Fail Proof scam

[ruthlesssenshi]

So a buddy at work taught me this scam, but he said he got it off scam school and before i get into my question, heres the trick and how to perform it.

Items needed:
4 pennies
1/2 penny (Cut a normal penny in half just dont cut yourself it hurts and bleeds alot)
a piece of paper
a pencil or pen


How its done:
Make sure you have your 4 n 1/2 cents ready in your pocket
Have a pencil/pen and small piece of paper accessible to you.
Find anyone in the street, bar, school anywhere.
Ask them if they are good with math and give them a piece of paper and pencil/pen.
Ask them to write down any 2 digit number I.E. 10-99.
It HAS to be a two digit number for this to work.
Once they have thier number
Ask them to add the numbers to eacher
I.E. 1+0=1
Then ask them to subtract that from thier original number, then ask them what they came up with.
I.E. 10-1=9
(If they pick a increasingly high number they will have to add/subtract again until they get down to 9. You can cut alot of time out of this by takeing the second number they get and just having them add it together to make 9)
I.E. if they picked 99,
9+9=18,
99-18=81,
8+1=9

Heres the scam, no matter what number they choose the final number will be 9.
This is where you pull the 4 and 1/2 out of your pocket (but keep it concealed in your closed hand) and say "ill bet you a beer (or whatever you want) that i have exactly HALF of that number in my hand right now. The person will automatically say "Ok youre on!" thinking its impossible to have half of 9 in change.
Ask them "Are you sure?"
They will say yeah
Thats when you open your hand revealing the 4 and 1/2 cents and then promptly collect your bet :)

This trick has not failed me yet, it is fail proof because of the 1/2 cent thats in it.number to make it even "better" and it also makes it seem like a magic trick.



Now my question is, has this trick been on scam school before or did my buddy just happen to fall across it and tell me its from scam school?

[nickklein]

it's from scamschool.

[masherscf]

This trick is not fail-proof. Anyone who knows the principle of casting out nines knows how it works and won't fall for it.

[ruthlesssenshi]

Which episode is it/whats the episode called?

[shwooddotcom]

This trick is not fail-proof. Anyone who knows the principle of casting out nines knows how it works and won't fall for it.

I would challenge you on that one... In fact, I'd say they're even MORE likely to fall for it, because they'll know better than most that you've "screwed up the trick" by ending up with 4.5, making the reveal just that much sweeter.

[shwooddotcom]

Which episode is it/whats the episode called?

http://revision3.com/scamschool/pennyprediction/ (http://revision3.com/scamschool/pennyprediction/)

[nickklein]

Yeah. Shwood kinda makes a point there.
Not a lot of people have 1/2 a penny in their pocket.

[masherscf]

I would challenge you on that one... In fact, I'd say they're even MORE likely to fall for it, because they'll know better than most that you've "screwed up the trick" by ending up with 4.5, making the reveal just that much sweeter.

Maybe, unless you're wise to the 1/2 trick. I've got another trick for the casting out nines that doesn't depend on having 1/2 a penny in the pocket. I think I've adapted it for bar room use.

I call the trick, "Random Number Generator"

Challenge a person to run the "Random number generator."

The random algorithm will result in two digits, you can challenge the person that your can guess at least one. If the digits were truly random the odds of you doing this is more than 4 to 1 against. This might be enough to tempt players to bet a beer.

Step 1.

Have the person secretly pick a random number between 12 and 98 with 2 unique digits. Have the person record the number secretly on a bar napkin.

Step 2.

Have the person interpose the digits to create a second two-digit number. Subtract the 2-digit smaller from the 2-digit number larger. This is a random number. You actually have no idea what the number is.

Step 3.

Challenge the person that you can guess at least one of the two digits. If you fail you owe them a beer.

Step 5.

Guess, "The first digit is 5." Odds are you'll fail. Really play up the disappointment an nervousness. Have them reveal the first digit. Say, "I must have been close, what was it?" The key is to weedle the first digit out of them before you can proceed. You need to know what the first digit is.

Anyhow, having failed the first guess, This is when you raise the stakes. Two beers if you fail, but a beer for you if you win. After all, the apparent odds of winning are 9 to 1 against...aren't they.

Step 6

The key is that the first digit reveals the second. The "random" two-digit number is a multiple of nine which is at least 9 and at most 81. So, the second digit cannot be zero. If the first digit is nine, there is no second digit. They may also answer zero as the first digit, in which case your second digit is nine. In all other cases subtract the first digit from 9 and that is the second digit.

The trick may take a bit of theater to sell. Play up the "randomness" and tension.


example.

They write down 37. The interpose is 73. 73-37=36

the random 2-digits are 3 and 6.

Guess 5...wrong, so sorry. Subtract 9-3=6... Guess 6!

[rabidbadger]

Hmmm, I like that, masher. I think I'd have to see it demonstrated to fully understand, seeing I suck scissors at math. Brian, try this out.

[masherscf]

Hmmm, I like that, masher. I think I'd have to see it demonstrated to fully understand, seeing I suck scissors at math. Brian, try this out.

That's the thing. People don't understand Math. There are lots of underling relationships in Math. People see randomness, but there is order.

[murphy1d]

That's the thing. People don't understand Math.

Amen to this. I've tried the 1/2 penny trick several times and each time the idiots I am with have trouble adding and subtracting two numbers in their head. Even when I give them plenty of time to do it.

Really makes the reveal anti-climatic.

[ruthlesssenshi]

I would challenge you on that one... In fact, I'd say they're even MORE likely to fall for it, because they'll know better than most that you've "screwed up the trick" by ending up with 4.5, making the reveal just that much sweeter.

Ahh thank you oh mighty one! Ill watch the episode now and make sure i didnt screw it up while writing it down :)

And yes, most people don't understand math. Thats why i give them a piece of paper and pen to do the math lol

[the_brando]

I preceded to try this with my buddy, and he ended up picking 19. When you add 9+1, you get 10, then when you subtract the 10 to the 19 you'll get 9. From there, he got me confused when he said he got a single digit number, and couldn't add the two digits together at the end- so you've gotta obviously tell them that if they get a 1 digit number (9 is the only number they would get)- just add the one number to zero.

Since it looked like I screwed up, we did it again and he was even more willing to bet me 5 bucks that I didn't have the 4.5 pennies in my hand. When I showed him that I did, he was definitely surprised. However instead of admitting defeat, this D-bag took his weed scale and wanted to weigh the penny. He claimed that in order for me to have won the bet, the half penny had to weigh EXACTLY half of a normal one.

If your target has a scale handy and the inability to admit defeat, you may want to weigh the half coin to make sure it's exactly 1.25 grams :)