Two friends, Billy Foster (Bill Cosby) and Clyde Williams (Sidney Poitier), need to quickly find a way to raise funds for their fraternal lodge, the Sons and Daughters of Shaka. It is incumbent on Billy to find the money because he is the treasurer of the struggling lodge. After Billy convinces Clyde that it is their best and quickest option, they decide to bring back a successful money-making scheme, hence the title. Clyde's special ability of hypnosis allows the two to set up boxing matches and then maximize profits by going all in on the underdog. Billy and Clyde take their talents to New Orleans to rig a boxing match. This is where Jimmie Walker character, Bootney Farnsworth, comes into the fold. Bootney is lanky boxer that is overwhelmed in the initial sparring matches. His difficulty to impress anyone, even his coach, makes the odds of him winning lower by the day. After watching Bootney struggle, Billy and Clyde are encouraged to go through with their plan. Before the match, they sneak into Bootney's hotel room and hypnotize him, before they hilariously escape. They use what's left of the lodge's budget to place their bets with local bookmakers, Kansas City Mack (John Amos) and Biggie Smalls (Calvin Lockhart). The hypnotized Bootney has transformed into a boxing phenomenon and easily defeats the champion, 40th Street Black (Rodolphus Lee Hayden), by KO. After collecting their money and returning to Atlanta to celebrate at the lodge, they soon receive a visit from Kansas City Mack. Mack grew suspicious of the duo's conveniently-timed bet, and after finally catching on, he spent weeks searching for the two best friends. Once he arrives at the lodge, he makes a deal that would allow the two sides be even. Billy and Clyde must perform exactly the same hypnosis on a boxer, but this time they must collude with Mack. Billy and Clyde agree to the initial deal, but Clyde has a hard time de-hypnotizing Bootney. Bootney, still under hypnosis, has become far too quick fo