The Razzle Dazzle Scam - James Grime from Numberphile

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  • Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
  • Thanks to our friends at Domain.com for sponsoring this video. Make us look good (and take a sweet 15% off domains) by using promocode SCAMSCHOOL at checkout only at Domain.com
    * Correction: the "actual count" at 11:41 should be 29, the bet doubling score.
    "Razzle Dazzle," also known as "Play Football," "Auto Races," "Double-Up," or "Bolero" is a complete scam disguised as a game of chance. Not only is it illegal in the United States, it's virtually impossible to win. Dr. James Grime from Numberphile and SingingBanana demonstrates this carnival scam as well as a slightly-more-fair version you can play with just dice.
    Thanks to Dr. James Grime for joining us! Check him out at:
    / singingbanana
    / numberphile
    / jamesgrime
    Want to print the Razzle Dazzle scoreboard from this episode? Download it here: i.imgur.com/MTeyAL5.jpg
    Data and information sources for this video:
    "Probabilities of Winning a Certain Carnival Game" - Donald A. Berry and Ronald R. Regal (The American Statistician, November 1978)
    "Razzle Dazzle and Related Gambling Games" (FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 1969) - leb.fbi.gov/file-repository/a...
    Got a question or trick? Email it in at ScamNationShow@gmail.com
    Join the Discord: / discord
    Find us on Twitter: / scamnationshow
    And Facebook: / scam-nation-2279995262...
    Or Instagram: / scamnationshow
    Follow Brian online!
    / shwood
    / shwood
    / scamschoolbrian
    This video made by:
    Brian Brushwood
    Brandt Hughes
    Bryce Castillo
    John Rael
    Annaliese Martin
    Includes an edit of "Makie Elkino" by William Ross Chernoff's Nomads freemusicarchive.org/music/Wil...
    #CarnivalScams #RazzleDazzle #ScamNation
  • Навчання та стиль

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,5 тис.

  • @scamschool
    @scamschool  5 років тому +774

    Think counting is all there is to this illegal scam? Watch the second half to see why even a fair game is nearly impossible!
    Did the count fool you?

    • @RyanStonedonCanadianGaming
      @RyanStonedonCanadianGaming 5 років тому +5

      Poker? Blackjack? Slot machines? Celo? Yatzee? Backgammon?
      Closest quarter to wall wins?

    • @Tahgtahv
      @Tahgtahv 5 років тому +40

      A few things I've noticed, some of which has been mentioned. There may be some bad math, either intentional or unintentional (you guys don't even have the "from earlier..." count right, the correct total is 29), but a lot of it is just picking one number or the other. They're clearly on top of the holes, but when doing it fast, it's hard to notice. The second thing is the distribution. You have: 11 ones, 17 twos, 39 threes, 44 fours, 21 fives, 11 sixes; choose 8. The math for that actually sounds pretty complicated, but the slightly easier case of 1 marble at a time gives you an expected total of ~28.4755

    • @scamschool
      @scamschool  5 років тому +36

      @@Tahgtahv Good catch! And yep, the distribution is *very* skewed to 3s and 4.

    • @ehrichweiss
      @ehrichweiss 5 років тому +26

      I didn't fully understand the rule about 29 until close to the end. I thought that it was only doubled for that particular round but if I'm understanding correctly it doubles from that point on. That's an awesome angle to it. Love it.

    • @cadlyn
      @cadlyn 5 років тому +79

      i picked up on the miscounting right away... all in all though a very interesting scam.

  • @godtiermtg
    @godtiermtg 5 років тому +3928

    I thought I was going crazy when he kept miscounting.

    • @TimBowers
      @TimBowers 5 років тому +367

      I was like 'hey, is he adding the number above, or below? Wait, neither, what's going on here...'

    • @MACIEJ454545
      @MACIEJ454545 5 років тому +66

      I was the same, I noticed it and wondered what the rules are on that

    • @CreeperAssassins1
      @CreeperAssassins1 5 років тому +57

      @@MACIEJ454545 fair counting counts above, since the bottom row only has numbers on the top

    • @MichaelBeck_profile
      @MichaelBeck_profile 5 років тому

      Me too

    • @AirNeat
      @AirNeat 5 років тому +47

      I knew it was the scam all along. Brian did miscount as 27 when he was actually supposed to get 29 though haha

  • @Varstahl
    @Varstahl 5 років тому +3615

    For being a mathematician he sure has troubles with single digit additions… HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!

    • @KiDKiSAM3
      @KiDKiSAM3 5 років тому +241

      I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one who noticed! 😂

    • @kylemcdonald5978
      @kylemcdonald5978 5 років тому +141

      Yeah me too, but after a couple of go's i was like "i see what ur doing"

    • @Spitfire14
      @Spitfire14 5 років тому +16

      I saw that aswell

    • @stefmemes7222
      @stefmemes7222 5 років тому +66

      Yeah I thought for someone in his area should know what 29 + 4 is...

    • @sevret313
      @sevret313 5 років тому +144

      But you're not going to complain when it is in your advantage that he's miscounting. Perfect scam.

  • @geoffhazel2
    @geoffhazel2 5 років тому +536

    If you were a player, and noticed him miscounting, but you WON, would you even mention it? I bet many people wouldn't. And he only needs to miscount to help you win and hook you in. Once you're hooked, the game will finish you off.

    • @davidzeiger7925
      @davidzeiger7925 5 років тому +57

      This also plays into the psychology of scamming. If the sucker manufactures the lie, they are less likely to call the huckster on the scam since they were benefiting from the mistakes earlier. Lots of people get hooked on these since, even though they know it's a carnival game/scam, they think they are the ones cheating the huckster. Many con artists play off similar illegitimate desires and actions to steal from folks and know they won't go to the police since it's their own greed/stupidity being implicated as well.

    • @rapmastac1362
      @rapmastac1362 5 років тому +4

      Just like the ball and cup game. You see the ball and the "other patron" picks the wrong cup, you are like this is way easy! You go and he does a switcharoo and you lose. Only high bets on this game.

    • @geoffhazel2
      @geoffhazel2 5 років тому +4

      @@rapmastac1362 That actually happened to me on vacation. Saw a game on the street, watched the "move", said "ah, I got this" and while I looked down to pull out my money, he pulled the move on ME. Lost my £5 and knew immediately (but too late) how it had happened.

    • @capatainnemo
      @capatainnemo 5 років тому

      you wouldnt win

    • @wolf1066
      @wolf1066 5 років тому +3

      So many cons start with letting you win small to begin with.

  • @antivanti
    @antivanti 5 років тому +558

    I caught the miscounts but figured he was looking at the wrong side of the marble... until Brian got into his losing streak. Cheeky, Mr Grimes!

    • @richardpike8748
      @richardpike8748 5 років тому +17

      Same. I wondered why he was inconsistent with his "side-picking" but didn't fully catch on

    • @Loogaroo1
      @Loogaroo1 5 років тому +11

      That's exactly how I interpreted it. Because there's no borders around the numbers/holes, it would be very easy for the scammer to choose the numbers either above or below the hole to manipulate the total. The order that the marbles are counted would also be manipulated; if you know that 27 is a dud number, you engineer the count towards 23 and save the 4 for last.

    • @davids.9789
      @davids.9789 5 років тому

      He bamboooozed him

    • @arandombard1197
      @arandombard1197 4 роки тому +3

      @@Loogaroo1 Nope. You don't need to engineer a dud number. He only lies to give good numbers.

    • @AsmodeusMictian
      @AsmodeusMictian Рік тому +1

      See, here I thought I may have just been going crazy, THEN I thought he was being creative with which side of the marble he was counting on.
      Turns out? Nope....complete and utter scam.

  • @valderhide1674
    @valderhide1674 5 років тому +1520

    I was adding up with James and I was thinking the math wasn't right

    • @rajdeepguha734
      @rajdeepguha734 5 років тому +16

      I too thought that a lot of times

    • @armindoroudi9025
      @armindoroudi9025 5 років тому +9

      he explains why later

    • @valderhide1674
      @valderhide1674 5 років тому +18

      @@armindoroudi9025 I figured the incorrect math; especially from a guy whose all about math and thus I would assume being accurate; was part of the scam. Been a long time since I watched numberphile and James

    • @Quantris
      @Quantris 5 років тому +29

      Yup. But the tricky part is those errors are in the player's favor, so even if they notice they may go along with it.

    • @sisi7304
      @sisi7304 5 років тому +7

      Same, but that's why it's called "Razzle Dazzle"

  • @crazygamer2458
    @crazygamer2458 5 років тому +826

    My D&D group is going to hate me after tomorrow night. I'm going to set up in the corner of a tavern and make so much gold.

    • @untitled6087
      @untitled6087 5 років тому +41

      but surely people who play a game based entirely on dice would see how this works? after all, rolling up a character has you working with a distribution, 18/3 are _super_ rare.

    • @pukesmiley2784
      @pukesmiley2784 5 років тому +3

      For calculating which digit its going to be just roll a d 11 and a d13 to figure out the coordinates if you dont want to buy new dice, there is an app

    • @Oskanwhitchfather
      @Oskanwhitchfather 5 років тому +16

      YOU JUST GAVE ME THE BEST IDEA. Side note: I'm the DM this time around...

    • @charlieb8735
      @charlieb8735 5 років тому +20

      I was thinking D&D players would be the hardest to scam, especially anyone who has cast fireball more than a couple times lol.

    • @Oskanwhitchfather
      @Oskanwhitchfather 5 років тому +20

      @@charlieb8735 See, you set it up in character, make it cost 1 Copper, and tell them they can have /anything/ if they make it to 100 points. Literally anything, including homebrew, and self-made, OP, game shattering, God killing weapons and/or armor that makes them invincible. Entice them with riches and powers every gamer dreams of. Let the Fighter cast spells like a Cleric, and a Sorcerer, in FULL PLATE.
      Then sit back and watch them gamble away their money, and laugh on the inside as they rage at the scam, only to reveal it was a scam 2-3 years down the road....

  • @chrisdempsey2379
    @chrisdempsey2379 5 років тому +929

    "It's not much... "
    *"It's $400."*

    • @hex1101
      @hex1101 5 років тому +9

      I'll make MORE with this.

    • @zacharybarbanell1064
      @zacharybarbanell1064 5 років тому +109

      I mean, as far as "stacks of dollar bills the size of a brick", 400$ is pretty low

    • @stephescobar575
      @stephescobar575 5 років тому +24

      Greatings, fellow proletariat =)

    • @fenhen
      @fenhen 5 років тому +29

      In the UK, the smallest possible note value is £5, so the smallest an equivalent stack size in the UK could be is almost 3000 bucks.

    • @stevebooth9542
      @stevebooth9542 5 років тому +3

      Humblebrag much?

  • @PeterJavi
    @PeterJavi 5 років тому +193

    On video, this scam becomes really easy to spot, especially because we have a top-down view and no money into the game. In real life, with your own money involved and a less than ideal view, I reckon it's almost impossible to spot if you're not aware of the probability ahead of time

    • @Rowgue51
      @Rowgue51 5 років тому +15

      There's really nothing to spot. That's not the scam. The probability is the scam, even without doing any miscounting. The miscounting is always done to benefit the player to keep them hooked, so nobody that wasn't already aware of the scam would be calling them out on bad counts. The bad counts also wouldn't be anywhere near as frequent in a real world scenario. He was doing them right and left here just to expedite the process and not have you sit through three hundred rounds before any points were scored. But in a real world scenario the miscounts would happen very infrequently and only when the scam artist sensed the mark was about to walk away.

    • @MikkoRantalainen
      @MikkoRantalainen 2 роки тому +1

      @@Rowgue51 Exactly. The only thing you need to notice is that the game is equal to rolling 8 dices and to get the price you have to throw basically 8 times 1 or 8 times 6. That's about 2/6^8 or 2:1679616. Doesn't seem that good a bet, right?
      The part where the scammer promises to add *all the already spent money* to the price is the genious part. That makes it appear that you cannot lose as long as you keep playing until the win.

    • @jhoodrico569
      @jhoodrico569 Рік тому +1

      @@Rowgue51 that deff is the scam that’s where the scam starts . Him letting you think you win a couple times is the reason you’re ever playing still . Deff the start of the scam . I understand you’ll never win but you could figure that out early if he isn’t miscounting

  • @smoov22_sonic
    @smoov22_sonic 5 років тому +1013

    Holy shit this is a legendary collab

    • @Nalkahn
      @Nalkahn 5 років тому +7

      I liked before watching :D

    • @PhilieBlunt666
      @PhilieBlunt666 5 років тому +7

      I was about to say, numberphile and scam school, holy crap that just sounds perfect

    • @wobblysauce
      @wobblysauce 5 років тому +3

      That it is... fit so well together.

    • @blablub2402
      @blablub2402 5 років тому +2

      My favourite channels together!

    • @JonO387
      @JonO387 5 років тому

      Legendary mismatch.

  • @cristiancrosse5719
    @cristiancrosse5719 5 років тому +282

    Damn now I can legitimize the joke,” a mathematician and a magician walk into a bar”

    • @Actually_Zahren
      @Actually_Zahren 5 років тому +19

      A Mathmagician if you will...

    • @JorgetePanete
      @JorgetePanete 5 років тому +3

      @@Actually_Zahren Mathgician, you mean

    • @unounk9415
      @unounk9415 5 років тому +7

      Does singing banana even age? This is from April 2019 and he looks the same as ever other video from years ago

    • @Actually_Zahren
      @Actually_Zahren 5 років тому +6

      @@JorgetePanete Personally I think Mathmagician rolls off the tongue a bit better

  • @harrychacksfield9527
    @harrychacksfield9527 5 років тому +606

    Honestly, I noticed a dodgy count the moment Brian won. He won points though, so I guessed I just miscounted.
    Damn. I feel scammed.

    • @AndyLundell
      @AndyLundell 5 років тому +61

      That's the best part. He only has to cheat to make you win. So even if you notice, you keep your mouth shut.

    • @barrytone6581
      @barrytone6581 5 років тому +1

      Dang someone put 70 likes instead of 69. Someone is truly a monster.

    • @TheNaturalnuke
      @TheNaturalnuke 5 років тому +1

      I legitimately thought he wasnt counting them i the order he was picking them up.

    • @randomhotelroomnumberg2195
      @randomhotelroomnumberg2195 5 років тому

      i also noticed it before the initial reveal.

    • @magnusanderson6681
      @magnusanderson6681 5 років тому

      @@renaminginprogress6903 road to 667

  • @airkami
    @airkami 5 років тому +48

    I can say as a viewer, I had the advantage to be able to see you were miscounting, but unless a person is looking for the indicators that they are being scammed, it is very easy to miss. One time when I was a cashier two people tried to scam me through asking for change and distracting me from a distance. Once I knew I had handed the person exact change and he asked to change another big bill to smaller ones while his partner was yelling for me from a distance to distract me, I knew what was going on and right then was my chance to stop it. I slammed my drawer shut and told the scammer the truth. That's your change, I know it's 100% right, and the drawer won't open again without my manager.
    He starts throwing a fit. My manager walks over, opens my drawer hands him a $20 and writes me up for my drawer being under balance by $20. Not the worst manager I've had, but I definitely was not happy that I got punished for them being scammed and not believing that I counted exact change.

  • @andymcl92
    @andymcl92 5 років тому +238

    EXCELLENT collab! Now we just need one with Matt Parker :)

    • @YoungsterJoeyAUS
      @YoungsterJoeyAUS 5 років тому +45

      Would that be a Parker Scam?

    • @andymcl92
      @andymcl92 5 років тому +20

      @@YoungsterJoeyAUS That would depend on how successful it is...

    • @YoungsterJoeyAUS
      @YoungsterJoeyAUS 5 років тому +21

      It’ll have to look like it would work, but ultimately fail.

    • @lindsaytang1017
      @lindsaytang1017 5 років тому +7

      It would be a Parker square scam

    • @andymcl92
      @andymcl92 5 років тому +6

      @@YoungsterJoeyAUS That kinda clashes with the Modern Rogue style where things look like they're gonna fail but are surprisingly effective!

  • @ShadowlandsProd
    @ShadowlandsProd 5 років тому +533

    Marvel: Avengers Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover...
    Scam Nation:

    • @Maninawig
      @Maninawig 5 років тому +1

      Not the first colab... Check out Scam School Pi Day

    • @danmcshane6004
      @danmcshane6004 5 років тому +4

      Hold my beer

    • @pyrokinetikrlz
      @pyrokinetikrlz 5 років тому

      I was going to write the very same comment!!!! HAHAHAHA

    • @awesomeminingwizard
      @awesomeminingwizard 5 років тому +1

      Hold my FREE beer

    • @photelegy
      @photelegy 5 років тому +3

      Also the SlowMo-Guys and MythicalMorning-Guys crossover 😉

  • @wolfelkan8183
    @wolfelkan8183 5 років тому +156

    And even if you notice that he's counting wrong, you're probably not going to say anything about it, because hey, it's an error in your favor!

    • @404killer
      @404killer 5 років тому +4

      i dont think you understand the game. higher score doesnt mean more points...

    • @Luweesel
      @Luweesel 5 років тому +23

      @@404killer No, but when he was miscounting he was often winning you points which you weren't getting by playing fairly

    • @ixcaliber
      @ixcaliber 5 років тому +15

      @@404killer And I don't think you understand the point of miscounting.

    • @404killer
      @404killer 5 років тому

      @Agent J ?

    • @404killer
      @404killer 5 років тому

      @Agent J your iq must be much higher cause im confused

  • @jerry3790
    @jerry3790 5 років тому +120

    Just walk in with 10^100 dollars and get a free tv!

    • @TuberTugger
      @TuberTugger 5 років тому +12

      Well, you actually double your prizes a bunch. So you get a few dozen TVs.

    • @uegvdczuVF
      @uegvdczuVF 5 років тому +2

      @@TuberTugger After getting a 29 the price doubles. After 10 times you rolled a 29 it costs 1024 dollars for every roll after that.. until you roll another 29...
      .So it's more like 10x100x1000x10000 dollars for a few dozen TVs :)

    • @stephen3164
      @stephen3164 5 років тому +2

      Yeah, but you play till the end, you get your money back! Just like in blackjack when you keep doubling your bet - though you're betting $32k, tyen $64k on a hand but when you break the losing streak, you only net your original $8 bet. Except in this case you gotta spend at least $1M over the course of 17 hours... yeah, that's not happening.

    • @ArmadilloAl
      @ArmadilloAl 5 років тому +7

      10^100 is simultaneously 1) 85 orders of magnitude more money than there is in the world and 2) at least 50 orders of magnitude NOT ENOUGH money. Per the graphic at 15:39, the expected cost *per roll* after the 5,000th roll is over 3x10^150.

  • @ZoeWolf196
    @ZoeWolf196 5 років тому +131

    for the dice version you could always swap in weighted dice every once in a while to replace the miscounting.

    • @scamschool
      @scamschool  5 років тому +61

      Good point! The number distribution on the marble game favors 4s, so dice weighted to 4 would mimic that

    • @raelik777
      @raelik777 5 років тому +7

      @@scamschool Yeah, you'd probably want half weighted to 4s, and half weighted to 3s, since they're on opposite sides.

    • @ablejack3
      @ablejack3 5 років тому +37

      The board is not only skewed against the player with distribution though. Even a fairly distributed board is skewed against the player. The reason is that any 6 roll "occupies" one of the (already fewer) sixes that is available to the other seven marbles. Whereas any roll of the dice does not affect the other dice. The extremely illustrating example is if there were only seven spaces numbered 6. Then it would be obviously impossible to roll eight 6's.

    • @magnusanderson6681
      @magnusanderson6681 5 років тому +4

      @@scamschool Their point was weight a die to 6 or 1 so you replicate them winning. I suppose 4s and 3s would make the dice version more like the board version probability wise though.

  • @Krebzonide
    @Krebzonide 5 років тому +87

    I've subscribed to you both independently and I did not expect to see him here at all.

  • @Howtard
    @Howtard 5 років тому +24

    Using the range of numbers on the board to figure out it's equivalent to a dice roll, then imagining the distribution curve and figuring out the range of likely point values, it's such an elegant way to see through a game of chance. This is why I love Numberphile, it makes applied maths seem natural; something I quite got the hang of during school.

  • @quillclock
    @quillclock 5 років тому +21

    8:35 did James actual just snag a paper that was flying away out of mid air? DAYMN

    • @KaitouKaiju
      @KaitouKaiju 5 років тому +3

      Have a feeling that wasn't the first time

  • @MNalias
    @MNalias 5 років тому +88

    Is James is commiting Grimes again? He is such a bad guy.

  • @micahphilson
    @micahphilson 5 років тому +14

    This is such a random collab, these are two people I never would have expected to see in the same room, but it's awesome to be able to! James is my favorite Numberphile presenter!

    • @G-H-C
      @G-H-C 3 роки тому

      I won't stand for this matt parker slander 😒

  • @debblez
    @debblez 5 років тому +17

    Oh my god ! Haven’t watched Scam School- or Scam Nation I guess - in years! How he’s changed... Good on you my dude!

  • @LeviAEthan512
    @LeviAEthan512 5 років тому +8

    Who'd have thought playing D&D would have prepared me to see through a scam

  • @RWAKitty
    @RWAKitty 5 років тому +21

    I seriously need to run this to D&D. I would love to see how far my players dump gold into this scam.

  • @phenomonox
    @phenomonox 5 років тому +2

    Thanks so much for having James Grime on the show. I am such a HUGE fan of his and seeing him on this is just simply amazing!

  • @JohnnyLobes
    @JohnnyLobes 5 років тому +118

    Ive seen them playing this game on the show floor of a comic book convention in Vegas. Cops and gaming commission came in and arrested them.

    • @celinak5062
      @celinak5062 5 років тому +1

      +

    • @redtails
      @redtails 5 років тому +2

      Lel. Hope they paid a shitton of fines

    • @Squidbush8563
      @Squidbush8563 5 років тому +2

      @@redtails they probably took them out back and shot them. The gaming commission doesn't mess around.

    • @ghoulishgam3r508
      @ghoulishgam3r508 4 роки тому +1

      Surprising, honestly. Vegas is all about scamming people with unfair odds.

  • @falconking2888
    @falconking2888 5 років тому +12

    I literally searched up numberphile and went to check notifications and saw this!

  • @blindleader42
    @blindleader42 5 років тому +24

    I particularly like where you cheat to the benefit of the mark in order to build his "confidence", and keep him playing. It's sort of like being your own shill in the 3 card monte scam.

    • @user-yg4kj2mf1p
      @user-yg4kj2mf1p Рік тому

      Even in the three card monte, if the scammer has taken some of your money, he might let you win once or twice to get your hopes up and take everything you've got.

  • @devKazuto
    @devKazuto 5 років тому +58

    Just practice miscounting and fool the scammer xD

    • @OrangeC7
      @OrangeC7 5 років тому +11

      The scammer would surely know the odds, though, and catch you at their own game, which they touched on in the video.

    • @redtails
      @redtails 5 років тому +11

      might as well play the game a few rounds and say "hey dude this is razzle dazzle, give me the prize or I'll call the cops"

    • @Gray13475
      @Gray13475 5 років тому +3

      @@redtails Good way to get shot or stabbed. Razzle is still pretty popular in dozens of variations in low income areas(mostly ghettos). We (State SWAT) are called in to do Multi-Block No-Knocks from Popularity and the bonused Illegality in my State. Most Local and County Agencies here; do not have the training, equipment, funding, or weaponry to pull off such high paced UCRs(Urban Clearance Raids). Those of us on the State Team are actually using our years of MOUT(Urban Warfare) and CQC Training to pull such raids off as rapid pace, as we do them - Clear, Search, Find, Next in 5 minutes or less.

    • @TomDufall
      @TomDufall 5 років тому +2

      The scammer can afford to let you win a round and then count with you the next round though, unless you claim 100 points.

  • @NoriMori1992
    @NoriMori1992 5 років тому +6

    I'm so glad this showed up in my recommended! I love Dr. Grime, and scams and gambling psychology are fascinating subjects!

  • @DanHoke
    @DanHoke 5 років тому +18

    Really enjoyed this one. Now I want to make my own razzle dazzle board. I see a laser cut project in my future.

    • @Roxor128
      @Roxor128 5 років тому

      Just drilling holes smaller than the width of the marbles would do. Marbles are what? 15mm wide? A 12mm drill bit should suffice for holes big enough to stop their motion without letting them fall through.

  • @dudeeee
    @dudeeee 5 років тому +96

    Every time I see a recent video with Brian Bushwood I always thank Jesus that he got rid of those spiked tips.

  • @ceruchi2084
    @ceruchi2084 5 років тому +2

    I was so ready for the value distribution-not expecting the miscounting! That is real scam artistry. Thank you, Prof. Grime!

  • @pekuja
    @pekuja 5 років тому +96

    I quite liked this. A lot of math based scams are really obvious, and though this one's not too hard to figure out if you have any idea on how probabilities work with multiple dice, it's not really obvious, and also since it's clearly technically possible to win it seems like a fair game. I did notice James counting weird, but because I was expecting the scam to be more about probabilities, it didn't actually occur to me that he was doing that to skew the game in Brian's favor, which is devious. :D

    • @hearmerant
      @hearmerant 5 років тому +9

      Exactly that. I really didn't expect him to just lie. Even though I caught the miscount, I thought it was me at fault somehow.

    • @Dargonhuman
      @Dargonhuman 5 років тому +11

      @@hearmerant It seems like a lot of people were thinking that as well, which points to another logical fallacy of trusting authority figures unquestioningly; we assume that since he's a professional mathematician and most of us are not, then any discrepancy is our fault and trust he knows what he's doing. It's this fallacy that's the root of many cults, political parties and most misinformation out there - if someone convinces enough people that they are an authority on a particular subject, then they never have to furnish proof of said expertise which then gives them the freedom to proclaim whatever they want as most of their followers will fall into the same trap of "They know more than me, so if I disagree I must be wrong."

    • @KuK137
      @KuK137 5 років тому

      @@Dargonhuman Politician? Heh. Try certified liar in (mostly right wing) "news" programs or a priest. I could understanding leaving politics to someone who is dedicated enough to make it his job, but a lot of idiots trusts people who have nothing to do with field of interest to make decisions for them...

  • @effychase62
    @effychase62 Рік тому +3

    I first heard of the "Razzle" game through a different channel's video and wanted to learn more. Your video came up from my search. And, since James is on here from the Numberphile channel, I know it's going to be a good video.

    • @zyzzy-ko4ww
      @zyzzy-ko4ww Рік тому

      This Razzle Dazzle game is so crazy it makes me envision the following variation on a theme: only prime numbers (11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47) count for points.

  • @TheAgentofEnigmas
    @TheAgentofEnigmas 5 років тому +3

    This was an incredible episode. I am fascinated by not only the scam but the math and mindset that you get into when you are playing this game. While Brian was playing I was trying to see what I could catch. I noticed in the beginning the miscalling of numbers and later on the blocking of the colored numbers but the math behind it was astonishing. I am geeking out about this so much right now.
    I would love to see more episodes like this. Again this was amazing.

  • @Crestache
    @Crestache 5 років тому +2

    I love James Grime! I've been following both this channel and Numberphile for over a year! Suu-whoop!

  • @upinarms79
    @upinarms79 5 років тому +1

    Wow, good job Brian, I wasn't expecting this. I've been subscribed to Numberphile for years.

  • @shimassi9961
    @shimassi9961 5 років тому +13

    This is the collab we never knew we needed

  • @JohanniklasLp
    @JohanniklasLp 5 років тому +132

    4:15 Did you confuse the top and the bottom when adding up?
    Wait, he does it on purpose

    • @johnholmstrom4212
      @johnholmstrom4212 5 років тому +11

      But Brian miscounted a few times too lol

    • @crushingit5128
      @crushingit5128 5 років тому +1

      I was actually getting infuriated that he kept miscounting. No idea it was part of the scam. Not a very good one if you ask me.

    • @m4r1o148
      @m4r1o148 5 років тому +3

      @@crushingit5128 It's a VERY good one considering the only way you can (plausibly) get any winning numbers is by miscounting. If someone calls you out on your bullshit, but continues to play convinced that you're miscounting to prevent them from winning, they're just digging themselves even deeper. Ideally, once you realize it's a scam, you should drop the game altogether. Although I have a feeling that if you already started playing, you're not the type of person that can do that lol

    • @BlakjeKaas
      @BlakjeKaas 5 років тому

      @@johnholmstrom4212 Wait wat lol

    • @arandombard1197
      @arandombard1197 4 роки тому +1

      @@crushingit5128 It's obvious that he miscounted. But if the miscount means you win, then what reason do you have to challenge it? It makes the player think they are the ones scamming the game-host.

  • @untitledphysicist3205
    @untitledphysicist3205 5 років тому +1

    Two of my favorite channels and I’d never thought I’d see a collab

  • @annajull328
    @annajull328 5 років тому

    I’ve followed both of you for many years and it FILLS MY HEART THAT YR FRIENDS!

  • @NathanielCF
    @NathanielCF 5 років тому +8

    Blew my mind seeing this 'crossover'. I love Jame Grime's stuff!

  • @StevenJacks
    @StevenJacks 5 років тому +3

    Brian and James - been following you both for years, and auto liked this vid before watching. Cheers to you both, keep rocking hard, and I'll watch the vid now. Thanks for all your work!
    ~ Steven Jacks

  • @mattsnyder4754
    @mattsnyder4754 5 років тому +2

    This is so brilliant. It’s one giant misdirection.
    Because everyone, even marginally skeptical people, are going to assume the scam is in the marbles or the board. They’ll be staring that thing down like a hawk trying to find why they aren’t winning.
    The scam is in the number card, and you aren’t even thinking about the number card.

    • @zyzzy-ko4ww
      @zyzzy-ko4ww 2 роки тому

      Actually, the scam is in the prospect of doubling the cost to play (especially if it happens more than once as a running gag): 2^40 is about 1.1 trillion, 2^255 is about 57.9 zillion (not a typo) and 2^335 is about 7 googol (Don't ask!).

  • @DirtyWurm11
    @DirtyWurm11 5 років тому +2

    This is the collab that I never knew I needed

  • @SteveFrenchWoodNStuff
    @SteveFrenchWoodNStuff 5 років тому +24

    Would you like some Grime with your Scam? Why yes. Yes I would.

  • @johnvictor9071
    @johnvictor9071 5 років тому +5

    This was great.
    This first rounds of miscounts, I was doubting myself thinking that maybe it's the other number that gets counted. Even though I kept looking at the edges and re-verifying it was supposed to be the top number. So I can see how a pro scammer could easily do that in a crowd of people with the real excitement of winning.

  • @josiahjohnson4037
    @josiahjohnson4037 5 років тому +1

    His shirt has a bear smoking weed on it.

  • @macnolds4145
    @macnolds4145 5 років тому

    This is UA-cam at its absolute best. Fun, educational, better than T.V. Even the ad isn't intrusive. Bravo.

  • @MrDOOlevrai
    @MrDOOlevrai 5 років тому +82

    OH MY GOD IT'S JAMES
    WHAT THEY KNOW EACH OTHER
    MY HAPPINESS IS REVIVED

  • @l_ilypad
    @l_ilypad 5 років тому +4

    Two legendary youtubers collab :)

  • @MagicDuel
    @MagicDuel 5 років тому +1

    Great explanation. I've read about this before but seeing it in action is really something. And thanks for helping me understand the math!

  • @CarBENbased
    @CarBENbased 5 років тому

    The colab I never knew I needed. Awesome video guys!

  • @TheRealAlpha2
    @TheRealAlpha2 5 років тому +8

    I was counting along at first to make sure he got the numbers right and noticed some of his counts were off. While I was figuring out how that was going to effect the game he gave control over and then I started looking at other angles because you're not going to intentionally miscount yourself, and besides you'd already gotten actual points so... It is quite diabolical.

    • @MrDannyDetail
      @MrDannyDetail 5 років тому

      You're not going to intentionally miscount youself, and yet in this game Brian miscounts the first three times he does the counting....

  • @geroldgerold7319
    @geroldgerold7319 5 років тому +51

    Is nobody going to talk about that ad?

    • @ceruchi2084
      @ceruchi2084 5 років тому +2

      CRINGE

    • @Squick99
      @Squick99 5 років тому +21

      Honestly I was mildly amused by it. The content creators need to make a living and ads are the main way to do it. I'd much prefer a funny ad voiced over by the content creator than a jarring stop and some Nascar ad comes on.

    • @TuberTugger
      @TuberTugger 5 років тому +15

      It is a lot harder to sell ads than it looks.
      sell ads... SALADS!

    • @jjohnston94
      @jjohnston94 5 років тому

      Only to say that it ends at 10:50.

    • @KingBobXVI
      @KingBobXVI 5 років тому

      The only thing I had to say about it is that the stock footage girl at the beginning is hot. Then I skipped it.

  • @dreamingwolf8382
    @dreamingwolf8382 4 роки тому

    Two of my favorite UA-cam personalities together in one spot?! What is this magnificence??!!??

  • @TheDlesage
    @TheDlesage 5 років тому

    Two of my favorite youtubers together! Excellent video guys, enjoyed it thoroughly.

  • @RyanStonedonCanadianGaming
    @RyanStonedonCanadianGaming 5 років тому +12

    I noticed James would be counting wrong.
    Adding or subtracting 1.

  • @lmva
    @lmva 5 років тому +5

    A really cool part about the miscounting is that you get points so even if you notice why would you point it out

  •  5 років тому

    I'm impressed of how many know of both Brian and James. Awesome colab, guys!

  • @gayMath
    @gayMath 5 років тому +1

    I saw James Grime and Scam Nation and I thought I would just get another video on grime dice but I get this masterpiece.

  • @ZGBrickfilms
    @ZGBrickfilms 5 років тому +4

    I noticed his counting wasn’t right! Great collab, this video was great!

  • @Valandar2
    @Valandar2 5 років тому +33

    "Is that real money?" "Yeah, but it's not much."
    "This is $400."
    Some of us have different definitions of 'not much'.

    • @BravoCharleses
      @BravoCharleses 5 років тому

      WPR.

    • @archerelms
      @archerelms 5 років тому +3

      I think he meant not as much as it looks like lol it's not much for the amount of bills there

    • @Valandar2
      @Valandar2 5 років тому +1

      @@archerelms Yeah, but then it's not as funny. :D

    • @ghoulishgam3r508
      @ghoulishgam3r508 4 роки тому

      400 isn't even a months rent in a shitty appartment.

  • @ShiivaWilding
    @ShiivaWilding 5 років тому

    I love discovering new channels like this!

  • @TrasherBiner
    @TrasherBiner 5 років тому

    You found a very clever way to make advertising funny. Thank you for the laugh, not even mad to see the add mid video the way you did. Kudos to you my friend.

  • @rars0n
    @rars0n 5 років тому +5

    I noticed when the good Dr. Grime (what a cool name) was counting it didn't seem to be reflected by what he was picking up from on the board. I was thinking "Where is he getting these numbers from?" Something was definitely off, but I doubted myself enough to assume that maybe I was reading the board wrong.
    And then I noticed how the numbers above and below the marble spots are very close and could easily be confused. This was something I was questioning, was I looking at the number below instead of the number above or vice versa? It quickly becomes obvious how deviously designed this scam is and while I kind of caught onto it, I still second-guessed myself when he was adding up numbers that weren't legit. It's a pretty brilliant scam.
    Then again, I would never pay money to play a game like this because it's obvious it's a scam from the start. Great video, though! Thanks to Dr. Grime for demonstrating it!

  • @SherlockHolmes000
    @SherlockHolmes000 5 років тому +11

    Ah so this is how EA figured out their strategies.

    • @L0j1k
      @L0j1k 5 років тому

      No, EA got its strategies from its full-time staff of psychologists which has more psychologists than all the casinos in Las Vegas combined.

    • @TuberTugger
      @TuberTugger 5 років тому

      Open this chest and win 1-100 parts of a character. Hmm... sounds familiar.
      It might be possible that all in app purchase games are secretly razzle dazzling us.

    • @TheMrRuttazzo
      @TheMrRuttazzo 5 років тому

      Pretty much every single game containing some form of loot boxes or even simply tedious enemy farming with a 0,0001% chance of a "legendary" component. For the latter you might not necessarily spend money, but a lot of you lifetime instead, which in some way is even worse than just lose money.

    • @zyzzy-ko4ww
      @zyzzy-ko4ww 2 роки тому

      Laughing Joking Numbnuts and Evil Anarchy team up to present... Razzle Dazzle The Video Game! The electronic Razzle-Dazzle board keeps changing so you'll never win!

  • @nexus1g
    @nexus1g 5 років тому

    I will never get tired of these guys together.

  • @RuinedDruid897
    @RuinedDruid897 5 років тому +2

    YES!!! Love the collaboration with James Grime!!

  • @justindie7543
    @justindie7543 5 років тому +17

    We all know where James is going with all those $1 bills.

  • @rodolfogarza8947
    @rodolfogarza8947 5 років тому +33

    I've been razzle dazzled before. He used ping pong balls with numbers though and a fish net to scoop them out. got us for over $100.

    • @brucekidd1352
      @brucekidd1352 5 років тому

      Let me guess, you were in the Caribbean...

    • @404killer
      @404killer 5 років тому

      @webnothing lol

    • @theobscene1654
      @theobscene1654 5 років тому +6

      I saw a reveal on that one that showed that there are numbers on opposite ends of the ball so the guy can show you winners when it looks like you wanna bail.

    • @rodolfogarza8947
      @rodolfogarza8947 5 років тому +3

      @@brucekidd1352 Close. I was an hour outside of Houston Tx at a Crawfish Festival

    • @texasbeast-2544
      @texasbeast-2544 2 роки тому

      They got me for $180 yesterday

  • @jessenicoletta4160
    @jessenicoletta4160 5 років тому

    This is honestly one of the weirdest and best crossovers i’ve Ever seen on UA-cam

  • @mojosbigsticks
    @mojosbigsticks 5 років тому +1

    And you showed the real payoff - you sell them the board! Love Numberphile and love this.

  • @NightGlyde
    @NightGlyde 5 років тому +3

    Dice version: Scoring 100 points would take 342 rounds, and cost $2.62 billion on average
    Marble version (updated): Scoring 100 points would take 4978 rounds, and cost $2.19 x 10^164 on average
    Marble version (with non-blocking marbles): Scoring 100 points would take 3431 rounds, and cost $1.73 x 10^111 on average
    (I wrote some code to calculate this, using the game board shown in the video, assuming each hole has equal probability.)
    More stats:
    Dice version: Expected score per round is 0.292, probability of scoring is 0.0274
    Marble version: Expected score per round is 0.0201, probability of scoring is 0.00294
    Marble version (with non-blocking marbles): Expected score per round is 0.0292, probability of scoring is 0.00401

    • @nawarelsabaa
      @nawarelsabaa 5 років тому +3

      One of the comments above pointed out that the board skews the results in more ways than one: e.g. after a marble stops at 5, the other marbles would have a one less 5 to stand on, thus making the probability of the second marble stopping on a five slightly less than 1/6, and so on. Maybe that's where the difference stems from? In case you accounted for that, feel free to disregard this, but I hope it helps!

    • @NightGlyde
      @NightGlyde 5 років тому +1

      @@nawarelsabaa No, I didn't take that into account. Thanks for pointing it out! I'll have to update my code.

    • @nawarelsabaa
      @nawarelsabaa 5 років тому +1

      @@NightGlyde Glad I could help! Also, please post a reply when your new results show up. I'm Interested in seeing how this changes the probability.

    • @NightGlyde
      @NightGlyde 5 років тому +1

      @@nawarelsabaa I've updated my original post with new stats

    • @nawarelsabaa
      @nawarelsabaa 5 років тому +1

      @@NightGlyde that's a very significant difference after such a seemingly small change!
      Thanks for the update, and lots of fun in your future codings!

  • @stillrabit73
    @stillrabit73 5 років тому +4

    Give em' the ol' razzle-dazzle

  • @DirtmopAZ
    @DirtmopAZ 5 років тому +1

    I had no idea I would ever witness this collaboration. Who knew the two of you knew each other?? How good

  • @thestealthydirk6768
    @thestealthydirk6768 5 років тому

    This is the most unreal collab I have ever seen. I'm amazed.

  • @violetevans4742
    @violetevans4742 5 років тому +9

    Makes sense, the mean of the numbers 1-6 is 3.5 * 8 marbles = 28 is the avg. expected score. The ones that score no prizes or points are +-6 from the avg. a, which I would expect is a couple of std. deviations. 29 is so likely because it's only one away from average.

    • @timonix2
      @timonix2 5 років тому +1

      It get's worse. The balls are not independent events. If one ball lands in a 6 that spot is blocked. So the odds for another 6 is reduced

    • @kenj0418
      @kenj0418 5 років тому +1

      The marbles are even more weighted towards the middle than the dice. Each of the dice is an independent roll, and 1-6 is equally likely. But with the marbles, if the first marble lands in a "1", then you have one fewer "1" hole to hope for. So the odds of getting eight "1"s on the marbles would be much worse than the 6^8 for the dice.

    • @kurt9395
      @kurt9395 5 років тому +1

      @@jasonbellmusic3091 It's much more worse than that. If you look at the board, the numbers are not evenly distributed and are heavily skewed towards 3 and 4. 83 of the possible 143 positions (58%) are either 3 or 4.

  • @baileescott401
    @baileescott401 5 років тому +4

    Thought I saw him mis count in the first one. but then I was like nah he's a maths guy I probably saw it wrong

    • @ceruchi2084
      @ceruchi2084 5 років тому +1

      ^^yes! This is what makes the scam so brilliant. It causes self-doubt.

  • @Fede_uyz
    @Fede_uyz 5 років тому +1

    The brilliance of misscounting, is that no one will fight you because you misscount and made them win points, so only when you've made them win a ton, you could go and miscount one, but because you has counted on their favor, they wont doubt you later

    • @pietrayday9915
      @pietrayday9915 5 років тому

      Besides that, the miscounting is being exaggerated here for a point: it doesn't need to be this obvious to work.

  • @IceDragon978
    @IceDragon978 5 років тому +1

    Razzle dazzle is one of the best, worst scams I've ever seen. Looking at it clinically, I love it. It's so effective and so simple. Looking at it as a potential sucker, if someone with that board ever asked me to play a game, I'd have to seriously fight the urge to punch them.

  • @bowmanbk1
    @bowmanbk1 5 років тому +4

    Hey Bushy, Have you ever done a video to show how "quick change artists" operate? I was managing a Taco Bell one night when a guy came in and started working on me. Thankfully I realized what was happening early on and grabbed the money I had out and made him start over, and wouldn't let him run his scam at lightning speed like he was trying to do. I'm a math guy but I was amazed at how quickly he was trying to change the game on me. A real eye opener. Starts out sounding simple but escalates FAST!

  • @erilassila409
    @erilassila409 5 років тому +19

    You should definitely collab with Alec Steele (awesome British blacksmith living in Montana). I mean the kid's literally barely in his twenties and making hecking awesome swords for a living.

    • @lazarus190
      @lazarus190 5 років тому +1

      I didn't know I needed this until you pointed it out, though a Steele collab would be better for Modern Rogue.

  • @JohnDoe-mj6cc
    @JohnDoe-mj6cc 5 років тому

    Two of my favorite youtubers collaborating

  • @josemanzo3918
    @josemanzo3918 5 років тому +1

    holy shit. been binging old numberphile and scam school videos, and this pops up months later since ive subscribed...holy shit.

  • @Kokurorokuko
    @Kokurorokuko 5 років тому +16

    I thought his idea was to choose what number to add up: above the hole or below

    • @MrDannyDetail
      @MrDannyDetail 5 років тому +3

      Yeah I did too, particularly when Brian also miscounted on his first three goes!

    • @ragnkja
      @ragnkja 5 років тому

      Why are people so fucking stupid?
      That’s another way they can bamboozle the player/target

  • @AnonymousFreakYT
    @AnonymousFreakYT 5 років тому +3

    For those curious why the marble version is more insidious than the dice...
    With the dice, each die is equally capable of rolling each number. Since the highest-possible and lowest-possible results are the 'preferred' to actually win, you can easily get lucky and get all 6s or all 1s.
    Look at the board. Each row has only one 6 and one 1. And column-wise, there are no 6s or 1s on the edges at all, they're all in just two columns toward the middle (but separated by three more columns, with columns of just 3/4 flanking directly.) When a marble lands in a 6, that six is no longer available. The pool of possible 6s is smaller. But each row has *FOUR* 4s, and the outer columns are entirely middle-numbers (the left two are just 3 and 4, the second-from-right likewise.) And the 1 and 6 alternate, so even if you figure out a way to throw the marbles well to get a bunch of them landing in the two columns of 1/6, they'll be likely to *SPLIT* high and low values, again averaging to a middle.
    The board is skewed _significantly_ toward getting "middle" numbers.

    • @Roxor128
      @Roxor128 5 років тому +1

      Now that's an insightful observation! I completely missed that.

  • @EddyThron
    @EddyThron 5 років тому

    I never thought of this crossover possible. I didn’t know I needed it until this very moment

  • @JustinLearnsThings
    @JustinLearnsThings 5 років тому +2

    This feels like a cross over made exclusively from someone stalking my watch history. Amazing and thank you!

    • @apple54345
      @apple54345 5 років тому

      i think he's onto us. we should probably back off a bit.

    • @apple54345
      @apple54345 5 років тому

      oops. sorry. that was meant as a reply to a different comment.

  • @bertjesklotepino
    @bertjesklotepino 5 років тому +3

    Yeah. One time he uses the number below the hole, and the other time he adds the number above the hole.
    Hence why it seems James Grime cant count.

  • @ChrisWCorp
    @ChrisWCorp 5 років тому +9

    Never heard of this game, very interesting and informative video.

  • @koriuk5032
    @koriuk5032 5 років тому +1

    Love seeing people get excited whilst talking about things they are into

  • @neiloppa2620
    @neiloppa2620 5 років тому

    I never thought I'd see both of these guys together, how awesome! I watch you both :D

  • @eivindslrdal7246
    @eivindslrdal7246 5 років тому +3

    Give 'em the old razzle dazzle

  • @dramforever
    @dramforever 5 років тому +5

    I knew something was off, I just kept second guessing myself (maybe I was supposed to pick the number on the other side?)

  • @hwyfan
    @hwyfan Рік тому +1

    Razzle dazzle was a frequently played scam game thrown at gullible tourists passing through Ludowici, Georgia on US 301 back in the 1950s and 1960s. Ludowici was also known for having a traffic light that was operated by a button in a barbershop to change from green to red without yellow. It was a money maker for the town.

  • @Bwalston910
    @Bwalston910 5 років тому +1

    This camera quality and color is absolutely incredible.