If the victim is right about what the real con is, it's not a Kansas City Shuffle (though it might have been a failed attempt at one).Ī con can be complicated without being a Kansas City Shuffle, and not all Kansas City Shuffles are complicated. If the victim doesn't set themselves up for the real con by doing something to beat the con they think they've spotted, it's not a Kansas City Shuffle. If the victim doesn't suspect that they're being conned, it's not a Kansas City Shuffle. To be wrong about what the real con is.Īll three elements must be present.To think that they've figured out how to beat the con.
But in a Kansas City Shuffle, the con artist needs the victim to do three things: In most, the con artist wants the victim to believe that it's not a con at all. Right for the Wrong Reasons manipulated to benefit the con artist.Īll con-games rely on misdirection to some degree. There's a reason it's called a 'confidence trick', after all. The Kansas City Shuffle is an old established name for a con game that depends on the mark believing (correctly) that the con artist is trying to con them, but being incorrect about how it's going to be done. Haley Starshine, The Order of the Stick, #428
