Million Dollar Password: Better to Give or Receive?

[peiboy91]

It's been interesting watching MDP and seeing all the contestants (that I've seen at least) choose to give the clues in the money round. Especially since in prior versions of Password and Pyramid the contestants almost always had the celebrity give the clues in the end game. Obviously back then there was a more reliable pool of competent celebrities who could be trusted to play the game well. I'm sure that the ability for the contestant to see the words at the $250K level before the round is also a factor. But it seems like especially with celebrities such as Betty who are expert players that they should be the ones to give the clues, even if it means giving up the opportunity to preview the words.

[tvmitch]

It's a good argument, but I would be giving clues every single time, no question. If I had that much money on the line, I would want to be in control of my destiny...and I would practice giving clues every chance I got before the taping.

The $250K words are certainly a factor. The "only 3 clues" rule is even more important, because Betty White herself didn't remember that rule a couple times in her appearances. I wouldn't trust a celeb to keep that strategy in mind.

But, on Pyramid, I wouldn't have minded the normal setup, because many of those celebs were trained in the art of Pyramid. With MDP, there's just so much more money on the line, and that much more strategy.