# Price Is Right Contestants Who Bid $1 More **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [February 4, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324 "2023-02-04T22:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/41 "2023-02-06T18:30:56Z")
The problem is that it’s been stuck at $500 for so long. If you win the prize + a game + the showdown you’re going to get around 30-50K. That means there’s almost no incentive to get the price exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/42 "2023-02-06T18:43:26Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > The problem is that it’s been stuck at $500 for so long. Along with this, I think the fact that they don’t have Drew flash the cash every show lets people forget about it. They haven’t had the cash thing since covid. I can’t remember if they used to flash the $1000 cash for hitting the dollar on the Big Wheel. They would probably have to up the $1000 Big Wheel money. I would guess a lot more people hit the $1 on the wheel than get the correct price on the One Bid. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/43 "2023-02-06T18:53:28Z")
I once saw someone in the Barker era did opening bid $1, the next person bid $2, the person after that bid $3, and last person bid $4. Bob was on stage completely flummoxed and reacted to the $4 guy winning the bid pretending it was sheer lucky he won. I don’t know who’s dumber though, Bidder 2 or Bidder 3. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/44 "2023-02-06T18:58:14Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Admit it. You have an opinion on these people. So what is it? Wise strategists or curmudgeonly spoilsports? Don’t hate the player. If anything players don’t do this enough. The last person should NEVER be doing anything else, as Flik notes; any other bid is stupid. Early in the episode it doesn’t matter much because contestants in subsequent rounds bid in order of how recently they were picked; if you are screwed over by a +1 bid, you then bid later and later as you keep failing, so you’ll get your chance. If you’re a later pick, you might never have a shot, but that’s luck of the draw. You cannot blame someone for playing the victory-maximizing approach if they have a chance to win a significant amount of dough/prizes. As a few people have noted before, a fairer approach would be to have the contestants simply write their bids down Jeopardy-style and reveal them all simultaneously. In the unlikely-but-will-happen-sooner-or-later possibility you have a tie, you can either just make those two people the next two contestants or, if they’re vying for the sixth and final spot, have them bid on another prize as a playoff. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/45 "2023-02-06T23:03:10Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Early in the episode it doesn’t matter much because contestants in subsequent rounds bid in order of how recently they were picked;… No, they don’t. You could be the most senior player on Contestant’s Row, and if the player to your right wins the One Bid, the next new contestant takes that spot and you will bid second. > [@Asuka](#): > > I once saw someone in the Barker era did opening bid $1, the next person bid $2, the person after that bid $3, and last person bid $4. Bob was on stage completely flummoxed and reacted to the $4 guy winning the bid pretending it was sheer lucky he won. > > I don’t know who’s dumber though, Bidder 2 or Bidder 3. I can see a case where the first two players might bid $1 and $2. If the prize is something that people routinely over-estimate the value of, you might want to stake out that low range. I don’t know if that strategy has ever won, but I could see a way that it might. In this specific scenario, Bidder 3 is an idiot. If he bids $3, it’s a no-brainer for Bidder 4 to bid $4 and win automatically. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/46 "2023-02-06T23:11:58Z")
You might also insist all bids end in the digit zero, or five and zero, or ask for a buffer (difference of X from previous guesses). If on the show, I might be tempted to increase a previous bid by _three_ dollars to annoy the smug. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/47 "2023-02-06T23:15:11Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The order you get to bid is pure luck just like being called to “come on down”. Being called to “Come One Down!” isn’t random. They screen players as they’re signing up and coming in, and deliberately choose people who seem like they’d be “exciting” or “fun” on camera, because ultimately it’s entertainment, and they want a good show. At least, that was what I’d heard. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/48 "2023-02-06T23:27:04Z")
I believe that’s correct. The producers screen people in line to determine their personality and who they want on the show. I’m not sure if that’s different now that COVID has made the audience smaller. An interesting documentary about the show is “Perfect Bid”: > **[Watch Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much | Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/81092327)** > > A "Price Is Right" superfan brings a bit of scandal to the long-running show by figuring out the answers to the questions before they're asked. It’s not exactly about the show. It’s about a guy who was obsessed with the show and watched it all the time. He watched it so much that he started to realize they used the same prizes all the time, and he remembered what all their prices were. He could pretty much guess the price exactly. It goes into a lot of his story, but it also goes into a lot about the show, how it’s produced, how the audience is selected, etc. It’s pretty interesting and worth watching if you want to know more about that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/49 "2023-02-06T23:50:40Z")
I mean, if they didn’t want this to be part of the game mechanic, they could have eliminated the “without going over” part of the bidding and just awarded the win to whoever comes closer, and, in the case of a tie, award it to the underbid. I see no reason to be annoyed by $1 bids. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/50 "2023-02-07T00:04:12Z")
Even as a little kid, watching Bill Cullen in black and white (and static-y grey), I knew it made total sense, and I’d get annoyed at the people who’d bet something like $100 over the highest bidder. “What if it’s $99 over? You’ll loooose…!” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/51 "2023-02-07T00:39:30Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > The problem is that it’s been stuck at $500 for so long. If you win the prize + a game + the showdown you’re going to get around 30-50K. That means there’s almost no incentive to get the price exactly right. That’s the problem with $1, too. It’s been $1 since that was worth more like $10 or $20 today. So there used to be a “buffer” of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/52 "2023-02-07T03:04:19Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > During one of the last few years of Bob Barker’s tenure, there was an obnoxious contestant who thought he was being funny by bidding $420, $69, etc. Later on, he bid one million dollars. Bob was obviously annoyed with this contestant and did not try to convince him to change his bid. The million dollar bid stood, and the display in front of the contestant remained blank. I found the clip of the imbecile’s two million (not one million) dollar bid. There were a few other details that I misremembered, including that it was near the start of Drew’s time as host rather than near the end of Bob’s. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmDWMyT5MpU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmDWMyT5MpU) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/53 "2023-02-07T05:26:48Z")
Did the next player bid $2,000,001? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/54 "2023-02-07T05:37:10Z")
i remember that happening on press your luck …the guy memorized the game board and cleaned them out I remember as a kid seeing the last guy bidding only bid a dollar because everyone had wildly overbid and win although seeing grocery prices these days I wonder if that overpriced at 2.39 box of rice a roni is 5 bucks now ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/55 "2023-02-07T05:50:34Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > I remember as a kid seeing the last guy bidding only bid a dollar because everyone had wildly overbid and win > although seeing grocery prices these days I wonder if that overpriced at 2.39 box of rice a roni is 5 bucks now I remember the games where the objective was to guess the price of a car; it would be 4-digits and started with a ‘3’. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/56 "2023-03-10T20:03:10Z")
Me and my wife have watched 20 episodes since I last posted. In exactly zero episodes did any first round contestant go to anything but the first podium, followed in order by the rest. If it is a rule that you can choose your podium, contestants are either unaware of the rule or are uniformly stupid about strategy. The official rules I can find say nothing either way about podiums. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/57 "2023-03-10T20:37:23Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Valid strategy, that the show should have found a way to eliminate. It doesn’t _seem_ fair. Seems to me, having them write down the bid in secret could fix this. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > Speaking of strategy, I can’t believe that all these fans have have never picked up that on the mountain climber game, bidding $25, $35 and $45 will win _every_ time. Almost always within $10. Yep. And The Range game is always just about the middle, The Secret X is _never_ on the bottom. About that game… let’s say you were a smart-ass and were sure you knew the prices of the little shit to get the 2 extra X’s. Could you just line them up all on the side for a vertical 3-in-a-row? I’d LOVE to do that! > [@Chronos](#): > > Being called to “Come One Down!” isn’t random. They screen players as they’re signing up and coming in, and deliberately choose people who seem like they’d be “exciting” or “fun” on camera, because ultimately it’s entertainment, and they want a good show. > > At least, that was what I’d heard. I heard (no idea if its true) that they run your credit and you ain’t winning shit if you can’t pay taxes on it. Yes, I watch this shit nearly every day. My life sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/58 "2023-03-10T20:49:21Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Yes, I watch this shit nearly every day. My life sucks. My childhood life was the same. I watched game shows all morning. I could name game show hosts like other kids could name baseball pitchers. Now we watch old game shows on Buzzr. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/59 "2023-03-10T21:00:06Z")
Has any contestant, not understanding how reality works, bid a dollar _under_ another bid? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324/60 "2023-03-10T21:03:55Z")
I’m certain I’ve seen it happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-is-right-contestants-who-bid-1-more/979324.md?page=4)