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In Episode 137 of Hunter x Hunter during the Chairman Election arc, Ging rigs
the election rule choosing process with his own 5 rules. He states his fifth
and last rule is a decoy, with the purpose of making his earlier rule points
easier to concede to. He cites this is a popular con man trick.

Is this a real con man trick, and if so, what is the equivalent name in our
world?


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2014-07-10T04:24:10.840
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hunter-x-hunter
What is the name of the con trick Ging Freecss uses in HxH (2011) #137?


This particular trick is hard to name, because it is so specific to
circumstance. It is a form of psychological manipulation which can be
categorized as **misdirection**
,[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdirection_%28magic%29) **diversion**
,[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distraction) or a **confidence
trick**.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick) However, it
falls most directly under the title of " **Kansas City Shuffle**
".[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Shuffle#The_scheme)[[5]](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KansasCityShuffle){note
1}

The trick essentially goes as follows:

>   1. The victim expects to be conned.
>   2. The victim figures out how to avoid a _different_ con, thinking they've
> avoided the con altogether.
>   3. The victim then ends up being taken by the original, hidden con.
>

In Ging's case, it's something like this:

>   1. The Zodiacs are expecting that Ging wants to further his goal to become
> chairman (since he elected himself).
>   2. Because Ging introduced the rule #5 decoy, Pariston and the others talk
> him out of it, and think they've foiled his plan.
>   3. They don't realize that the con plan was actually rules #1 through #4,
> and they accept his terms. (Not like they really had a choice--but they are
> now okay with it.)
>

**However** , since the term _Kansas City Shuffle_ is not a common one, I'd
file this most closely as a simple _diversion_. He is introducing something to
draw attention away from something else which, at its core, is just plain and
simple psychological diversion.

* * *

## Footnotes

[1] [Wikipedia:
Misdirection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdirection_%28magic%29)  
[2] [Wikipedia: Distraction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distraction)  
[3] [Wikipedia: Confidence
trick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick)  
[4] [Wikipedia: Kansas City
Shuffle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Shuffle#The_scheme)  
[5] [TV Tropes: Kansas City
Shuffle](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KansasCityShuffle)

{note 1} The Wikipedia article focuses somewhat on song by that name from
2006. The "scheme" section covers well enough what the basic idea is, but
honestly, the TV Tropes article is more clear.


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