Card Sharks question

[Jimmy Owen]

Part of the reason Alex made his way to US television was because of his math skills. Way back when "The Wizard of Odds" started, Alex got the job over an American host because he could do the math on the fly.

Source, please? (Genuinely curious.)

CKLW radio interview with Mr. Trebek.

[SRIV94]

CKLW radio interview with Mr. Trebek.

Ah, the Big 8.  Recent, or back in their top-40 heyday?  (Or somewhere in between?)

[Jimmy Owen]

CKLW radio interview with Mr. Trebek.

Ah, the Big 8.  Recent, or back in their top-40 heyday?  (Or somewhere in between?)

Around the early '80s during their "Rock N Talk" era.

[Neumms]

I, on the other hand, make Dick Clark adding up Winner's Circle scores look like a supercomputer.

I was going to bring him up after Chris' remark that it's not fun to watch hosts struggle with math. It strikes me as odd, particularly since there was usually some banter before DC tallied the score, that someone didn't just write the total on a cue card. Does anyone know why they didn't?

[TLEberle]

Does anyone know why they didn't?

They thought it was funnier to watch Dick struggle with the numbers. And someone had the total written somewhere, in case Dick couldn't finish the job.

[clemon79]

They thought it was funnier to watch Dick struggle with the numbers. And someone had the total written somewhere, in case Dick couldn't finish the job.

Except that's the point: he didn't struggle, which is why it wasn't painful. He did it authoritatively, knew he was gonna screw it up occasionally, and ate crow after the break. Simple.

[wdm1219inpenna]

I would imagine the contestant coordinators as well as the production company itself had all the rules written down for the contestants to review and sign off on.  Somewhere it no doubt said "During the Money Cards round, your minimum bets are $50, and all bets must be made in $50 increments until the final card, the Big Bet, where you must wager at least half your money."

If a player had only $50 for the Big Bet (I don't recall this happening but then I've not seen every single episode of Card Sharks), they would only have to bet $25, as that is at least half of $50.  As Jim would say "Minimum bets are $50 UNTIL you get to the top card..."

[gameboy2000]

Actually, there was at least one occasion on the Perry Card Sharks where a contestant went to the Big Bet with only $50 and Perry said that they had to bet the whole $50.

[TLEberle]

If a player had only $50 for the Big Bet (I don't recall this happening but then I've not seen every single episode of Card Sharks), they would only have to bet $25, as that is at least half of $50.  As Jim would say "Minimum bets are $50 UNTIL you get to the top card..."

It is also rather poor tactics to bet your entire bank save fifty bucks on that sixth card.

[MikeK]

If a player had only $50 for the Big Bet (I don't recall this happening but then I've not seen every single episode of Card Sharks), they would only have to bet $25, as that is at least half of $50.  As Jim would say "Minimum bets are $50 UNTIL you get to the top card..."

It is also rather poor tactics to bet your entire bank save fifty bucks on that sixth card.

Unless you have a reasonably small amount ($100-$200, for argument's sake) and want to guarantee leaving with money, even if that $25 is just cab fare.

[CJBojangles]

Danged if I can find it, but I seem to recall a thread here where apparently Eubanks told a contestant that a lower-level row (bottom or middle) bet had to be in increments of 50.

This clip used to be in the webz somewhere... I remember it pretty vividly, anyhow. A contestant goes to make a $xx25 bid, to which Bob responds "Sure, you can do that. $xx25..." after which someone offstage swiftly corrects him, and he says "Oh, $50 increments," stating no one had ever tried that before, and that he didn't even know the rule existed.

[clemon79]

I remember it pretty vividly, anyhow. A contestant goes to make a $xx25 bid, to which Bob responds "Sure, you can do that. $xx25..." after which someone offstage swiftly corrects him, and he says "Oh, $50 increments," stating no one had ever tried that before, and that he didn't even know the rule existed.

I wish I could say I was surprised.

[TLEberle]

If a player had only $50 for the Big Bet (I don't recall this happening but then I've not seen every single episode of Card Sharks), they would only have to bet $25, as that is at least half of $50.  As Jim would say "Minimum bets are $50 UNTIL you get to the top card..."

It is also rather poor tactics to bet your entire bank save fifty bucks on that sixth card.

Unless you have a reasonably small amount ($100-$200, for argument's sake) and want to guarantee leaving with money, even if that $25 is just cab fare.

Right. If you have $5000 and you're about to play the sixth card, there's no real reason to bet $4950. Bet $4500, sure. That leaves you a decent bankroll to work with if things go pear shaped. But betting $4950 to leave that fifty bucks is silly. At that point, bet the farm. If you only have a hundred bucks, I'd say that things are so awful that I wouldn't quibble with leaving $50 back.