Magician Paul Gertner - 4th Appearance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us

[@LoriWolfcat]

Paul Gertner has turned into a guy who comes on Penn & Teller, and we all just sit back and enjoy. He’s so fun to watch!

[@fredericbard6523]

Completely agree. Hope he makes an appearance every season as long as the show is running.

[@guykiernan537]

Absolutely agree! He is so great and a lot of fun to watch. Already looking forward to see what he does for his 5th time on the show. It can't end now that its 2-2. Lol

[@paulgertnermagic]

Very kind of you Lori... I have a blast doing the show.

[@paulgertnermagic]

@@fredericbard6523 Only if I have something worthwhile. This trick I felt met that standard.

[@MikeyD8716]

Man. How did you not fool them. Fooled me for sure. Maybe you shouldn’t have given him the pen?

[@maruftim]

plot twist: the trick was him knowing that he could show up again if he didn't fool them this time

[@gangsterghost6943]

Plost twist: 2 he can actually decide when they do and dont get fooled

[@m1haun]

@@gangsterghost6943 and wrote on a pen before his first appearance

[@gangsterghost6943]

Lmao right

[@BrookBowenVideos]

He forced the blue pick and the Jack of Diamonds (pretty easy for good magicians like Gertner) then at 3:03 he is searching for one of 52 pens (that all have the same writing on them) to select pen #47. It's the same pen used throughout the rest of the trick. No pick pocket needed or other sleight of hand needed. Excellent!

[@charlie3449]

@@BrookBowenVideos That time stamp is the end of the video, where in the performance are you talking about?

[@EAD6031]

The most baffling magic to me is when Penn talks in code

[@MrSafer]

Force, multiple pens, smooth pickpocket. That's what I caught.

[@gordanblansky7137]

Mr. Safer what does it mean to “force”?

[@SladeWeston]

@@maxxxxxxxxxxxx That's where the index comes in. he had 52 pens hidden about his person. Which seems cumbersome but that's what penn was referring to. He used two different styles of force on the pick and the card while the pen was an index.

[@UniverseGOD2525]

@@SladeWeston what does smooth pickpocket refers to?

[@YuKonSama]

@@UniverseGOD2525 I could imagine that he meant "smoothly picking the right index". You have to get the right pen very naturally without having your hand in your jacket too long.

[@akmadsen]

3:42 What a save by Paul! Penn soooo wanted to look closer at the pen, but Paul averted him discovering the prediction prematurely.

[@zidanez21]

I didn’t even think about that yeah, Penn definitely would’ve looked at the pen, but he just jammed it into his pocket inadvertently telling him to keep it there without seeing it

[@mack9208]

You can see at 3:18ish the pen says “you selected a blue pick” if you zoom in

[@Cardibot]

That means he has alot of pens on him

[@StrongDreamsWaitHere]

That means the whole trick was a force, but now the question is, how?

[@Wowthatsfunnylol121]

​@@StrongDreamsWaitHerethe blue pick was a force. I'm assuming there's a second set of picks in the box that don't get poured out that are all blue. Then some way to modify the pen, either remotely or with a dial, to populate the other information? Pretty much no way to force the number and card without them being in on it.

[@ianmcguire9893]

It's crazy how Penn's voice has changed so much over the years yet teller's is exactly the same🤔

[@kirkjohnson9353]

Teller takes good care of himself- it makes a difference in the long run.

[@MarkARoutt]

Honestly though his voice is very soothing.

[@rybiryj]

Isn't that the consequence of his sword swallowing incident?

[@MarkARoutt]

@@rybiryj No, he still can talk. In fact he does for their masterclass.

[@UniverseGOD2525]

@@rybiryj lmao hahaha no

[@birdnerd93]

Paul Gertner is such a nice and humble guy, you can see he really enjoys it. That's what makes him fun to watch.

[@paulgertnermagic]

They make you feel very welcome on the show...it is stressful for everyone but the producers do their best to make it fun for the guests.

[@eldancer2]

Paul! What a class! I dont see how rough and smooth would work here. But I'm not a magician, anyway.

[@88Doug]

He was friends with my grandfather! He is just as nice in person. Stand up guy!

[@88Doug]

Paul Gertner I'm Bob M's grandson! I do close up sleight of hand everyday and it always gives me that feeling! I love performing it!

[@curtvogue5720]

@@eldancer2 I agree... the rough/smooth thing would mean half the cards were Jack of DIamonds no? But when he fans them out there are a lot more than 26 random cards. Beats me! The Jack of Diamonds was clearly forced tho....

[@jlederer1947]

I got to see Paul perform in my living room when he was an art student in Pittsburgh. My wife who taught at that school hired him to do a show for her social group. At 18 years old, he was amazing.

[@paulgertnermagic]

That gig was almost 50 years ago... but I can honestly say I remember it very clearly. Those first paid gigs are very memorable. And Irene's illustrations were amazing... and a bit intimidating... I knew I would never be that good of an artist..

[@jlederer1947]

I still remember the trick you did with a cup and balls, except the balls were ball bearing which kept getting bigger and bigger. I was just a foot away and just was amazed how smoothly you did this trick. My wife, Ilene, and her social group still remember that show. Ilene is still an active illustrator.

[@wolverineiscool7161]

@@jlederer1947 Well not to butt in but that was 50 years ago apparently and Paul almost got her name right except for one letter

[@jcs184]

Amazing memory, both of you

[@Tee-OhBee]

This exchange was so wholesome

[@methyod]

comments: "i dont get what penn's talking abt O.O" penn: "FORCE, SO MUCH FORCE"

[@methyod]

also penn: "I'd have an index"

[@thorsolberg4327]

ooooh

[@ipajayn3454]

@@methyod "more than 50"

[@Cykotiq]

@@ipajayn3454 more than a full deck of cards. after he counts out penns 47th card look at how many extra cards there are after it

[@azimpetra]

@@Cykotiq its the same amount, only 5 more cards after 47. He's talking about the number of pens he has, he'd prolly reach in a different pocket if it was a different Pick color.

[@LudwigsUnholySpade]

What amazes me the most about this show is how they understand Penn's crazy talk code at the end

[@SignedDiamond]

Ludwig's Unholy Spade it’s always my favorite part. I can speak a fair bit of this language and it’s always amazing to me how he rolls it altogether into something coherent.

[@jamesmulkern9437]

Dylan Gelinas I was telling my wife the same thing. It’s the best part for me. I had no idea how it was done until the “code talk” and it was actually 2 parts of that talk that told me the method

[@charles3840]

The only portion I picked up on was "index," and that was after the fact when I was wondering where the code talk was.

[@clinthuff9868]

You do realize this is all basically scripted ? It Hollywood

[@mrfeelmenow54]

@@clinthuff9868 or they're just professionals lol cw public tv isn't exactly "hollywood"

[@jared7606]

Now i read the discussions in the comments about the trick... Some explanations were made but here's mine. I hope it helps others find the trick a lot faster than i did by reading the whole comment section :D The trick basically has 3 parts. The blue pick, the jack of diamonds, the writing on the pen. First the easy one. The pick. It WAS NOT MENTALLY FORCED contrary to lots of people who said that! The box has 2 chambers, one of which has 6 extra blue picks. That is exactly why paul picks up the blue pick last off the table! So telller is FORCED to pick the blue pick because he has no other options. Second is the writing on the pen! The table is very large! At the time paul asks penn to pick a number, pay attention and you'll see that he picks the 47th pen from under the table and attaches it to a springy cord under his jacket so then it ends up around the pocket inside the jacket! But this only works if teller is FORCED to pick up the jack of diamonds... And as crazy as it seems, teller WAS FORCED to pick up the jack of diamonds! How? Simple... Every card in the pack has a jack of diamonds on its back. So when the cards are upside down, the only side the guitar pick can touch is the jack of diamonds! It matches the keywords used by penn as well as the ones used by paul! Paul tells teller to move the guitar pick slowly so that the jacks don't pop out! Penn talks about ROUGHNESS and you can even see it that when he wants to set the jack of diamonds aside he has to pick it out very roughly! The brand of the card is also an special brand which allows having 104 cards by the thickness of 52. (So in reality, 52 cards of the deck are normal and 52 cards are just jack of diamond each of which is attached to the back of every single normal card.) So to sum up, The blue pick, the jack of diamonds, they were FORCED by removing the other options with special equipment (2 chamber box, special deck of cards) The pen wasn't just one pen, but it was MORE THAN 50 PENS under the table which paul picked it up quickly as penn picked a number. I tried to write penn's keywords in capital letters so you can match them easier. :) Hope this explanation is full and thorough.

[@jamaicanfish7747]

Definitely nailed it I think. No way Penn wouldn’t have said “thousands of pen jokes” but he specifically said 50

[@michaeldaunicorn5314]

Yup ur right

[@amrojjeh]

What about being able to change the number? Wouldn't have that messed the trick?

[@jared7606]

@@amrojjeh It wouldn't ruin the whole trick. The "pen part" of the trick could've been omitted. Also there are multiple other ways to play around such situation. For instance, he could've picked up another pen with the second number and then played around that plus the in addition to the pen in Penn's pocket. Also, the "Jack of Diamonds" part of the trick never would've been threatened due to the fact that all cards have a jack of diamonds attached to their back. Paul is obviously an astonishing magician... I mean look at 3:45 ... At this point Penn obviously knows what the trick is all about (looking at the pen) and Paul has figured that he knows yet he pulls off the whole trick beautifully! So I believe that without a doubt he has had a solution to tackle the number change.

[@eyallev]

but what if he wanted to change the number?

[@biomed007]

Penn and Teller did not follow their advice of: whenever you are offered to change your choice, change it

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

Literally no reason not to, weird that he didn't.

[@berkaykurkcu]

FortWhenTeaThyme they figured out the trick as soon as he put the picks inside the card box but they let him roll

[@paulgertnermagic]

I noticed that.

[@chetchelios7614]

@@paulgertnermagic but you had plan in case they did change I bet

[@chrisscott6727]

@@paulgertnermagic hey Paul, I just watched the video. But I don't understand. How did you not fool them? I don't think they explained how they were not fooled...

[@CreativoErratico]

4:00 that's Teller knowing if this wasnt made for tv, Penn would've made you shuffle for hours.

[@marclabelle4253]

Would not put it past Penn to burn an entire show on making Paul shuffle...

[@clexclex4531]

yes i did think that was gonna happen i'm glad it didn't but yes i thinl he would have let paul sit there for the rest of the day

[@CreativoErratico]

Watching the edit, I’m thinking Penn did make Paul shuffle longer...

[@AnthonyMiyazaki]

Let's face it. Part of the genius of Penn is his ability to talk the magician through how it was done while the rest of us think he's just chatting about his childhood and playing the bass. I knew this was going to be amazing once I saw Paul's name on it. You definitely fooled all of us Paul, and we loved it! And we also love your fun and cordial nature.

[@anonaconn]

He literally said force like four times. He was saying that the choices were forced.

[@Pigaroulettes]

@@anonaconn Thé keyword is also index. He's basically saying that Paul hard a Penn for all 52 possibles numbers in his pocket.

[@anonaconn]

Nil Samar for sure dude!

[@PApro]

I hate to break the illusion but Penn don't necessarily come up with all the code talk on his own or even him and Teller. A producer once said on a podcast that Penn and Teller spent about 10 mins on average working it out (obviously its edited for time and entertainment value) and after they work out what they think than they and the producers, through an earpiece, decide together on how best to explain it. So there are at least 3-5 minds involved.

[@salim9059]

Lol

[@ursuciprian9035]

I think Penn was talking about a forced choice, him having multiple pens, and he thinks he switched them while telling the pen joke. ("If I had a pen for every single time I heard the pen joke, I'd have 50 something pens")

[@Jhymnbeau]

Fifty two, to be specific. ;)

[@unwokefuck7644]

Even then though he'd need way more than 52 pens. Because there were three variables on the pen....

[@Yayonzo]

@@unwokefuck7644 And two of them were controlled- the pick and the card. Hence, "playing with a lot of force."

[@TemphinFD]

@@Yayonzo "Cause you brought out those picks you know" 8:19

[@thaer12345]

@@Yayonzo I can see how the pick can be forced with a gimmick box, but how would he force the card choice?

[@ImpassiveCanine]

"He can't keep getting away with this!"

[@nicholasargiros1331]

I absolutely love Paul Gertner - His storytelling, voice and presentation make the trick so enjoyable to watch, I dont even try to figure it out. I just sit back and enjoy

[@hungfao]

This guy does the best tricks. He has great presentation. It's never boring. That one with the little cork piece still has me astounded. I've watched that several times and still can't figure out that ending.

[@citizensguard3433]

Jeez... these magician’s codes when discussing the trick are getting more and more esoteric... I thought he was really telling a story of his childhood... and here he was saying a bunch of shit to let the dude know he was caught lol

[@tzvigeller7411]

He is saying the blue pick was a force and then said he gave him a pen with a pen joke and that there were over 50 pen jokes meaning he had 52 pens and he covered all outcomes

[@tzvigeller7411]

@Elreypachuco yep. Also you can see when Penn chooses the number 47 he chooses the right pen from under the table only to then make it look like he took it out of his pocket

[@polingification]

@@tzvigeller7411 check on 2:02..hecadjust the box and blue goes in last. On 3:05 you see hecis searching for the right penn. Sill the card and get it on no. 45..he falsely counts to 47 i dont get

[@buddylove71]

But what would've happened if penn change the number at the end?

[@citizensguard3433]

Buddy Love I think I saw you in a movie once lol.

[@moviemaker2011z]

Honestly this guy should be right up there with them for alot more shows. He's charismatic, he's kind, he's got such a great personality, and even if his tricks are not mind blowing or wild out of this world he still nails such a niche of calm collective joy and I could watch him perform for hours. 10/10 a great guy and great magician.

[@Jhymnbeau]

Paul is perfect for their venue. Every appearance has been a delight. When is he going to be on next?

[@moviemaker2011z]

@@Jhymnbeau I agree. If they ever needed a replacement host for the show THIS is the guy I hope they look to first.

[@Haiydes]

I was like: "I think I would choose 47 as my number" Penn: *Reads my mind*

[@ivanmanko]

So did I! But then out of 1.6M, there are probably more than 30k of us...

[@Haiydes]

@@ivanmanko I guess, still awesome tho xD

[@uAlenkycz]

Same here! It's my lucky number, lol

[@hugocoty1970]

@@uAlenkycz my lucky number too, how come its yours?

[@thegreatestpepe]

"When I played bass I used that pick with a lot of force" "If I had an index of all the Penn jokes, I'd probably have over 50" Very clever.

[@baraklevy3344]

yes but the pen was given to penn before he chose a number, so what's the point ?

[@StefanReich]

@@baraklevy3344 2:33 Penn names his number. 3:02 Paul takes out the pen.

[@kobweb2994]

Stefan Reich but he asked if he wanted to change his number later

[@Mr_Archer15]

KOBWEB that’s the part that gets me, maybe he would have given him another pen? Or maybe he wouldn’t have shown dude the message? Haha

[@xBamf4Lifex]

He also plays the bass very rough.

[@legocity2643]

Paul definitely has the most pleasing acts of all the Fool Us contestants.

[@paulgertnermagic]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@harryzhang1511]

I just simply love how Penn squeezed everything into a story

[@robertgibson1156]

He actually does play bass. When you go to see them in Vegas, while the audience is sitting down, he's there in the band playing. I think he get's a kick out of people not noticing, and genuinely likes to play.

[@Daz5Daz]

I love how much P&T are genuine fans of the masters of their own craft.

[@tressil3607]

I love how positive, respectful, and appreciative P&T are of every magician who performs.

[@jameslupei2933]

I don't know what's more impressive: the fact that P&T completely figured out the trick, or the fact that they can communicate all of that with a coded language and fully understand each other.

[@chrismorin584]

Whats more impressive is that in that Jacket Paul has 52 Pens...lol.

[@avorsoli6566]

@@chrismorin584 he doesn't. The pen already had the prediction, all he had to do was force the things needed to make it true.

[@Ensirum]

@@avorsoli6566 The biggest question is how did he force the number. Forcing the card and pick are relatively easy (not for us), because they're corporeal. But a number can be plucked out of the ether.

[@chandlermiller3944]

@@avorsoli6566 an index is a device that holds all possible options of an outcome. Pen Picked the number from 1-52. he has 52 pens in his jacket dependent on which number Penn chooses.

[@steelers0004]

@@avorsoli6566 the number was the only thing not forced, had pen switched he would have audibled and not done the pen reveal at the end. Still a great trick that took me a while to figure out

[@6666Imperator]

I love when Paul Gertner is performing on P&T. It always feels like good friends having a fun time together

[@junelcabudoc7187]

"So where you gonna keep this trophy?" "Maybe between the other 2" 😏🏆😂

[@chickendinner2562]

3:45 LOL He got super nervous for a second there when Penn was going to look at the pen LOL

[@webmovie]

One of Penn's best explanations ever. They're all great, but this one is brilliant. I love the confident, calm way you perform your tricks, Paul.

[@justakidexploring9610]

Always amazing. Looking forward for the 5th!

[@poggle123]

i love paul gertner and love how he presents his magic

[@midothepanda]

Me: That's got to be the best magican I've ever seen Pen&Teller: So it would seem

[@cullen3996]

too good

[@Argumemnon]

Wow, reference to 2003!

[@Smonjirez]

But why is the rum always gone?

[@kyledabearsfan]

I'm 27 years old and Paul Gertner makes me want to learn tricks for my niece and nephew. This guy is a legend.

[@bp1543]

3:41 penn tried to look at the pen, but Paul saved the day

[@michaelfiggins7931]

Damn good call bro

[@mitch4540]

You see Pen quickly glance at Teller too after the weird hand movement from Paul after giving Pen the pen.

[@benfiorina8595]

I was rooting for him so much! You rock Paul!

[@alvinkoeswanto8622]

One of my favorite contestant in Fool Us. Please come back for the 5th time Paul.

[@nintendonerdsvideos4727]

if there is another season, with this pandemic it's looking like we will be forced to remain at home

[@yanivrubin4166]

"Id have an index of every pen joke, id have over 50!" OMG, this casual story is penn guessing the trick. Thats so clever

[@sendmeyourdog]

Wait I missed that. What’s that mean?

[@yanivrubin4166]

@@sendmeyourdog An "index", and "over 50" reffer to an index of 52 pens, one for each correct answer

[@hiiamyu]

Thanks for the good show Paul! Stay safe out there! (Fan from Canada)

[@hornylorney8150]

I've watched enough of these now that I realised after the pen joke that he probably pulled something there when we were all distracted. This is a proud day.

[@countrygentleman9090]

Paul is a genius. I love watching him fool them or not.

[@anthonyfronis7979]

For people confused the blue pick was the only selection available to Teller (Penn says he put a lot of force on the pick). The rough and smooth keywords Penn used. It allows cards to stick together. In terms of the number in which there was a free selection, Penn refers to an index. It means he had all the available numbers on a pen that he could bring up.

[@nadamuchu]

you tellin' me my man had 52 pens in his coat's chest pocket?

[@MrFuegoN]

@@nadamuchu Yep. When you think about it, you can force the card or the pick but you can not force a number a person picks from his mind so you have to make sure you have every number covered with your pens. He forced the colour and the card and just picked the number 47 pen.

[@strikerbowls791]

​@@MrFuegoN no way

[@gabrieleferrari6886]

@@nadamuchu I think he had a sticker or something similar and he put it on when handling the pen

[@breakingaustin]

@@gabrieleferrari6886 There is no way he could have 52 stickers.. the idea would be to have the pens in sets about your person, 1-10 in the left jacket pocket, 11-20 in the right, 21-30 in the left breast pocket, 31-40 in the right and so on. The lids being different, he can feel by touch which one has 1,11,21,22 etc and which has 2,12,22,32 and so on.. the pick was forced, so the pens all have 'blue pick', the card was forced (somehow, I'm assuming cards stuck together) so each pen had 'blue pick and Jack of Diamonds' written on them, the only thing he couldn't force was the number Penn was gonna say, so he had to have a pen for each number.

[@SeanDevine]

The way Penn put together those clues was like poetry.

[@jack.soncalo]

WHAT!! Such a good set. Even if they aren’t fooled, I am gladly

[@justinisorange]

one of my favorite magicians of all time. I don't think you'll ever read this, but your cups and balls was absolutely amazing

[@brotatoto]

Whenever Penn tells his story, it's a game to figure out what he is trying to convey to the magician on stage.

[@fpscrash1992]

Likely Force and Index.

[@pathemep]

@@fpscrash1992 And its 2 pen's i think.

[@Fonz116]

He’s saying that Paul used a force, had rough smooth cards or possibly pick, used indexing, and possibly had a few pens given the situations.

[@thert.hon.thelordnicholson7261]

@@Fonz116 this is cool, first time i've watched any of the show - i'm going to watch some more now i know what's up with the cryptic stories from Penn

[@DeltaInsanity]

@@Fonz116 actually he likely had "more than 50" like Penn mentioned in his story.

[@travismaraj5512]

A lot of the non-fools end up being more entertaining than the fools. This was one of them

[@anttechu-7438]

Safe to say that the foolers entertain the magicians(and yes i am one of those) more than the non magicians

[@jackdaone6469]

Yeah. Gazzo back in season 1 was an epic one with how witty and hilarious he was.

[@scoutstriker7076]

My personal favorite trick that I've seen on the show was Paul preforming the cups and balls. He didn't fool them, I (as a non-magician) have a pretty good idea how the trick is done. But it's so damn fun to watch!

[@jneveau85]

You can't help but to get a big smile on your face every time Paul does a trick on this show. A genuine pleasure watching you work, and thank you for showcasing these skills on national TV so many times!

[@rovers141]

I'm visiting my mom at the moment and watching this in the middle of the night with headphones on. Right before Penn chose a number I said to myself "47", then when Penn also said 47 I laughed a bit too loud, my moms dog heard me and he started barking and woke my step dad up who immediately thought someone was breaking in. I heard a shotgun shell being chambered so I yelled "It's just me go back to sleep...sorry!", then I heard a few mumbled curse words and snoring not even 10 seconds later. He went back to sleep so fast he probably won't even remember waking up 😂 That was the best laugh I've had in a while, thanks Paul! 😂

[@ambalavanant]

Watched it two years ago and am watching it again now. So entertaining!

[@TheRealJoeM617]

2:24 - "I want you to choose a number that you're going to be comfortable sticking with." 4:31 - And you're comfortable with that number?" "I am." "Do you want to change your mind?" "I do not." The power of suggestion. :)

[@alrichdesa9348]

The deck was switched between cuts to a deck which has all the same cards. You can see the cut happen just after he shows all the cards being different. It didn't matter where the pick went, it didn't matter what number Penn chose, the eventual result would ALWAYS be the Jack Of Diamonds. The pick color was was also super forced, the illusion of "free choice" in the box was definitely a hidden compartment where the other colored picks were but no matter what Teller picked it would always be the blue. You can also tell how Penn noticed the writing on the pen way before he should have and Gurtner had to convince him thrice to put the pen in his jacket. This is the reason Penn tripled down on the word FORCE because this entire ruse is the force of the deck and the pick.

[@vrokhlenko]

But how did number 47 got written on the pen?

[@alotofswaghaver]

@@vrokhlenko "I'd have over 50 maybe more than that" is what pen said

[@vrokhlenko]

@@alotofswaghaver So basically he was loaded with 52 pens? OK.

[@sailomajumdar]

@@vrokhlenko lets say he had 52 pens then how would he pick the pen with 47 written on it out of the bunch of 52 pens?

[@jamesrockybullin5250]

@@alotofswaghaver But he gave him a chance to change his mind while the pen was in Penn's pocket...

[@kefkamadman]

I love your magic, Sir. Not just the trick, but the presence you have on the stage. Just amazing how you can arrest the attention of not just myself, but an entire audience, with playing cards. Good show!

[@dr.p3637]

Paul--you are my favorite P&T guest ever! Such mastery. Thank you for entertaining my family!

[@MagicPaul1000]

The BEST! Thanks, Paul, for your creativity and wonder!!

[@jaredmoss5064]

Paul Gertner: The Bob Ross of magic

[@neoplan6116]

Plot twist: "I shuffle the cards til you say stop, TELLER!" - and you are still shuffling today .... 😉😂🤣 Honestly, I could listen to you forever, Paul, every trick is beautiful, your ways to present your tricks is beautiful. Around this the body languages of you all were also funny, when a deep thinking hunched Penn leaves the stage and your short deep breath when you realized they got you - but I really expected a kind of "I'll be back!" after Penns announcement - I am looking forward with great anticipation for your next round of mental Jiu Jitsu with them ... 😂🤣😅

[@paulgertnermagic]

Thanks for the nice comments. The reason I did not say "I'll be back" is because I was thinking what my wife was thinking in the audience when she heard Penn say come back a 5th time. I promised her after the second appearance I was done... and I've already broken the promise twice. My wife finds it very stressful sitting in the audience watching the shoot... and doing a Fool Us spot turns our life upside for about 3 months with creation and building and rehearsals....it makes life a bit crazy. I'll see. I'd have to have a REALLY GOOO TRICK to do it again. This time I felt the trick met that bar... but a new idea like this one does not come along every day. We'll see..

[@ShinuriGaming]

@@paulgertnermagic Good luck Paul! :)

[@neoplan6116]

@@paulgertnermagic Ok, THATS a serious issue and a very understandable reason - maybe this would have been a little bit hard kind of shock therapy for her... 😉😁 But serious: seem she loves you really that she accepted the two times you broke your promise - tell her WE love her very much for this! ❤❤❤ We would also love to see a third promise breaking but decide this wisely! Thx for giving us this small view behind the curtains of the production, I know that TV is "special" but I did not expect that they make such a crazy chaos around this short clips. I dont worry about the idea for a perfect new trick, it is you and you will have the idea and ofc we all want to see a raging Penn (except probably your wife😎😅) ... 😂😎😁 Stay safe and healthy, best wishes from Germany!

[@powerpopaholic876]

@@paulgertnermagic Paul, I'm so impressed. Thanks for all you do.

[@aaroningram5808]

The fact that the whole story about penn playing bass was actually him discussing how the trick works in secret blows my mind. Like normally they make it obvious their discussing the trick

[@icyuranus404]

they+are=they're. they're playing with their cards over there

[@mursu24]

as a fellow rickenbacker player, i'm very glad that was shoehorned in

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

Brilliant ! Thank you for sharing!

[@squadgeman3247]

Damn Paul... you are the king. Amazing stuff! I hope I get to see you live one day....

[@blobsndrees]

It was very entertaining, fooled or not, this was a great piece of magic.

[@LyingMagpie]

If the jokes weren't impressive enough, I think the double talk and speech involved in it all covers it beautifully.

[@Jo-po2oo]

3:42 you knew he knew Penn knew lol

[@torreyance2468]

Yeah he was going to read or read the message in the pen. Good catch man. But the guy waved him to put it in his pocket

[@carmichael13]

Hahaha. Good looking

[@ronwesterduin2471]

This magic trick gave me goosebumps all over, this is the best trick i saw so far!!

[@gauravtee]

I love Paul's quick-witted remark at the end to answer Alison's question. No amount of sleight of hand practice, hard work on a trick, or study in magic can get you to have a personality like that

[@bertiemunn129]

it would have been funnier if you had said "you can keep that, Penn"

[@hillelbuchsbaum6965]

Would have funnier if he told that to Teller

[@SyenPie]

@@hillelbuchsbaum6965 Or tell Penn to give the pen to Allison then say "Teller to keep that, Penn" I'm sorry.

[@sfprivateer]

Or "Pen..... for you"

[@powerpopaholic876]

I've pen thinking about this for a long time.

[@fernandop1]

*Never use Phoenix brand deck, most magicians know that they make a double-decker deck, that is a giveaway method* . Great performance by the way.

[@98802ohhey]

newb here, explain?

[@RToast13]

@@HeartTheBacon I think the basic gist of it (besides what you already said) is that each of the 52 standard cards has a second, forced card stuck to the back. This means that if you were to separate any real card from its "second half," so to speak, that second half would always be exactly the same, no matter what the original card chosen was. Hopefully I did a decent job of explaining that.

[@Sarah_Gravydog316]

but he said it was a normal deck...

[@Netaction]

@@Sarah_Gravydog316 He said it was a normal deck and they could inspect it. But they already knew the trick. And he immediately switchted the topic not letting them have a look.

[@ocrun6765]

@@Netaction Teller took the card with him when they were discussing how he did the trick. In his hand @7:27.

[@TheItchyDani3l]

Let me decode Penn's explanation: -Penn played electric bass using force = the blue pick was forced, meaning it was the only possible selection. -Penn has a list "of over 50 pen jokes" means that Paul had 52 pens, each with a different number on them. The pen we saw was #47. -Penn didn't say it explicitly, but it's implied that the Jack of Diamonds was also forced. -Therefore, the whole trick is essentially letting Penn pick a random number and then producing the correct pen, but with alot of sleight of hand. The purpose of the card, number, and pick is to imply that Paul cannot have one pen for each combination, because that would be thousands of pens. 52x52x8 However, Paul was trying to subvert this expectation by forcing the selections.

[@joeljoeljoel]

Well done. I don't think he'd try sleight of hand at that distance from Teller though. Trick deck is more likely.

[@erikswenson2659]

@@joeljoeljoel well he said they could examine the deck, but not the card box. So, i think the deck was clean, but he could have applied something to the chosen card and later removed it, though a good magician can find cleaner ways to keep track of the chisen card and make it appear at 47th spot when he needs to.

[@ImVeryOriginal]

@@joeljoeljoel There's definitely sleight of hand going on at 5:09, forcing the Jack of Diamonds from underneath the pile. But I don't know how he placed it at spot 47 at the end. I suspect he didn't and it was sleight of hand again.

[@hragkopooshian5442]

You're close - Pen saying Smooth / Rough implies he's using an invisible deck to force the Jack of Diamonds

[@nickklemetson1514]

How would the ending have changed if Penn changed his number when he was offered? He already had pen #47 at that point. Would Paul have had to pick his pocket at some point?

[@barrosbs]

I just love magic and you're wonderful to watch. I don't even wanna know how it's done so it's as mesmerizing when I rewatch. Congrats!

[@crooked8168]

I can see the force but I can't see how 47 was delivered because it's written on the pen before it got to Pen. "It was lucky guess I think", quoted because Paul is full of surprises.

[@whynotdean8966]

That was maybe the most beautiful performce I've yet seen on Fool Us. So cleanly done with a fantastic reveal. Watching that card be on #47 after all that shuffling was amazing. But it would have been so funny if you didn't point out the pen until after they passed their verdict. "Yeah I didn't fool you, but how do you explain that pen in your pocket?".

[@c0c4in3100]

I might be misinterpreting what you mean but Penn did say in code that over 50 line which is to explain the pen.

[@joshuafree7924]

I thought the over 50 line referred to how many cards were in the deck. Paul counted to the 47th card which should have left only 5 cards in the deck but when he added the ones not counted there are 7 cards visibly added to what should have been 46 cards left on the table which meant the deck he counted had at least 54 cards in it.

[@realShadowKat]

@@joshuafree7924 If you look at the first spread after he counts at 5:!6, you can see two jokers (one is in the largest space between the 9 and 10)... so that'd be the 54.

[@joshuafree7924]

@@realShadowKat that makes perfect sense! Since Paul had him pick a number between 1 and 52 I just assumed a 52 card deck. It also makes sense to do it that way in case Penn picks 52 there would still be a pile of 3 cards squared up so he could remove the Jack off the bottom without giving away the trick.

[@MateusAntonioBittencourt]

@@joshuafree7924 Penn said "I would have an index of over 50". This is meant to show Penn knew Gertner had over 50 pens with him. Each printed with a different number. Gertner only shows the pen after Pen chooses his number. The pick and card wasn't a random choice either. Gertner forced Teller to choose the blue pick and the Jack of Diamond . That's the line about playing bass forcing the pick.

[@Lastritesforfat]

Few things I noticed about the whole trick. 1. There was a force card Jack of Diamonds attached to every card (As per Penn) 2. He had 52 pens with 52 numbers. 3. When he puts the pick in the card box, he puts all the picks inside first and the blue one at last. This suggests that he put the other picks in a way that they can’t be picked. 4. When he counts 47 cards there could only be 5 cards left but if you count the number of cards he lays down, it is 7. (46th card is Queen of Clubs followed by 47th card - Jack of Diamond followed by 7 more cards - you can count when you pause) This is an amazing trick but I feel it was easy to tell it apart but not at all easy to do it. His sleight of hand is brilliant!

[@Philippb1]

At 3:19 you can also See the pen with the Text

[@yashkumardiwakar]

👍👍nicely decoded

[@guyb7005]

Not sure what 'force card' means when Teller picks a randon card? but in terms of 'rough' I assume the Blue pick was rough while others were smooth and stuck together and harder to get out of the box

[@Paul_Templer]

@@guyb7005 forced the blue pick. Rough and smooth cards.

[@davidwalter2002]

As far as I'm concerned, you could appear on Fool Us every episode, and I'd look forward to it every time. Obviously, Penn and Teller are fans and respectful colleagues, and your interaction with them is always a delight. To this layman, I know you're pulling the wool over my eyes, and I love being fooled, because you're so engaging, and your sleights are impeccable. Thanks for all the entertainment you provide.

[@off_mah_lawn2074]

Great trick, can’t wait to see what you come back with next time!

[@seeker.8785]

Man, he did that trick, in close-up with the hosts, Penn and Teller actually figured out how he did it, Penn gave it to him in improvised code disguised as pleasant banter, and Gertner understood what he meant. I'm impressed by every aspect of that.

[@Argumemnon]

I wanted the card to be blue!!!

[@FortWhenTeaThyme]

Haha, that was my thought too.

[@rockylion4382]

🤣🤣

[@paulgertnermagic]

Interesting idea... but it would possibly create confusion at the point you want clarity.

[@jezraelcostillaspusa3811]

I really thought color would change

[@guscouto]

I don't think this could be done with this method :) Am I right Paul? Great performance

[@adrianwendling6845]

I love this guy ! He is great … and it’s easy to see how nervous he is when he is “forcing” one of his idols to take the pick… his hand is literally shaking hahaha … that’s totally a make or break moment In the trick since he must know Teller has practised methods like this thousands of times before! Great trick ! Great comedy !

[@9Kualalumpur]

I think that the only fault of this trick was that it was "too perfect". When a trick is too perfect and everything seems to work just right and almost everything is ruled as impossible, it means that it can only be done in one way. By showing them how many things could have happened without his control, and with the addition of the prediction, he made it easier for them to find out.

[@jamesj4827]

Thats true, but it also makes the trick feel like real magic for us plebs XD

[@Toonamik]

you so wrong ;) how its perfect when in first minute you can see him reaching under table twice, twice in 1 minute thats too much and everyone notices it.

[@jamesj4827]

@@Toonamik you saw that the first time you watched it did you?

[@9Kualalumpur]

@@Toonamik What I mean about "perfect" is not the execution, even though I thought it was a great execution, but the fact that the structure of the trick automatically rules out all the methods but one.

[@MegaAgamon]

Yeah Penn talked about that concept when he was reviewing magic tricks performed in movies. What he meant by that is if a trick is so impossible that there only one way it was done then likely that is the way it was done.

[@LargestClassifieds]

A humble magician never fail to amaze me. He either acknowledged P&T nailed it or he prefers to keep the secret to himself.

[@phatass7418]

I love watching you perform. To non magicians you are one of the greatest. Your sleight-of-hand is so good it MUST be considered "magic"

[@AndersHaalandverby]

Played with force = he forced a pick on teller, probably 2 compartments in the box, one with only blue picks Index of Penn jokes = he had an index means in magic you have all the possible answers indexed on you ie 52 pens in your pockets, one for each card. Rough/smooth might relate to how he controlled the position of the selected card in the deck ,perhaps by smearing it with some rough material, this way it can be "easily" controlled by touch only in a shuffle.

[@RickDarko]

Agree in all but de Jack od Diamonds... how to force that???? Teller could pick any card.....

[@ImVeryOriginal]

​@@RickDarko He dealt it from underneath the pile, you can see it at 5:09. I still don't know how he put it in the correct position at the end though.

[@ImVeryOriginal]

@@not_sterling I don't think he palmed them, Teller would def see that. And they do rattle around the box. I think there are two compartments in the box, he drops the colored picks first into one compartment, then opens a compartment with only blue picks in it, and drops the remaining blue pick last. If there was only one pick inside, the box wouldn't rattle and he'd run the risk of Teller feeling out that there is only one pick inside. With several blue picks, the illusion is more deceptive.

[@ollikoskiniemi6221]

Penn talked about playing hard with picks and somth like that. I bet the rest of those picks were metal, but the blue was plastic, and there was a magnet inside the box.

[@galgrunfeld9954]

Paul, I absolutely loved it, even though I understood some of Penn's code - still I've no idea on how you executed those things, but I enjoyed every moment of the performance - it all seemed as if nothing was happening - pure magic. :)

[@InternetEntity]

Penn plays Bebop. Me: I think it's time we blow this scene; get everybody and the stuff together.

[@John.Doe-OG]

Nice to see you again Paul. I saw you put out a new video recently, I'll have to go watch it now.

[@TaysTings]

I love experiencing people who truly have joy in what they do. And you can see magic makes him happy which makes it more enjoyable!

[@jamesleonor5374]

An absolute class act. What amazing stage presence and ingenuity this man brings. Great trick overall 👌🏽

[@chriskrentz2300]

Penn's code speak revealed 4 things: a "force" - "Smooth and rough" - and an "index" containing "more than 50" items Here's how I think the card "force" was done - this is a special deck of "smooth" and "rough" cards. The rough sides stick together and the smooth sides spread easily. When the deck is spread face-up, you see the front of every other card, and they look like random cards. However, when spread face-down, you are seeing the backs of every card, but every card you see is actually the Jack of Diamonds. You can see when Teller inserts the pick into the deck and Paul picks the card up, he gives a little extra push to the card beneath it. He is pushing off the bottom card which was sticking to the top card, letting Paul grab just the top card, which is of course a Jack of Diamonds. The "index" means Paul had an index of pens in his coat, "more than 50" as Penn says, implying that he had 52 pens in his coat, allowing Penn to choose any number he wanted, and Paul picked the corresponding pen from his coat - you can see him fiddle around a little bit in his coat when he's grabbing the pen. There's a couple things I'm not sure about - what would have happened if Penn decided to change his number? Paul suggested early in the trick that Penn "pick a number he's comfortable sticking with" and the later asked him if he "wanted to change his number or stick with it." I'm not sure if I buy the power of suggestion being that strong. Penn could have easily decided against his first impulse and chosen to change the number. I have no idea what would have happened. I also don't know if the color of the pick was really random or a force. Paul could have had a set of pens for every color of pick, but that's 6 colors and 6x52 = a LOT of pens to carry around. Probably would be easier to just have a trick box that would only allow Teller to pick a blue pick.

He does say at 5:40 that this is an ordinary card deck and P&T can examine it, so it should not be a special rough and smooth deck. Perhaps the decks got switched by that time already though, but I can't see when that could have happened.

[@chriskrentz2300]

​@ Just because he said that doesn't make it true :) They weren't going to stop the act and inspect the deck and go "ah-ha! It's a trick deck!" - that would ruin the performance. Also, they didn't need to examine it to tell if it was a rough/smooth deck, they could probably tell by the way the cards spread out and how he had to use a little extra force to pull out Teller's card. The way Penn says "rough" and "smooth" in his speech and how Paul agrees that they figured it out shows that they knew it was a trick deck.

[@UniverseGOD2525]

@@chriskrentz2300 uh. Wrong. The pick was forced and Penn was referring to blue pick being smooth and other picks being rough. Cards were random choice. So that makes only 52 index left.

[@chriskrentz2300]

@@UniverseGOD2525 uh. not wrong. I've worked with plenty of smooth/rough decks and that's definitely how they behave. When he's telling Teller to slide the pick into the deck, he twice says "very lightly" because he doesn't want Teller to disturb the cards sticking together. Card roughing is one of the oldest tricks in card magic and it's pretty obvious this is what Penn was referring to. The blue pick could very well have been forced as well, but there are much easier and more reliable ways to force that than making the picks smooth and rough.

[@Vicius_IASL]

1:59 after he puts in all the other colors, he moves something inside the box before puting the blue pick.

[@therandomgamer274]

The amount of times he said force made it pretty obvious they were talking about a force

[@whynotdean8966]

Imo that's really weak proof they "figured it out". They might as well say he used slight of hand.

[@Mr_Archer15]

Why not Dean naw the whole point is to not let the audience know the trick. There is only so much you can say to not completely give it away

[@whynotdean8966]

@@Mr_Archer15 That's kind of my point. A "force" is vague and anyone who knows what it is could figure out he used it.

[@pomonoli]

@@whynotdean8966 That wasn't the only hint though, and the force hint was specifically about the guitar picks, they said enough to convince Paul he didn't fool them, else he would've asked for more.

[@whynotdean8966]

@@pomonoli After the pen reveal they knew he forced it. But if they don't say HOW he did it, I'd count that as a fool. Just saying "force" doesn't say anything about the HOW. I didn't understand 1/5th of their hints, but the fact they made it that vague tells me they have no idea.

[@softpool1286]

love every time Paul has been on fool us. he's so entertaining and seems so warm and inviting. seems like the type of guy I'd love to be friends with. oh and he's phenomenally skilled...

[@hahahagotem1008]

I love this guy, from the personality to just him being a humble individual 🔥 and his magic is superb

[@ImranKhan-YTChannel]

I liked the way how Penn explained to him in hints that they got him. First he explained that the blue pick was rough and others were smooth that's why Teller picked the blue pick easily. Then he explained with the sentence "more than 50 jokes" which probably meant more than 50 pens or labels to put on the pen that he gave Penn. Lastly he threatened Paul in a joke that if he doesn't admit that Penn and Teller got him then he will not be allowed to come to the show again. Lolz. I am not a magician but I used my imagination to come up with this explanation 🙂

[@hanz589]

You’re correct I caught the same

[@robertveith6383]

​@@hanz589 * You're

[@hanz589]

@@robertveith6383 it’s KZbin calm down bud

[@12-343]

@@hanz589 You missed a comma after KZbin.

[@sacharith]

How did he force the card

[@Violent2aShadow]

"Force." "Rough." "Index.....More than 50" That's what you need to focus on to figure this trick out.

[@xxwookiexx5668]

can only relate force to magic :D still workin on it

[@MRGCProductions20996]

the ROUGH coating on cards probably means there are 104 cards, 52 regular, and 52 jacks of diamonds stuck to the back of every regular card, right? thats how he FORCE the jack. I caught the word index, but im not sure what it means. i dont know if he forced the blue pick (maybe he had as many markers as pick colors), and i have no idea how he got the 47 on the marker

[@melickon]

@@MRGCProductions20996 Pick is the simplest one - the card box had a moving "wall" that separated colorful picks and blue ones. For Teller, it a "blind pick" of a pick. What I do not understand, how he would act if Penn would change a number. Pen was already in his pocket

[@LukeABarnes]

@@melickon I think that's the index part: he had 52 pens in his pocket. Maybe.

[@sebastiencarron1574]

@@melickon you calling Pick the simplest part, gives a new meaning to Penn’s joke at this exact moment « this is the hard part ». They could read through it like a book right from the start. That’s why he didn’t change from 47, so the trick went well.

[@AndrewCheshire]

The whole time I was being blown away by the trick I kept thinking in the back of my mind, "This is all stuff Penn and Teller have seen before."

[@kbchef9205]

Paul, I’ve been watching you for many years. You’re my favourite magician.❤

[@sisodia21]

You are the best, Paul! Keep at it. Highly recommend going to see Paul in person if you can. His shows are incredible.

[@moos5221]

I have no idea how this trick was done and I love it. All I took away from Penns talk was the word "force" because I already said to myself, the decision was obviously forced - otherwise it couldn't have been printed on the pen, obviously. But does Penn know specifically HOW Paul Gertner forced the decision or not? Because to me the magic isn't that the decision was forced, but how exactly it was done. If Penn knows that, then ofc he wasn't fooled. But this did not turn out to be a non-fooler just because they know the decision was forced, right? Edit: And of course I don't want to hear about the method, that should as always be kept secret between those who understand. I just want to know if Penn & Teller know.

[@TheArbieo]

6:49 The editing really helps you out here. Though, it's fair that we get to experience the trick from Penn's perspective this way. Mentioning the deck being something they can check as item #2 and then moving on before they can do so is genius but I imagine Teller never stopped watching your hands. The sly dog :P

[@Pigaroulettes]

The deck is completely normal. He forced the card pick and the pick pick. For the number, he just had 52 pens in his pocket.

[@bones343]

The thing that bothers me is the five camera cuts between when Teller "picks" the card and the Jack of Diamonds is shown. Paul Gertner is too good for the show to be sullying his ability with camera edits during critical moments.

[@JulioCesar-ii2xr]

It is so fun to watch Paul Gertner that i dont even care if he fools them ir not. Very good, sir.

[@andrewkelley7062]

Oh that was beautiful. I mean strait up beautiful. I thought up to the end there would be another flip, and I saw the pen and I knew that you knew. Man got to say great show!