10. “1″ The Ultimate Rigged Card Game
class: tweener | impressiveness: 3/5 | factors: multiple twists, double humiliation | requires: deck of cards | watch full episode
The Setup: Pull out all the aces, 2′s, 3′s, 4′s, 5′s and 6′s in a deck of cards and set them into piles by value (a pile of four aces, a pile of four twos, a pile of four threes, etc.).
The Rules: Each player takes a turn picking up a single card and adding it to “the pot,” increasing its total amount by the value of each card. The first player to take the pot over 31 loses.
The Trick: As in advanced nim, there are “pole positions” you’ll want to reach on your turn: 3, 10, 17, and 24. Once you’ve hit a pole position, make sure that each following round the total of your draw PLUS the sucker’s draw equals 7. This will keep you hitting the pole positions right up until you hit 31.
The Twist: The best part about this scam is that you can actually teach the whole trick to your sucker and still beat him. Explain in detail exactly how you beat him. Let him go first and achieve one of the pole positions (out of the gate, he’ll pick a 3). Then continue to burn the same card over and over (keep drawing 4′s, which will force him to use up all the 3′s). Once he runs out of the right cards, he’ll have no way to properly respond to your plays, allowing you to win the game.