[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'201105\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 03:44 PM\']
[quote name=\'jybt\' post=\'201101\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 04:32 PM\']How are you going to get four contestants who win $250,000 or more, or the equivalent average? Only 35 out of 252 contestants, before these four, had won 250K or more. And we need four in a row. It's just way too unlikely. The first three players only managed $250,000 in total...[/quote]
Yes, it was a sucker bet, if it was real. The show had no intention of putting the face of the banker out there.
[quote name=\'jybt\' post=\'201101\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 04:32 PM\']Also, since it's speed deal, many contestants would freak out and take a 241K offer they wouldn't take if they had more time, and throw away a shot at significantly more.[/quote]
Or safely deal before blowing it all by taking one fatal step too far. As always, they might do better by going on and they might do worse. I doubt anybody on a regular game would be dissatisfied with a deal around $241K.
[/quote]
Just remember, Matt, that when we ignore the utility of risk, Deal becomes the wrong decision 99.9% of the time. Let's look at a sample board again....225K or 1M vs. 3 small numbers.
If speed deal were to cause a normal No Deal to become Deal just in time, they would save 225K 1/4 of the time. However, if it were to change a Deal to a No Deal, one case further than originally intended, and pays off, the player saves 108K 3/4 of the time. Which means adding speed deal throws even more weight onto the No Deal side of the scale.
The $1,000,000 goal has no "utility of risk" as the contestants do, so it's just a game of points, and Deal loses more points than No Deal does, which is why it's a bad idea to combine the bet and speed deal due to the conflicting goals of the two institutions.
I hope you understand me, because it's tough to describe.