The Flipper

book collector

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Back in the 70s I met a guy who said he was from New York, he would flip a coin in the air and have it land on a table and would offer 2 to one odds you couldn't guess it , if you didn't bite he would give 3 to 1, or 5 to 1.
he never lost.
It took me 20 years to figure out how he did it.
He also could throw a dime in a pay phone slot or pop machine from about 6 to 10 feet away.
I also found the answer to that one.
He also spotted people at tossing coins by standing twice as far from a wall or table and beat everyone at that.
This was just talent as far as I know.
The Flipper is what I have heard everyone call him for all this time.
Anyone else have any stories of his hustles they want to share?
This guy had a nervous tic where he went er er all the time and I have a pretty funny story I will tell at the end of the thread.
 
There is a world renowned mathematician whose name I don't know who is also one of the best card mechanics in the world. In an interview he spoke of learning to flip coins so that he could make them land on heads or tails EVERY time. He said it's simple physics, one side is heavier than the other and if you learn to toss it a certain way with the right amount of speed then you can make it land either way at will.

In Rags to Rifleman they had a guy they ran the roads with who was one of the best coin tossers in the world. They related a few stories where he would bust people by tossing coins onto a barstool and the best one - stacking coins on the spot on a pool table.

Imagine, you toss a coin on the pool table about 8-10 feet away from you. Then you toss another coin and it lands ON TOP of the other coin. How strong is that???
 
bookcollector- I'm with Strokeofluck. I got to know how the heck he could flip a coin and have it go into the slot in a coke machine! Holy crap. The guy must have been a millionaire! Even though my old man taught me when I was very young, that if a guy tells you he can do something that sounds unbeleivable and he wants to bet money...believe him, I would have fell for this gaff.

Tell us! Please!

Bob
 
C'mon book collector, you're killin' us here! Out the "Flipper's" methods before we all die of CIGTUS (Curiosity Is Gettin' To Us Syndrome) :D.

Maniac
 
My bad

And here I thought this thread was going to be about all the modern day cue salesmen that we have here in AZ land.

Kevin
 
I never thought about the cue flipping connotation.
I mostly wanted to let people tell their stories about this guy.
He wasn't as inventive as Titanic Thompson but he got people to bet who were ultra conservative.
Like most great hustlers he had an Achilles heel and was always broke within a day or two of a big score.
 
They say that Greg Sullivan of Diamond Tables and Derby City fame is great at flipping tails up, can't remember if he uses a quarter or a penny. I'm sure I would lose $20 to someone throwing at a coin slot real quick.--Leonard
 
Ahhh, It looks like the hustler was the book collector. He is not going to tell us the secret!!!!
Or, perhaps, this whole thread was just a "come on". If he really knew the secret, wouldn't he be doing it himself instead of talking about it?
 
Knowing how something is done and being able to do it are two completely different things....

Just because he may have had the physics of the trick explained to him doesn't mean he can be out there doing these things and making money off of them. You would need natural hand dexterity and a bazillion hours of practice. I know the physics behind Efren's shots, doesn't mean I can play like him! :p
 
Flipper

I was hoping other people had stories of him, He traveled all across the US in the mid to late 70s that I know of, another trick he had was, he was a card counter at blackjack before most people knew about it.
He tricked a couple of bookies out of a lot of money playing 5 hands at a time single deck.
Seems ridiculous now but it was strong at the time.
I can do the first 2 , the third, throwing to a line or spot or wall I am not able to do anywhere near his ability.
I used to hustle years ago but I sacrificed that way of life when I asked God to come into my life.
 
Throwing the coin into the slot was mentioned before in another thread.Not sure if its the same guy.

I thought this thread was about the TV series :wink:Maybe this guy was the inspiration for the intro song to the TV show.
 
he would have made millions but did make maybe a mil or two doing his acts.
he would have made tons but his appearance held him back as he looked too scary to get involved.

one time he checked into the beverly hills hotel under meatloaf's name. he stayed until his welcome was over and split on the bill. he got in big trouble on that one.
he looked alot like meatloaf.

he gambled away any money he made.
 
He came through Chattanooga 8-10 years ago and won a bucket truck and a car or two from some local gamblers who didn't have better sense. It's a con pure and simple. The last i heard he was hanging around Nashville but that's been a while, seems he had some family there but he was from the north.
 
I can do the first 2 , the third, throwing to a line or spot or wall I am not able to do anywhere near his ability.
I used to hustle years ago but I sacrificed that way of life when I asked God to come into my life.

This means you actually learned and practiced and was able to repeat the predicted coin toss and the toss the coin into the slot on a vending machine trick?

If I pray to God and accept him into my heart, will you PM me how to do these also? Thanks!
 
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