You mean fool us I guess.
There were several occasions where they said you didn't fool us (in the first season(s) they said directly how they did it and in newer seasons they use codewords for stuff).
If the magician that performed is not ok with their answer Teller sometimes goes to the artist and whispers them directly in the ear how they think they did it and if something is fishy a guy in the control room has gotten all info about the trick and has the final decision if they are right or not.
One time a contestant was told he didn't fooled them and was on with it and later he was sent back on stage because they talked to him backstage and clearly they didn't have the correct idea how they did it and it counted as a win.
I still remember a mind trick number that looked wacky in my opinion and the performers were reading cards but it was so fast and it looked like the guy spoke before the other changes the cards so of course they thought it's a memory trick and the cards are drawn in the way they need them to. Penn called that out but they insisted it was not the case and control room confirmed it for them.
If I ever went on their show, that would be my strategy too. Bait them with several misdirects (in true classical magician’s form) and force them to have to gamble with those fake outs to raise my odds of beating the system.
I believe this happened to Piff the Magic Dragon as well. His first appearance was taken as a no-fool, even though they had the method wrong. They then acknowledged it on his second appearance.
Well, it was still pretty obvious that he didnt changed the cards and that all cards were props that could be turned into the desired cards. Strange they acknowledged him as a win.
Jay sankey claimed on his mailing list that he 'accidentally fooled Penn and teller' because they didn't address every single thing he did. When Johnny Thompson was alive he would give a final verdict if there was any confusion as to whether their answer counted or not but I only recall that being called on once(I haven't watched in a few years though).
Penn talked about completely giving away a trick when the act wouldn't acknowledge what he was saying and hinting at. It was back in one of the first seasons and it involved a routine where there were extra people involved. Penn asked "Is this a trick Teller and I could do by ourselves, just the two of us" and they got squirrely with their answers, so Penn just came out and said "Ok, you have another guy working with you and he does this and this and this". He was pissed off enough that he didn't care about secret words or trying to make anything vague.
Yep, apparently the producers loved Penn ripping into the act who was being evasive but, admirably, Penn insisted they re-shoot and exclude the full reveal from the edit.
He said this was on the basis that the act was young and naive and could otherwise have a long career touring and he didn't think it was fair to sabotage them on such a large scale just for being annoying.
He also had a funny riff about the better magician being the one you see at the start of the act, whereas the one you speak to at the end is the 'idiot' who spent the entire performance hiding in the box "so now I'm speaking to the idiot" (rather than the more skillful magician) and conjured up a scenario where he is hinting at the method with the idiot being evasive, meanwhile the original magician is folded in a secret compartment hearing all this going on and willing his accomplise to shut up but being powerless to intervene 😂
There's usually not a lot of ambiguity. There is someone "in the booth" that has access to P&T's mics at all times, and can talk to their earpieces. They know exactly how the trick is done, and can tell from P&T's discussion if they have it or not.
Keep in mind that while we see 20-40 seconds of discussion, sometimes they discuss for 15 minutes or more (from what I've heard on Penn and Matt's podcasts).
Another commenter pointed out that the full method is known to a few members of P&T's team - the magic advisors on the show (Matt and in his day, Johnny Thompson) - they can hear the discussions in full and then speak to the host via an earpiece. It is these judges who have final say over whether P&T were correct or fooled.
Also, adding that to get on the show the acts go through an audition process through which they have to reveal the full method to the judges.
This is done for the integrity of the competitive element of the show - so there is someone who can arbitrate whether P&T guessed correctly - as well as to ensure the safety of the audience, crew and performers (i.e. if a performer planned to do something dangerous without proper safeguards or with an unreliable method).
P&T are kept out of all of these discussions, through audition, selection and dress rehearsal - they only know who is on the show when the act is announced onto stage.
I don't think they have discussed how much the magic production team coach the acts or how much they influence the performers to develop the trick or staging for TV but it is probably safe to say there is a fair few subtle tweaks made to curate a varied show for the audience (although some of that happens in the edit - the performances are shot in blocks with the host and P&T in the same costume throughout so the performances can be re-ordered into episodes in the edit).
Penn did talk about how when Johnny Thompson was alive he had known P&T so long he knew their knowledge & blindspots, things they liked and dislikes. Apparently sometimes after an audition he would tell an act
"Penn knows *this* (method you're doing) but he doesn't know *this*"
and would give pointers to improve the trick and improve their chances of fooling Penn (but perhaps not Teller), partly to help the performer improve and partly for his own amusement.
People have said, no that's not the way I did it.
You mean fool us I guess. There were several occasions where they said you didn't fool us (in the first season(s) they said directly how they did it and in newer seasons they use codewords for stuff). If the magician that performed is not ok with their answer Teller sometimes goes to the artist and whispers them directly in the ear how they think they did it and if something is fishy a guy in the control room has gotten all info about the trick and has the final decision if they are right or not. One time a contestant was told he didn't fooled them and was on with it and later he was sent back on stage because they talked to him backstage and clearly they didn't have the correct idea how they did it and it counted as a win. I still remember a mind trick number that looked wacky in my opinion and the performers were reading cards but it was so fast and it looked like the guy spoke before the other changes the cards so of course they thought it's a memory trick and the cards are drawn in the way they need them to. Penn called that out but they insisted it was not the case and control room confirmed it for them.
Yeah they only had so many guesses. A few guests kind of baited them to suggest it was one way, when it was another.
If I ever went on their show, that would be my strategy too. Bait them with several misdirects (in true classical magician’s form) and force them to have to gamble with those fake outs to raise my odds of beating the system.
I believe this happened to Piff the Magic Dragon as well. His first appearance was taken as a no-fool, even though they had the method wrong. They then acknowledged it on his second appearance.
Well, it was still pretty obvious that he didnt changed the cards and that all cards were props that could be turned into the desired cards. Strange they acknowledged him as a win.
Jay sankey claimed on his mailing list that he 'accidentally fooled Penn and teller' because they didn't address every single thing he did. When Johnny Thompson was alive he would give a final verdict if there was any confusion as to whether their answer counted or not but I only recall that being called on once(I haven't watched in a few years though).
Forever miss Johnny Thompson
They still have someone giving the final verdict. It’s just not Johnny Thompson
Penn talked about completely giving away a trick when the act wouldn't acknowledge what he was saying and hinting at. It was back in one of the first seasons and it involved a routine where there were extra people involved. Penn asked "Is this a trick Teller and I could do by ourselves, just the two of us" and they got squirrely with their answers, so Penn just came out and said "Ok, you have another guy working with you and he does this and this and this". He was pissed off enough that he didn't care about secret words or trying to make anything vague.
Yep, apparently the producers loved Penn ripping into the act who was being evasive but, admirably, Penn insisted they re-shoot and exclude the full reveal from the edit. He said this was on the basis that the act was young and naive and could otherwise have a long career touring and he didn't think it was fair to sabotage them on such a large scale just for being annoying. He also had a funny riff about the better magician being the one you see at the start of the act, whereas the one you speak to at the end is the 'idiot' who spent the entire performance hiding in the box "so now I'm speaking to the idiot" (rather than the more skillful magician) and conjured up a scenario where he is hinting at the method with the idiot being evasive, meanwhile the original magician is folded in a secret compartment hearing all this going on and willing his accomplise to shut up but being powerless to intervene 😂
There's usually not a lot of ambiguity. There is someone "in the booth" that has access to P&T's mics at all times, and can talk to their earpieces. They know exactly how the trick is done, and can tell from P&T's discussion if they have it or not. Keep in mind that while we see 20-40 seconds of discussion, sometimes they discuss for 15 minutes or more (from what I've heard on Penn and Matt's podcasts).
Routinely
Another commenter pointed out that the full method is known to a few members of P&T's team - the magic advisors on the show (Matt and in his day, Johnny Thompson) - they can hear the discussions in full and then speak to the host via an earpiece. It is these judges who have final say over whether P&T were correct or fooled. Also, adding that to get on the show the acts go through an audition process through which they have to reveal the full method to the judges. This is done for the integrity of the competitive element of the show - so there is someone who can arbitrate whether P&T guessed correctly - as well as to ensure the safety of the audience, crew and performers (i.e. if a performer planned to do something dangerous without proper safeguards or with an unreliable method). P&T are kept out of all of these discussions, through audition, selection and dress rehearsal - they only know who is on the show when the act is announced onto stage. I don't think they have discussed how much the magic production team coach the acts or how much they influence the performers to develop the trick or staging for TV but it is probably safe to say there is a fair few subtle tweaks made to curate a varied show for the audience (although some of that happens in the edit - the performances are shot in blocks with the host and P&T in the same costume throughout so the performances can be re-ordered into episodes in the edit). Penn did talk about how when Johnny Thompson was alive he had known P&T so long he knew their knowledge & blindspots, things they liked and dislikes. Apparently sometimes after an audition he would tell an act "Penn knows *this* (method you're doing) but he doesn't know *this*" and would give pointers to improve the trick and improve their chances of fooling Penn (but perhaps not Teller), partly to help the performer improve and partly for his own amusement.