A referee moves a sword from left to right over the cake, hypothetically dividing it into a small left piece and a large right piece. Each player holds a knife over what he considers to be the midpoint of the right piece. As the referee moves his sword, the players continually adjust their knives, always keeping them parallel to the sword. When any player shouts "cut", the cake is cut by the sword and by whichever of the players' knives happens to be the middle one of the three.
The player who shouted "cut" receives the left piece. He must be satisfied, because he knew what all three pieces would be when he said the word. Then the player whose knife ended nearest to the sword, if he didn't shout "cut", takes the centerpiece; and the player whose knife was farthest from the sword, if he didn't shout "cut", takes the right piece. The player whose knife was used to cut the cake, if he hasn't already taken the left piece, will be satisfied with whatever piece is left over. If ties must be broken - either because two or three players shout simultaneously or because two or three knives coincide - they may be broken arbitrarily.
