Stay away from these

The gypsy stand with the neon and the sign that says "Palm Readings" is a good thing to avoid, unless you know the reputation of the person doing the readings. If the reputation is good, you will probably find that the person is responsible.

Á la carte pricing

The "come on" with the scam artists is to price something very low: "A palm reading is just $5—what do you have to lose?" A lot as it turns out, the con artist comes out as soon as your money comes out of your pocket. If you don't have a lot of cash on you, the "psychic" faker will assess your income based on the clothing you are wearing and how you present yourself. Very quickly, that $5 palm reading turns into a $300 "energy clearing," "Reiki session," "aura cleansing."

If you came in "for a palm reading," just get that.

Real Psychics have sessions of a fixed length.

I know of two psychics who read in one-hour sessions. There's no additional "come-on," invitation to stay longer "for a more complete reading" or any of that. And the real professionals rarely take walk-ins because they are booked in advance.

Fixed-length sessions ensure that there will be no "come on" afterwards. You go in knowing what the price of the reading is and how much you will pay.