# Games on The Price is Right that no one ever wins, and games everyone wins **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893 "2008-11-21T19:41:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/21 "2008-11-22T15:33:50Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > They changed the value to $10,000 recently (maybe when Drew took over?) They also changed the bonus you get for guessing the amount of the prize on contestant’s row from $100 to $500, and the money you can get from the wheel went up. It’s still $1000 for the first dollar, but now it’s $10,000 for getting it in the green on the bonus spin (was 5k,) and 25k for getting another dollar (it was 10k.) I thought the increased Plinko money was only for the primetime specials? I swear I remember wathing it during the day a few weeks ago and hearing the familiar “$25,000!” announcement. > [@bouv](#): > > They also upped the amount range you can be in to win both showcases. It used to be if you guess within $100 without being over, you get both, and now I think it’s within $500. This actually happened during Bob Barker’s final years. > [@bouv](#): > > ETA: Also Rod Roddy died several years ago. ☹ I know, :(, but the new guy is not up to snuff in my opinion. Viva la Rod! ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/22 "2008-11-22T17:17:06Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Then someone did [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju9T6sW7vTI). It all happens so fast (and it’s such poor quality video) that I can’t see what I’m looking for. Clearly the guy had a plan going into it, though. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/23 "2008-11-22T17:17:14Z")
to win every prize in the Golden Road game, assuming strictly random guesses, is 24 -1. The contestant has two numbers tocomplete the the amount on prize worth three figures. If (s)he gets that one right, those three numbers carry over to complete prize with four figures. If (s)he gets that one right, those four numbers carry over to complete a prize with five figures. 2 options \* 3 options \* 4 options = 24 different combos. Prize #1 on the golden road that other day was relatively simple, the prize was an electic guitar and it was either going to be $200 + change or $600 + change . It was pretty obvious that it was a $600 guitar. So the odds of the golden road went to 12 to one. The contestant missed the prize that was worth approximately $4000 and never had a chance at the Porsche. FWIW, Plinko prizes are Cash, IIRC, TPIR does not get any promotional kickback from the treasury department to promote CASH. I believe TPIR does get some promotional assistance from GM or FORD or similar. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/24 "2008-11-22T17:33:26Z")
The game that has always annoyed me the most on TPIR is _Three Strikes_. When you get down to it, that is a game where the odds of winning or losing are TOTALLY random. You win if you pull the 5th number in the car before you pull the third X. You lose if you pull the third X before you pull the 5th number. No matter what, the best odds you get down to are 50:50 when all that remains in the bag is the 5th number and the X, and you have an equal chance of pulling either. Lucky Seven is just plain evil, but then again, they usually give away luxury cars on that game. There’s another newer car game I’ve seen a couple times where you can win three cars (it uses a similar game as Golden Road, but you can’t quit in the middle of it)…strangely I’ve never seen anyone LOSE that game. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/25 "2008-11-22T17:35:48Z")
Another game where there’s no loser is that Punch Out game, where you win X punches in a big honeycomb like structure. Every cell is filled with a card with an amount of money, and you can decide whether or not to take the money or see what the next cell has in it. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/26 "2008-11-22T17:51:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I agree. However, watch this guy win it. He’s nearly the luckiest contestant ever. > > [Lucky Price is Right Winner](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpMuiYNa3Xo) That was pretty great. So was [this one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqk1-q8gXcY&feature=related) that I found listed in the related videos, titled “One of the Worst The Price Is Right Players Ever.” The reaction from Bob at the end is freakin’ _priceless_! ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/27 "2008-11-22T18:02:18Z")
That was hilarious. The audience is chanting in unison: \*Twenty-one! Twenty-one! \*And it took her two more tries to get the clue. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/28 "2008-11-22T18:26:13Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I LOVE the clock game! It’s so easy to win > [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > The clock game is easy. QFT. The clock game is the easiest game on TPIR for anyone who has two cells of gray matter to rub together. You don’t have to know anything at all except how numbers work. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/29 "2008-11-22T18:36:34Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > QFT. The clock game is the easiest game on TPIR for anyone who has two cells of gray matter to rub together. You don’t have to know anything at all except how numbers work. I didn’t mean it wasn’t easy for normal people - I meant it was excruciating to watch because it involved the most frenzied screaming and for some reason always involves the worst players in the audience. From a pure entertainment standpoint it’s just not appealing to watch two people shout at each other. If I wanted that I would be watching C-SPAN. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/30 "2008-11-25T16:28:34Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I thought the increased Plinko money was only for the primetime specials? I swear I remember wathing it during the day a few weeks ago and hearing the familiar “$25,000!” announcement. Nope, upped to $10,000. [Here’s some proof.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuMir11YFPs) > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I know, :(, but the new guy is not up to snuff in my opinion. Viva la Rod! Yeah, but to be fair, didn’t he replace someone _else_ who died before him? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/31 "2008-11-25T17:40:40Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > It all happens so fast (and it’s such poor quality video) that I can’t see what I’m looking for. Clearly the guy had a plan going into it, though. Basically, he “turned on” the two middle columns of answers, and noted the number of answers he had right. Then he turned off the upper left answer in his first column of guesses and turned on the answer next to it in the upper left. If the number of right answers went down, he knows he had a right answer the first time. If it went up, he knows he turned off a wrong answer in favor of a right one. If it stays the same, he knows both are either right or wrong, and he comes back to it later. Repeat for the other answers. One of the flaws of Wipeout (the game show in question) is that they had a tendency to use questions with non-objective answers for the bonus round (like “According to USA Today, six of these TV characters were the most admired in 1988”), so that strategy is almost required to get it right, IMO. > [@bouv](#): > > Yeah, but to be fair, didn’t he replace someone else who died before him? Yep, Johnny Olsen. With him went that neat little Johnny Olsen robot that sometimes brought out prizes. _sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/32 "2008-11-25T18:03:15Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > In the example you gave, you’re talking about a 7-digit car. They don’t give those away on TPIR. 😛 You’re given the first number, and you have to correctly guess the next _four_ numbers. > > The one that irks me is the “Golden Road.” Granted, the top prize on those is generally something in the neighborhood of $80,000, so they’re not eager to give those away, but seriously, the odds of winning must be something like 1 in 1,000. Yeah, I saw a guy just last week play that game for a Porsche. He was so excited, but I knew he didn’t stand a chance. I’d much rather play for some Toyota or something, but in a game where I stood a chance of winning. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/33 "2008-11-25T18:37:16Z")
Wow, the models on The Price is Right have gotten a lot hotter than when I was watching. In the Bob Barker days, they were all interchangable peroxide bimbos with too much makeup. Now they actually have some diversity and class. > [@](#): > > It all happens so fast (and it’s such poor quality video) that I can’t see what I’m looking for. Clearly the guy had a plan going into it, though. I couldn’t read the screens, but then, the contestant pretty clearly wasn’t reading them either. I’ve played similar logic games where the only information given is the number correct, and you solve them in much the same way. It’d have been nice if it were a harder puzzle, though: I’d have liked to see the rest of his method. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/34 "2008-11-25T19:05:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I agree. However, watch this guy win it. He’s nearly the luckiest contestant ever. > > [Lucky Price is Right Winner](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpMuiYNa3Xo) Yeah, but what in the world do you do with a flag that big? If it can’t touch the floor, what do you use it for? A canopy? ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/35 "2008-11-25T19:18:05Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > …Complete BS game, and it’s thrown in there as a “win” for the producers, because they know they will rarely have to give away a prize because of it… I have no idea if this is true, but I always thought that the auto maker “gave” its cars to the show for free advertising, and thus the producers don’t have to pay anything when a contestant wins. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/36 "2008-11-25T19:37:44Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > I have no idea if this is true, but I always thought that the auto maker “gave” its cars to the show for free advertising, and thus the producers don’t have to pay anything when a contestant wins. Some of the smaller prizes they get for free, but large things like cars they still buy, albeit at a large discount, I’m sure. At the end of the show they flash up a little message like “the following companies paid TPIR for their products:” and it’s a list of all the “grocery” items people guess the prices of, and then one like “The following companies provided their products at less than retail value” and it’s all the furniture and car companies. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/37 "2008-11-25T23:10:27Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Yeah, but what in the world do you do with a flag that big? If it can’t touch the floor, what do you use it for? A canopy? You fly it high on Marky Mark day! ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/38 "2008-11-26T07:40:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wow, the models on The Price is Right have gotten a lot hotter than when I was watching. In the Bob Barker days, they were all interchangable peroxide bimbos with too much makeup. Yeah, but the Bob Barker days had _sigh_ … Holly. Holly the redhead. From 1986 through 1989 (when I finally hit puberty), she was the only woman in the whole, wide world who was attractive to me. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/39 "2008-11-26T12:26:36Z")
Holly was not a woman. Holly was a goddess. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893/40 "2008-11-26T17:33:18Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > QFT. The clock game is the easiest game on TPIR for anyone who has two cells of gray matter to rub together. You don’t have to know anything at all except how numbers work. And I’m not sure Airman does: > [@Airman Doors](#): > > If you guess $100 and he says lower, guess $500. :dubious: 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-on-the-price-is-right-that-no-one-ever-wins-and-games-everyone-wins/473893.md?page=1)