Was the ring on his left hand the magnet, or did he move it between hands? (I think: first thing after the fist is raised he waves his left hand towards the pocket).
I’m not a magician, but I think I see what’s happening. The coin has something that can be sensed in it. Could be something like an RFID chip. In his own front left pants pocket, Dan has something that can detect the coin and then vibrate for him, etc. Notice that each time Dan turns around after Jimmy sticks out his arm, Dan moves his left pocket close to Jimmy’s right pocket. That’s the moment at which he knows whether the coin is in the pocket or not. It’s not until he knows that Dan selects what to associate with each state. So, for example, he assigns Red to the proper state in the first example. He has pre-written the four associations on the $10 bill and since he assigns them after he knows where the coin is located, it’s a no-brainer. Could be something else, but I think that’s how I’d design this trick.
I don’t think there needs to be any tech trick involved in this. I bet there is some tell when he first says “it could be in your hand or your pocket.” Then he assigns the object based on the winning choice. That actually is more impressive if you think about it, and you can use any old coin. Just by the by, US coins are not magnetic… Canadian ones are, at least the quarters used to be, I suppose they still would be.
I was going to guess micro expressions, because Jimmy pretty obviously gives away the answers when he’s doing the two choices… But it must have been prior to giving the two choices since the bill had the right answers on it as well (unless he swapped the bill out after Jimmy pulled it out of his pocket)
Every single time, White puts his left hand on the back of Fallon’s right shoulder, while Fallon holds (or doesn’t) the coin in his right hand.
It’s notable not just because it’s consistent, but because of two other factors:
First, each time, he does this right before telling Jimmy the options.
Second, each time, while touching Fallon’s shoulder, he uses his voice and his right hand to direct attention elsewhere. (“I want you to think of something on your desk” - he points grandly to the desk, and everyone looks over there. Similarly: “I want you to think of one of these people” - points across the stage.) This type of misdirection is a classic mentalist tactic, and he even says so: “The way I figure it out is through misdirection.”
It’s clear that the gesture is meaningful. Not sure why, but it must be.
I remember Derren Brown doing this trick…
I like to watch how magicians move their hands and arms–the moment someone takes notice, they’re always misdirecting attention with elbows a little out and fingers splaying and moving around. It’s like a dance but with only the upper body and with a purpose completely intended to obfuscate and misalign. I guess magicians and such are so intriguing because they’re always lying to us.
“Which one would you have picked, just so I know whether I could’ve beaten you. C’mon. Play the game.”
I pretty much never try to waste my limited brain power trying to guess a magician’s trick if
1.) I’m at the mercy of a camera cut or fixed angle, or
2.) I’m at the mercy of a 2nd party possibly being a plant. Which is the possible case here.
Too many times, I’ve wondered and wondered how a magician could have figured out what the “picked at random” audience member’s card was, only to find out later the whole trick was nothing more than their cheap willingness to lie about the person they brought up on stage not being in on it.
It reminds me of this trick from Penn & Teller: Fool Us, which does a similar thing with forcing choices.
Interesting comment from YouTube about this. That wasn’t like “you’re a fag” or “Rand Paul 2016!”
"The magician already had written on the note, the words red, coffee cup, and made a bill with Quest Love on it ahead of time.
Then he asks Jimmy to put the coin in his hand or pocket.
The magician knows if it’s in his hand or pocket every time (by whatever means he happens to know this), so all he has to do is think “ok it’s in his hand so this time that means red”
Came here to say this. Also, having just watched An Honest Liar, I’ve learned how popular magnets are for pulling these kinds of tricks.
Watch “The Honest Liar” (2014) a documentary about The Great Randi and his expose´ of mentalists, et al. All shall be revealed.
Right, of course. Because Jimmy didn’t choose Red, or Coffee Cup, or Quest Love, he chose hand or pocket. So he still has to get that right, but the assuming he does, he gets the impressive end part as a gimme.
I always assume that if there’s a massively detailed reveal, like something written in an envelope or whatever, like this, that it’s evidence of a force or predictable suggestion, but this is a good one. The force is the hard part!
It’s the micro-expressions, he’s reading Fallon like a book, before he decides which is the proxy for left/right.
ETA: beaten to it
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