The "numbers test" used by polygraphers to convince examinees that the polygraph can detect lies is a trick in the sense that its purpose is to deceive the examinee about the powers of the polygraph. The test you were given was not, in fact, a lie test, but rather a peak of tension test. It often turns out that the examinee responds most strongly to the number he actually chose, and Gordon Barland has written an article on a technique for administering a numbers test wherein the examiner does not have foreknowledge of the number chosen (Barland, G. H. "A fail-proof blind number test." Polygraph, 7 [1978], pp. 203-208).

On the other hand, there are also clever non-polygraphic techniques that a polygrapher could use to determine the number selected by the examinee. If you watch Criss Angel Mindfreak you will have seen more impressive feats of mentalism.

In any event saying "no" as directed when answering each question is not an act of deception but rather of compliance. These numbers tests have nothing to do with lie detection but rather are a piece of performance art intended to reinforce the examinee's belief in the lie detector's ability to detect deception.