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

Magician Paul Gertner returns for his 4th appearance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Can he fool them a third time???

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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"

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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?

[@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.

[@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...

[@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.

[@berkay2410]

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...

[@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?

[@ImpassiveCanine]

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

[@legocity2643]

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

[@paulgertnermagic]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@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

[@dr.p3637]

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

[@tressil3607]

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

[@poggle123]

i love paul gertner and love how he presents his magic

[@harryzhang1511]

I just simply love how Penn squeezed everything into a story

[@behdadkho9593]

He is a great performer. Every time he comes he has a diffrent and amusing trick and he does it in a fresh way that makes you watch him again and again and again.... I believe that is what a real great act is all about.

[@hahahagotem1008]

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

[@justakidexploring9610]

Always amazing. Looking forward for the 5th!

[@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?

[@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.

[@ambalavanant]

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

[@6666Imperator]

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

[@mg42sd]

I absolutely love Paul's demeanor - so kind, yet to confident.

[@MagicPaul1000]

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

[@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...

[@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

[@Casper15CTRP]

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.

[@jamesleonor5374]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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"

[@junelcabudoc7187]

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

[@countrygentleman9090]

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

[@SeanDevine]

The way Penn put together those clues was like poetry.

[@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!

[@ExtraMaritalAffairs]

Loved to see him everytime on the show. Great Magician.

[@blobsndrees]

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

[@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!

[@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!

[@cookiemonster208]

I like this simple, slow-hand magic. I'm more amazed by these tricks than the rapidly done ones. When I can see it done slowly and naturally (seemingly) and still don't know what the hell is going on, I appreciate it more.

[@Daz555Daz]

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

[@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

[@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

[@kbchef9205]

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

[@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.

[@geovannyandino9452]

I love his performances, all of them

[@jonathanbrewer7072]

Brilliant ! Thank you for sharing!

[@jedimindtricks87]

Ive watched a lot of magic tricks on Fool Us but this one gave me chills. Great magic!

[@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

[@Allik27]

Same here! It's my lucky number, lol

[@hugocoty1970]

@@Allik27 my lucky number too, how come its yours?

[@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.

[@hiiamyu]

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

[@mangeshdevalapurkar5283]

What a lovely act! Enjoyed.

[@LyingMagpie]

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

[@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.

[@ronwesterduin2471]

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

[@efekarabulat3424]

He is and always has been the master of double climax! Fantastic performance as always.

[@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.

[@jaredmoss5064]

Paul Gertner: The Bob Ross of magic

[@lk-music]

Great act, and thoroughly lovely demeanour.

[@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.

[@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

[@sisodia21]

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

[@jacobseed2123]

Definitely my favorite magician on the show, hope he comes back for a 5th time

[@Trey-3223]

I guess we well be seeing him again I'll be waiting I love his acts

[@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

[@squadgeman3247]

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

[@luvlycan]

This Man... Is an inspiration. At this age, he's trying his best effort to follow his passion. Seriously 2 years for one trick which may or may not fool Penn and Teller. And I'm worried about life and future at the age of 27. I want to be like this Man, no fear about the results, focused on delivering one more time. Respect Sir.

[@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. :)

[@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!

[@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.

[@ucwalker5386]

you are Magic MR PAUL GERTNER I love your tricks,I do stop everything iam doing to watch your tricks you are great.

[@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.

[@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...

[@CreeperMask]

This is by far your best trick yet. That was extremely impressive!

[@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.

[@assmane999]

One of the tricks is that there is a separate compartment in the card deck to ensure that the blue pick is selected

[@semblanceofmagic4760]

How the fuck would that help?!?

[@Sip_Dhit]

I think and dont quote me I might be wrong, but I dont think theres enough room for the picks to slide past each other so the Las is always on top

[@edwinkayang5761]

But wouldn't Teller have noticed since he put his finger in the deck? Unless you're inferring that there were 6 blue picks

[@ImVeryOriginal]

@@Sip_Dhit He puts his finger in, so it's not likely. My idea is that there are two compartments in the box, most likely separated by a flap. By tilting the box (or some other subtle way), the magician can control which compartment is open at any given time. One is empty, the other contains five blue picks. First, he throws the five colored picks inside, then he switches the compartment and throws in the blue pick last, along with the other five blue picks, forcing the choice.

[@6977warrior1]

@@ImVeryOriginal He is a sleight of hand artist. He simply put 6 blue picks in the box. Voila.

[@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 !

[@saikouforever2041]

You are downright my favorite magician off all time..

[@Leon-nc3xk]

Awesome! Your magic makes me feel good idk why but you are just amazing

[@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.

[@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

[@superfanatico199815]

This man has amazing skills as a magician and as a comic. Fantastico Maestro

[@jack.soncalo]

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

[@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.

[@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?

[@off_mah_lawn2074]

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

[@OiVinn-eq1ml]

Paul, you’re definitely a Grandmaster in magic!! 👏👏