Most prop bets should be on the level. Who can flip the most playing cards into a hat or first to chip a golf ball into a bucket. My brothers and I can be left in the backyard for six days and keep ourselves occupied with prop bets and competitions. This really is one of the great differences between men and woman. Woman don't do this. They don't sit around and say "Heather, I'll bet you a tenner that I can flick this pop can into the garbage can barefoot." Doesn't happen.

Aside from the legit bets, you can sneak in the occasional gag that is tilted on your favor. By tilted, I mean rigged. I should say, these bets were not my invention. They are from memory. I had a book called "Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers" by Harry Anderson of Night Court fame and another small one called "Bets You Can't Lose" by Patrick Sullivan. Both are out of print but are great if you can find them. Some are stolen from those and some I picked up seeing others do them.

Stadium Attendance - My favorite bet to swindle a hot dog with. My Dad (who is a math professor) was ticked and tickled when I pulled this out at the Kingdome when I was 15. Say you're at the crappy new Yankee Stadium. You turn to a buddy and say "How many people you think are here today?"

"I don't know, 40,000 or so," he replies.

Now you sell the bet. "Okay, tell you what, I'll give you 10 to 1 odds, your ten spot against my hundred that I can guess the attendance. If I get two guesses to your one. Closest guess wins." All your buddy hears is "10 to 1." Here is the important part. You say casually, "okay go ahead." The mark spits out "41,500."

Excellent. "I'll wager 41,499 and 41,501." Unless the number of butts in the seats is exactly his guess, you're ten bucks richer.

Do As I Do - Bet your mark that he is not smart enough to copy your exact moves like a mirror. You both pick up a drink. "Follow me exactly for 60 seconds."

"No problem," the mark says.

Raise the glass to your lips. Move it down. He does the same. Raise your glass as if to toast. He does the same. Take a sip of your beverage. The mark repeats. Spit your mouthful back into the tumbler. Collect a free drink.

Know Your Baseball History? - Some of you may have a friend like me. An obnoxious know-it-all that can't help but correct the minutia of the discussion.

Buddy - Dude, Pistol Pete averaged, like, 50 points a game without a three point line in college.

JW - 44.2 points a game. And it was at LSU.

Buddy - Shut up Johnny.

If baseball chatter is on the table try this one. "I'll bet you don't know the full name of the first black player to play major league baseball." You don't have to use the full name gambit, it depends on the knowledge of the mark. He'll answer "Jack Roosevelt Robinson" or "Jackie Robinson." Wrong. Moses Fleetwood Walker beat Jackie by 63 years. Fleet played for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884. He played 42 games and hit .261. Pay up, bub.

The 20 From Under a Bottle - You can find many bar tricks online. Some are pretty impractical and often involve fire. This one is easy. Put a 20 on the table. Take an empty bottle - the heavier the better - flip it upside down and put the mouth of the bottle in the center of the bill. The bet is that you can get the 20 out from under the bottle without touching it or knocking it over. You hint that one can yank the bill free like a magician whipping a table cloth from under the fine china. It won't happen. Now your go. Take the edge of the bill and slowly roll it. As the rolled paper touches the bottle, gently edge the bottle forward as you roll the bill. A little patience and a deft hand will free the bill and then you put it in your pocket.

A couple oldies but goodies. Classics if they haven't been seen. The Drink From Under the Hat and The Quarter from Under the Napkin. The same principle with both. These take a wee bit of showmanship. Put the drink under a hat and bet you can drink it without touching the hat. If the mark accepts, you can duck your head under the table and pretend to drink or slide a straw under the hat and pretend to gulp away. Declare success and for your buddy to pay up. "I did it, go ahead and check." You've caught on by now. He lifts the hat, you grab the drink and chug. Same idea with the quarter. You bet you can grab the coin from under a napkin without touching or blowing on the napkin. One hand sets the trap, in the other is a different quarter. Again, proclaim success, showing a quarter, the mark checks the napkin and you grab the original quarter.

The king of the prop bet and one of the most fascinating characters of the 20th century is professional gambler, golf hustler and con man Titanic Thompson. Titanic was a legend that stepped off the pages of a Damon Runyon yarn and conned men coast to coast. He bet some stooges that he could drive a golf ball 500 yards. Quite a feat, even for a skilled golfer. In fact, on a level playing field, damn near impossible. Thompson brought the pigeons to a local golf course near a frozen lake, teed off onto the ice, the ball kept skipping and skipping and going and going. $500 bucks from each onlooker went into his billfold.

He also liked betting people he could guess the number of watermelons or pumpkins on a truck. When the truck driver unloaded his produce, Thompson's "guess" was always within five of the number. How? Because he paid the driver earlier in the day to unload, count, then reload the melons, then paid him again after the bet.

The book "The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson" is a great read. If you can find a copy.

A great bet that Titanic would make can be done. With a little preparation. Bet you can chuck a walnut farther than a pal. Thompson never lost this one. That's because if was going to make the bet, he loaded his pocket with a loaded nut. Take the nut out of the shell, fill it with a little lead, glue it back together. Then make the switch when the mark is tossing his nut. You can't lose.

Now, finally, the aforementioned pumpkin story. Another tale from Titanic Thompson's playbook. It was Halloween. As a wiry teen, I bet a larger football player that I could heave a pumpkin farther than he could. Each person was to steal a pumpkin from a porch and meet back in the cul-de-sac. The dummy brought a pumpkin the size of a volleyball. Mine was a little smaller. "Go ahead," I said, pretending to be intimidated. He chucked that sucker quite a ways. She smashed in a spectacular display. Pretty impressive.

I shook my head. "Man, that is pretty far." My pumpkin was dangled between my legs, rocking back and forth as if I was going to throw it granny-style over my head. A little laughter came from the small crowd. Some titters, if you will.

Then I paused. "Wait a second. Who has the money?" A hand was raised. "I do," said one of the onlookers.

"Okay. You can give it to me now." I set my decoy on the ground and pulled a miniature pumpkin the size if tennis ball out of my coat pocket. It had been purchased at the grocery store earlier that day.

"No! That's cheating Wright!"

I threw the tiny pumpkin down the street well past my competitor's distance, grabbed the $20 and ran. He never spoke to me again.

Sell that scam and you'll give people a story to tell the rest of their life.

One last piece of advice that is paraphrased from "Games You Can't Lose: A Guide for Suckers." I don't know whose quote it is, but it's certainly not mine. "Never play poker with a guy who does card tricks. And never do card tricks for the group you play poker with."

Selah.

I'd wish you luck, but luck has nothing to do with it.