# A pseudo game show dilemma - what would you choose? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041 "2012-12-14T17:15:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/21 "2012-12-14T22:48:27Z")
20% of 500K. That amount would almost me life changing. The lesser amounts. Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/22 "2012-12-15T01:45:11Z")
80% chance to win $500. I need to cover some car repairs pretty soon. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/23 "2012-12-15T02:35:24Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Probably G) 40% chance of winning $50,000. This sum would mean something to me. The lower sums, not so much, and the higher ones risk/reward starts to drop off. My thought process as well. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/24 "2012-12-15T12:06:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, on thinking about it more… How long do we have to make the decision? Because even if we only ever play the game once, we could still hedge by making side bets. It shouldn’t be too hard to find enough buyers to turn the 1% at 50M option into a guaranteed 1M or so. This, but since the estimated return of the bet is 500，000, I think it’d be too difficult to get 1m as we don’t have many contacts in the Gaming industry, I’ll maybe intend to gather $400,000 or so, so people would rush to side-wager with us. $400,000 will pay off my student debts and help me get on the property ladder. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/25 "2012-12-15T15:35:34Z")
It’s too hard to choose! Somewhere in the 50% to 10% range. Still thinking… ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/26 "2012-12-15T16:16:21Z")
I’d go for the 20% chance to win half a million assuming you couldn’t game the system with side-bets. Simply calculating average returns isn’t enough, because the value of money changes depending on how much of it you have. The more money you have, the less impact a specific amount of money will have on you lifestyle wise. 500k would change my life significantly. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/27 "2012-12-15T18:32:59Z")
> [@](#): > > This, but since the estimated return of the bet is 500，000, I think it’d be too difficult to get 1m as we don’t have many contacts in the Gaming industry,… In my defense, I just got finished with finals week, and my brain is still recovering. Yes, of course we couldn’t get the payoff that high. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041/28 "2012-12-15T19:59:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > 30% chance at $150,000 for the same reason **Leaf** gave. this. It would leave me about 100K after taxes, which would be a nice addition to our nest egg for retirement. 30% chance is OK, not fantastic, but simply OK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-pseudo-game-show-dilemma-what-would-you-choose/644041.md?page=1)