• Location, location – Children, nuns, men and women in uniform and the hot and hunky are all bead magnets. Position yourself next to these sorts and increase your loot tenfold.Don’t be too competitive, though. Nothing kills the festive spirit like a whiny baby or a crying leather daddy.

• Eye contact – Try to make eye contact with the riders on the floats. It also helps to wear something eye catching, wave a glow stick, wear blinking beads, hold a sign or shout something original.

• Foot use – Once the beads and coins hit the ground, a well-placed foot will both stop coins from rolling away and keep other revelers greedy paws off them.

• Be demanding – Whether it’s beads, doubloons or medallions you want, ask and you shall receive.

• Fare trade – When a float stops close enough, negotiate a trade: whether candy, beer, or a kiss, it’s all in how you sell it.

• Use the Oliver Twist – Look like you have less than you really do. Stash most of your loot, look sad and pathetic and beg for more.

• Don’t be a spoilsport – Competition is fun, to a point. Don’t throw anything back at the float riders. Projectiles can be dangerous, and you can be arrested.

• Be gracious – Lining up for the parade and walking away afterwards, remember your manners. You never know what cutie may overhear you as you make your way to the same after-party.