Three-card Monte

Three-card Monte (also 'Find the Lady', 'Follow the Queen') is a card-based confidence trick. The operator shows three cards, one usually a queen, and shuffles them face down on a folded table or cardboard, inviting bystanders to bet on which card is the queen. Like the shell game, in real-world play the operator uses sleight of hand, distraction and shill confederates so the mark cannot win. It survives on the pavements of every large city despite being illegal essentially everywhere.