Yeah, no sh!t. This is a show with a very specific premise. And this is a card trick specifically designed for that very specific premise.

The premise is the plot is the presentation.

Quite possibly! I don't think we can do anything but guess at the method unless it's released though, especially since we know that the video's edited.

I've also seen plenty of routines that have elaborate final reveals that have that perfect "if the spectator selects X, skip the next part and just reveal it" bit and my only go-to for this routine, due to the lack of handling seen after Penn says "3", is multiple-outs. However, I haven't studied anything from Boris yet and I only know of his skill with marked decks so honestly he may really have a method for this that's available that doesn't require it and I'm just unaware. If so, I'll gladly add it to my queue

Let's notice some details:

Teller shuffles the deck and hands it to Boris. If we believe that nothing happened that was cut during the switches between cameras, then the card is at position 3 since he cleanly spreads to three and hands the cards to Penn.

Does anyone believe that we saw all that happened between the shuffle and spread to 3 and handing the 3 to Penn?? Either the card was at 3 or they cut out some handling.

Mike

It seems we are both firmly in the camp that this is not a good trick for laypeople.

If Boris built this on the bones of his PURACAAN, then the card was legitimately at 3 before Penn named his number.

What we didn't see is how it had any chance to get there.

You wouldn't say the audience enjoyed the performance? I would.

What made it very entertaining was the presentation. I think both P&T as well as the audience thought it was excellent.

Mike

The audience enjoyed the wit and narration in Penn's voice. This is a tough trick to entertain without gimmicks.

It’s almost as if a live performance of a magic trick is more than the sum of its parts. Odd how that works out!

Penn talked about this trick on his latest Podcast:

"That fooled us so deep, and that fooled Handsome Jack, and it fooled everybody. Boris did it the best anyone has ever done it. I'm dying to tell you part of his method but I will not. It's one of the greatest tricks I have ever seen."

Sounds like much more than a simple underspread or trick deck.

Look at the video. It's either at 3 or something was cut. So it seems to me. I've been wrong before. What's an alternative theory?

M

as with every trick. ever.

I hope Boris Wild will publish this trick, soon. I really want to learn this superb effect. And, I still have no clue how it was done...

For those who have wondered about a Phoenix deck being used instead of his "normal" marked deck, Phoenix has been selling Boris Wild Marked decks (In Phoenix back both red and blue) for over a year now. I have a few of them, they even have them in the new large index cards. I have no idea if that had anything to do with the effect but noticed a few questioned the Phoenix back.

The editing was so incredibly professional that only Sans Minds could’ve been involved.

I've watched the video several times and what is getting me the most is this:

This is something Penn even questioned Boris about after the effect. Boris only asked Penn to name a number 1 through 52 after he was holding the deck square in his hands. Yes, it's true that he did do "something" to the deck in between the moment "Teller giving the deck to Boris" and "Boris' holding the deck square in his hands." Something definitely happened in between these two moments. But the number was only named after both moments passed, that is, it was only named once Boris was holding the deck square in his hands. So after the number was named it seems Boris could not have done anything, since the deck was already shut and squared in his hands.

I am seriously laughing hard!
I will admit it took me a while and then it hit me and I realized how they did it.
Yes, THEY!
Boris AND Pen AND Teller FOOLED US!
They could be called the Three Stooges!

Here are some points that we know-
A Pheonix deck is used with the larger indexes, most likely marked. BUT the marks are not used by who you think!
Boris lets the decks fall out of the box and allows Penn to choose any deck.
The decks are without cellophane. There is no camera cut in which the cellophane was removed.
Penn chooses the one pack where we cannot see the side in which the seal is normally placed and he holds the pack up in a way that we still cannot see where the deck would normally be sealed.
Boris takes the pack and again we cannot see the position of where the seal would be.
Boris opens the pack without breaking a seal and then we can see the back of the flap which does not contain part of a broken seal. Here we can conclude that they did not use a sealed deck.
This had nothing to do with the effect and was most likey done to be more efficient in the presentation than having to remove cellophane and rip/cut a seal.

The performance moves along- The cards are ribbon spread.
Teller shuffles the cards overhand style then Boris takes the cards and has Penn perform a full cut.
Then Boris takes the deck and has Teller choose a card while looking away.
Penn watches Boris to make sure he isn't looking.
Teller shows the card to the audience and then returns the card to the cut pack.
Then Boris brings the cut pack back together, dribbles and squares up the deck.
Everything is looking so very normal and fair.
Boris makes a statement that he is not going to manipulate the card. Which is true! BECAUSE Teller is going to instead.

NOW Teller "shuffles" the cards in an overhand style.
By freezing the video [4:32] you can see Teller has manipulated packets.
Then he appears to slide cards with his thumb.
Then the camera shot shows Teller's back and then shows him finishing his "shuffling".
At this point we catch him moving a card from the back of his left hand (What is a card doing there?) to the top of the deck before handing the deck back to Boris.

Teller had positioned the selection!
No more manuvering of the deck happens. Boris does not have Penn cut the deck again.
Penn calls out the number, "three" that they have selected ahead of time and the reveal is made.

GENIUS FOOLING by those guys! The patter is just so GRAND as everything that is said is true.
This is why nobody has been able to figure this out.
We will not be seeing this effect released. Get two of your magic buddies and go fool the rest of them.

No wonder it fooled Handsome Jack and everybody!
No wonder Penn says that Boris did it the best anyone has ever done it!
No wonder Penn is dying to tell you part of the method! -But isn't going to!
No wonder it is one of the greatest tricks he has ever seen because the three of them STOOGED us all!

It would be great if magicians could just admit they can't figure something out, rather than make claims of stooging.

Interested folk may wish to check out Boris' PURACAAN effect on his Sensations release, and also examine the video's discontinuity between 4:38, where Boris transfers the deck cleanly from right hand to left, and 4:39, where he's closing a spread into his left hand.

Good point Tim. That's a critical moment.

Mike