drinks all around, amirite?As you can see - these "tricks" aren't exactly along the lines that I was expecting as a means of pulling clever tricks at a bar with friends. I don't think I'd be willing to even try these on my 5-year old nephew without fear of him groaning at his lame uncle.The only reason I bumped this up to 2-stars is that at $0.99, I don't feel too terribly cheated by this book, but I definitely don't understand where all of these fantastic ratings came from!

If you are still reading this, I'm not sure why you would start listening to what I have to say now instead of just a second ago.Anyway, look at this book. This book is amazing. It is so much more than tricks to get drinks. Not tricks, ILLUSIONS. The things this book teaches you can be used to break the ice with someone you've just met, or to entertain children because your sister won't stop making them, or just a way to seem more interesting than you actually are. So if you want to be entertaining and interesting or have a sister who is a whore, this book is for you!This book is easy to read, with great instructions on how to perform almost 57 awesome tricks. Ok, I was just informed it is exactly 57. It says so right on the cover. So many tricks you can learn!So to sum up, please buy this book. It is less than a dollar. It will teach you how to look like some crazy awesome genius. Also, don't quote me on this, but if you buy it today, Brian Brushwood will be your best friend forever. Forever is such a long time to have a best friend.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I started with Scam School to learn some magic to use in my classroom. When I then learned of this book, it became a no brainer, I had to have it. Now, with the Kindle version, I can take it anywhere my iPad or iPhone goes.While the tricks may refer to how to get a free drink, they are also great ice breakers, math problems, and thought provoking lesson starters for your students to engage, think, and interact in the class room. I have used these with my students in English class, adults in professional development trainings, and on one or two occasions for a free drink (that is the tag line after all).Even my students started reading this book once they knew where my ideas were coming from as they want to know some of the great card tricks, probability scams and riddles that I use in class. Always a great conversation starter, always a big hit. Plus, Brian is a cool guy - hit him up on Twitter or catch him filming an episode of Scam School and he will take the time to talk to you.

I have been doing magic for awhile and have bought many magic books. Problem is, 98% of the tricks in magic books out are crap. Cheats, Cons, Swindles, & Tricks has a few dud tricks but for the most part, they took all the good tricks from all the books I've read and compiled streamlined versions of them into one book. Don't get me wrong, you're not going to become some master magician by reading this book. But most tricks/cons/swindles can be done right at the bar with little prep, if any, and they are fun. For 99 cents this book is well worth it. I have spent $25 or more on books that have much worse tricks or effects than the ones in this book.

A lot of these tricks I learnt in school, and I'm not talking about scam school either. Out of the collection I bookmarked two tricks, I guess that says all you need to know.Still, that being said, I can see it's appeal to some of the slightly younger readers amongst us and, if it encourages them to look further into magic, then more power to Mr Brushwood.

No matter if you are an accomplished impromptu magician or a wannabe entertainer to your friends.....There are some great effects in here to get a wow and free drink or two!Brian at his best for those that have not seen Brians programmes or Youtube channel get this book and try them out, some truly stunning and simple results from everyday objects.It may even bite you enough to become a magician :O

This was cheap so I bought it hoping to get one or two cool tricks but unfortunately I was disappointed. There are two or three interesting tricks but most I had seen before.

Great little tricks to impress your friends, family and strangers. All of the ones I tried worked perfectly. Recommended as easy to learn too!!

Some fab wee tricks in this book. I enjoyed reading it....now if I only had the time to practice them that would be great lol. Buy this book, its good fun.