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cups and balls trick
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The Conjurer Ricky Jay
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The Conjurer
The Conjurer The Conjurer, an oil painting by Hieronymus Bosch illustrating the shell game; in the Municipal Museum, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France.

cups and balls trick

magic trick
Also known as: shell game
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History

cups and balls trick, oldest and most popular of the tricks traditionally performed by a conjurer. To begin the trick, the performer places a bead or ball under one of three inverted cups. The ball is then made to “jump” invisibly from one cup to another or to “multiply.” The basis for the illusion is a secret additional ball that, by skilled manipulation, is put under one cup while the known ball is removed as...

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