Kostya Kimlat Fools Penn & Teller // Fool Us: Penn's Favorite Card Trick
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN recommends it as a trick admired for both its method and its effect.
What it is
Magician Kostya Kimlat performs a card trick on Penn & Teller: Fool Us that fooled the duo, using Penn's favorite card trick as a basis.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2017 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec moralestapia · 2022-06 · on “The Nettle Magic Project: Scanner for decks of cards with bar codes on edges”
I like this one a lot as it is amazing on both method + effect. Effect: [this video] I won't reveal the method but here it is in Penn's words (from 1:20): [LINK]
Recommends fenomas · 2017-04 · on “Teller Reveals His Secrets (2012)”
That was real! I mean he wasn't really angry but he really did have his mind blown. The backstory is that the magician in question (Kostya Kimlat) did a trick that Penn & Teller also do, and he did it more or less the same way they do it - except that at the end, at the part where P&T do the sleights that make the trick work, in Kimlat's version the effect was already done because he'd done a different sleight, earlier, about five inches under P&T's noses. It was pretty glorious. The trick: [this video] Penn talking about it: [LINK]
Recommends JdeBP · 2025-09 · on “After 50 years, The Magic Circle finally inducts Penn and Teller”
I can just reiterate my prior comment: * [this video] (-: For M. Kimlat's own commentary and someone else's particularly insightful comment: * [LINK] For the time spent on prep for the second appearance: * [LINK]