Win The Match Drop Trick Every Time!
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 running time 10:51
A simple game of skill that looks completely fair, but always
leaves the sucker short.
Setup: grab a book of wooden matches and make a "game board" consisting of parallel lines covering a wide surface (make sure each line is exactly one full match-length away from the next). Next, explain you and your mark will take turns dropping matches from approximately 18 inches above the board. They can either aim to (a) HIT the parallel lines or (b) MISS the parallel lines. After a run of 20 matches is complete, the winner's the one who hit their targets the most.
The Work: when given the chance to choose, the mark will always choose to try to miss the lines. The gaps are SO wide, he'll figure he's gotta win. However, the surprising true odds are actually better than 3 to 2 in your favor.
How it works: first off, once you start dropping matches from 2 feet up, skill has nothing to do with it. It's just random chance. And in a random drop of needles or matches in this setup, it's a mathematical certainty that for every 2 needles that miss the lines, 3.14 of the will hit them. In other words, the exact odds are Pi to 2 in your favor!
Method: this effect relies on con man working out of order. After asking the first question, he writes the answer to the third question he plans to ask (in our case, we used a card force to know the third answer in advance, but a guess at a yes/no question will work just as well).
(side note: believe it or not, there are mathematical simulations to this problem that run so many iterations, programmers are actually able to accurately calculate Pi to any number of digits, just by repeatedly dropping virtual needles and tallying up the results! Google "Buffon's Needle" for more)
Highlights
world of warcraft: 5:02godaddy: 4:50
bartlett: 3:56
scam: 0:21, 4:47, 9:02
Automatically Generated Transcript
May not be 100% accurate" Warm and this week you -- a game of skill that's still there they always lose. Disincentives in school brought to you by your home for domains next. Those evil geniuses. -- Hello I'm Brian rush through it and I'm not only the host of Scam School. I'm also a client. Scam School the only show dedicated to social engineering at the bar and on the street. I -- president this -- you're gonna win anything you want to get a win money you're gonna win they're gonna come out ahead because we've got a game. Looks like a game of skill but in fact is rigged in your favor. Check it out."
" Company Casey back. And Maria does it make you guys and inventing games together forget that just goof around at the end of -- that the game. And then today. If the gambling game but in the betting game. I tried to make sure you use all the stuff that. You'd be able to find in any buyer. It has to be admitted craft project he did. We're gonna play games where we -- Matches. You're gonna drop a match down from about two feet would you rather seen them. To avoid the line. Or try to. Who hit a lot -- as far as being quiet. You -- between the lines currently. His young life I don't know how to do -- to the you and me we'll go --"
" And they're gonna go for the real."
" no not exactly that I like like -- on the line. As to when he -- yeah. But you guys are comfortable with -- when you get it right. I don't -- you will do a Taylor will be ten at a time -- their friends. We'll we'll we'll talk about it thank you that you you've got -- and and the other team have to judge they they they your lineup you gotta be at least we'll see eighteen inches up. And the goal is to wealthy and try to Lindy you guys are going to war between the lines and we're gonna go over on the lines."
" Touching -- touch line is is as an online. Because look how much."
" Not to."
" Okay that's good that's."
" I. It up. I dig up."
" I -- I don't think I."
" I sign up. -- Are you a little go here and that's and."
" All of yeah is all right it's. Blood sucking up like constantly."
" Okay. Okay I."
" Hello and -- drop me a little -- Yeah. Yeah. I will wait to be the judge Allan."
" And they."
" I'll let you guys that clearly it would have been yeah. --"
" Bartlett tell them are well I guess we'll -- the one between the lines that you guys have got."
" is -- have a clearly -- I don't want."
" Are there plus we got by not touching the lives and here we -- one."
" 3456. Down."
" Two dollars I believe that's one dollar for each of give me put it like -- being. Yeah guy -- I'm paying. -- let me explain first -- things they have in London -- had nothing do with the outcome. And we were destined from the beginning to be the winners on explain how the -- and I think our sponsors."
" You know the game by now here at Scam School we noticed that domains are so ridiculously cheap through godaddy that we've been registering them just to insult our friends. We call it domain smacking and we just got one from Marten downs who registered the domain more addictive thing -- dot com and pointed it. The World of Warcraft page. I saw that -- coming. Don't forget the you can register your domains -- for only seven dollars and 49 cents or GoDaddy -- pointed to whatever site you want absolute. These freak just make sure he used the code scam three -- check out. And don't forget to send me your best domains -- we could feature right here on the show. Get your piece of the Internet -- down."
" Darn cute things about this great game I think a really interesting first of all."
" We think -- the equation might make you go this high up once -- this -- to really no way to skillfully. Land on either one -- the other."
" He's only being. Is the perception. That one. Choice is more -- the other. You look at this easy all this healthy alliance that you think all of that's clearly going to be the bigger target you begin fine but."
" In fact you're far far more likely to. One -- it's been avoided this is actually cool."
" After the bars not really really fun to bust out the business of Apple's overall upbeat songs Eagles and the question that was. If you had a series of lines that -- exactly the length of the U apart. And you randomly -- Eagles from what were you on that it would land. The outside of live and on we're very weird because -- to be true. Hi you can actually calculate hi -- well being of millions -- What a great deflected it back if you look behind they're actually programs that will seemingly dropping random needles and the more you do it report."
" Exactly it was. I get calculated that we. With a -- as they return uniform they would landed flat."
" But the nice thing about wooden matches they got its boldest yet but causing a lot of -- and it when -- So essentially it's -- and we act like it's the game of skill which you are at their side."
" You'll notice also that I win. But it's likely to die."
" We'll hear from my lines part of that was. Office of the quarters. On the newspaper but it's definitely look a little more chaotic and so it also keeps you from."
" Shots precisely because you can't get it just."
" Did you actually plan to increase the odds that they'll land in between the -- You've got to make sure that the winds are one who actually part of the entire way if you get off of that."
" In the numbers don't screw me and you can no longer rely on them probability."
" Couple of ways to play the game can be played at."
" Telling them dropping one at a time that you could just as easily say which is more likely if I dropped a fiscal net."
" That they would land in between lights but they would let a --"
" I'm just all want one shot and most people like you guys would say almost they would land. Please -- people the land lines even appear on it. Drop the ball down and you've got to love you got."
" I was touching 123. Gore versus. 12345. So in that case we come out."
" I'm Portland. In Canada where important it. That people think you got so let's go look very good. -- in Gaza thanks yeah. --"
" Don't forget before you start pulling the match struck you need to make a practice that at home you're gonna find a different materials balance differently. You want as random a drop as you can get. If you buy that people are actually beating you at the game."
" It means that something's wrong with the setup for this configuration using the wrong object to drop you're having them -- to blow the board set up with the long spring it is no. Picture troubleshoot it out. Figure out what works best for you. I wanna get the stories of how much you guys are making off of this scam whether it's muddy whether it's good you tell me. Most about the boards at revision3.com. Slash Scam School any questions or you wanna suggest your favorite bars and write it directly at Brian at revision3.com. Don't forget you can -- now all the updates about upcoming Scam School episodes at twitter.com slash Scam School. If you wanna follow my adventures on the road I'm at twitter.com slash woods. Next episode we're doing something very different -- I think it'll learn how to train -- to make cinnamon toast. Until then I guess fall. I don't know."
" Couple things when you're working out the match dropped first of all make. The props and try it at home several times you'll notice the different just felt differently -- that's different from. And I said the wrong words."
" I guess we'll be making my own."
" Look cinnamon toast."
" It's that I got us. --"
" Warm and this week you -- a game of skill that's still there they always lose. Disincentives in school brought to you by your home for domains next. Those evil geniuses. -- Hello I'm Brian rush through it and I'm not only the host of Scam School. I'm also a client. Scam School the only show dedicated to social engineering at the bar and on the street. I -- president this -- you're gonna win anything you want to get a win money you're gonna win they're gonna come out ahead because we've got a game. Looks like a game of skill but in fact is rigged in your favor. Check it out."
" Company Casey back. And Maria does it make you guys and inventing games together forget that just goof around at the end of -- that the game. And then today. If the gambling game but in the betting game. I tried to make sure you use all the stuff that. You'd be able to find in any buyer. It has to be admitted craft project he did. We're gonna play games where we -- Matches. You're gonna drop a match down from about two feet would you rather seen them. To avoid the line. Or try to. Who hit a lot -- as far as being quiet. You -- between the lines currently. His young life I don't know how to do -- to the you and me we'll go --"
" And they're gonna go for the real."
" no not exactly that I like like -- on the line. As to when he -- yeah. But you guys are comfortable with -- when you get it right. I don't -- you will do a Taylor will be ten at a time -- their friends. We'll we'll we'll talk about it thank you that you you've got -- and and the other team have to judge they they they your lineup you gotta be at least we'll see eighteen inches up. And the goal is to wealthy and try to Lindy you guys are going to war between the lines and we're gonna go over on the lines."
" Touching -- touch line is is as an online. Because look how much."
" Not to."
" Okay that's good that's."
" I. It up. I dig up."
" I -- I don't think I."
" I sign up. -- Are you a little go here and that's and."
" All of yeah is all right it's. Blood sucking up like constantly."
" Okay. Okay I."
" Hello and -- drop me a little -- Yeah. Yeah. I will wait to be the judge Allan."
" And they."
" I'll let you guys that clearly it would have been yeah. --"
" Bartlett tell them are well I guess we'll -- the one between the lines that you guys have got."
" is -- have a clearly -- I don't want."
" Are there plus we got by not touching the lives and here we -- one."
" 3456. Down."
" Two dollars I believe that's one dollar for each of give me put it like -- being. Yeah guy -- I'm paying. -- let me explain first -- things they have in London -- had nothing do with the outcome. And we were destined from the beginning to be the winners on explain how the -- and I think our sponsors."
" You know the game by now here at Scam School we noticed that domains are so ridiculously cheap through godaddy that we've been registering them just to insult our friends. We call it domain smacking and we just got one from Marten downs who registered the domain more addictive thing -- dot com and pointed it. The World of Warcraft page. I saw that -- coming. Don't forget the you can register your domains -- for only seven dollars and 49 cents or GoDaddy -- pointed to whatever site you want absolute. These freak just make sure he used the code scam three -- check out. And don't forget to send me your best domains -- we could feature right here on the show. Get your piece of the Internet -- down."
" Darn cute things about this great game I think a really interesting first of all."
" We think -- the equation might make you go this high up once -- this -- to really no way to skillfully. Land on either one -- the other."
" He's only being. Is the perception. That one. Choice is more -- the other. You look at this easy all this healthy alliance that you think all of that's clearly going to be the bigger target you begin fine but."
" In fact you're far far more likely to. One -- it's been avoided this is actually cool."
" After the bars not really really fun to bust out the business of Apple's overall upbeat songs Eagles and the question that was. If you had a series of lines that -- exactly the length of the U apart. And you randomly -- Eagles from what were you on that it would land. The outside of live and on we're very weird because -- to be true. Hi you can actually calculate hi -- well being of millions -- What a great deflected it back if you look behind they're actually programs that will seemingly dropping random needles and the more you do it report."
" Exactly it was. I get calculated that we. With a -- as they return uniform they would landed flat."
" But the nice thing about wooden matches they got its boldest yet but causing a lot of -- and it when -- So essentially it's -- and we act like it's the game of skill which you are at their side."
" You'll notice also that I win. But it's likely to die."
" We'll hear from my lines part of that was. Office of the quarters. On the newspaper but it's definitely look a little more chaotic and so it also keeps you from."
" Shots precisely because you can't get it just."
" Did you actually plan to increase the odds that they'll land in between the -- You've got to make sure that the winds are one who actually part of the entire way if you get off of that."
" In the numbers don't screw me and you can no longer rely on them probability."
" Couple of ways to play the game can be played at."
" Telling them dropping one at a time that you could just as easily say which is more likely if I dropped a fiscal net."
" That they would land in between lights but they would let a --"
" I'm just all want one shot and most people like you guys would say almost they would land. Please -- people the land lines even appear on it. Drop the ball down and you've got to love you got."
" I was touching 123. Gore versus. 12345. So in that case we come out."
" I'm Portland. In Canada where important it. That people think you got so let's go look very good. -- in Gaza thanks yeah. --"
" Don't forget before you start pulling the match struck you need to make a practice that at home you're gonna find a different materials balance differently. You want as random a drop as you can get. If you buy that people are actually beating you at the game."
" It means that something's wrong with the setup for this configuration using the wrong object to drop you're having them -- to blow the board set up with the long spring it is no. Picture troubleshoot it out. Figure out what works best for you. I wanna get the stories of how much you guys are making off of this scam whether it's muddy whether it's good you tell me. Most about the boards at revision3.com. Slash Scam School any questions or you wanna suggest your favorite bars and write it directly at Brian at revision3.com. Don't forget you can -- now all the updates about upcoming Scam School episodes at twitter.com slash Scam School. If you wanna follow my adventures on the road I'm at twitter.com slash woods. Next episode we're doing something very different -- I think it'll learn how to train -- to make cinnamon toast. Until then I guess fall. I don't know."
" Couple things when you're working out the match dropped first of all make. The props and try it at home several times you'll notice the different just felt differently -- that's different from. And I said the wrong words."
" I guess we'll be making my own."
" Look cinnamon toast."
" It's that I got us. --"










