Millionaire Lifeline Strategy

[TLEberle]

Here's something I've been thinking about, especially after reading about the recent $0 winner yesterday.

If anyone who ends up missing one of the First Five questions gets to come back for "Llamas on Parade," it seems absolutely silly to use one of your lifelines on those questions.  Is there something I don't know about?  Wouldn't the contestants realize this and adjust their play because of it?

Travis

[SplitSecond]

As a contestant, unless it's specifically written into my release form that I'm guaranteed a return appearance if I win no money, I wouldn't blindly barrel through the first five questions under any circumstances.

[JayC]

I'd only use a lifeline if I absolutly was not sure of the answer, but most of the first five questions (and a few after) are easy enough.

[Peter Sarrett]

I haven't heard of a $0 winners week this season.  Of course, that could just be because there haven't been enough llamas to fill out a week of shows yet.  There's certainly no guarantee that you'll get a second chance if you llama out.  There's not even any guarantee that your appearance will air.  If you make it to the hotseat, it seems like the smartest thing to do is treat is as your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not expect a mulligan.

One of the contestants in my contestant group left with $0, so I'm hoping for another $0 week so she can return and hopefully win big.

[Little Big Brother]

I think something else to consider is the fact that the show is not paying for any travel expenses.  If you are only a twenty minute subway ride away from the studio, you don't have nearly as much to lose as a person who had to shell out a couple hundred dollars for plane tickets, a place to stay, food, etc.  It might be interesting to see if there is a correlation between where a contestant is from and whether or not they use a lifeline in the first five questions (not that it would prove anything, but it would still be interesting).

[gameshowguy2000]

[quote name=\'Peter Sarrett\' date=\'Apr 6 2004, 07:48 PM\'] I haven't heard of a $0 winners week this season.  Of course, that could just be because there haven't been enough llamas to fill out a week of shows yet.  There's certainly no guarantee that you'll get a second chance if you llama out.  There's not even any guarantee that your appearance will air.  If you make it to the hotseat, it seems like the smartest thing to do is treat is as your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not expect a mulligan.

One of the contestants in my contestant group left with $0, so I'm hoping for another $0 week so she can return and hopefully win big. [/quote]
 So am I. I'm another one of those people who say that the $0 people should return before getting in new people.

[tommycharles]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Apr 6 2004, 11:27 PM\']
So am I. I'm another one of those people who say that the $0 people should return before getting in new people. [/quote]
 So...you'd prefer people who llama to get another try right then and there? Or are you just saying that you'd prefer a losers week in comparison to not having a losers week?

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'JayC\' date=\'Apr 6 2004, 07:04 PM\'] I'd only use a lifeline if I absolutly was not sure of the answer, but most of the first five questions (and a few after) are easy enough. [/quote]
 Most of the time this is true. However, Murphy's Law comes into play when many sit in that hotseat. Those (myself included) who swore they would never use a lifeline before $1,000 are left with no choice.

Tim :-)

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'tommycharles\' date=\'Apr 7 2004, 12:21 AM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Apr 6 2004, 11:27 PM\']
So am I. I'm another one of those people who say that the $0 people should return before getting in new people. [/quote]
So...you'd prefer people who llama to get another try right then and there? Or are you just saying that you'd prefer a losers week in comparison to not having a losers week? [/quote]
 He's only saying this because, more than likely, he'd be on Losers Week.

Sorry--you left yourself pretty wide open.

[inturnaround]

I thought Losers Week was a cute stunt when they first did it, but after that, the sense of entitlement and expectation gets to be a bit out of hand. Besides, I'd rather see more contestants getting one crack at the money tree than some people getting a second shot.

[Craig Karlberg]

If I was there & see a question that I'm not sure about before $1,000, I'd definitely poll the audience provided it's at least a 70% majority.  After the $1,000, a 60% majority there.  Between 40%-60% is a borderline call.  Anything less than 40% cakks for another lifeline when available.

[Ian Wallis]

I haven't heard of a $0 winners week this season. Of course, that could just be because there haven't been enough llamas to fill out a week of shows yet.

I may be mistaken, but I'm sure there have been more $0 winners this year than last year.  Maybe the novelty of having them back has worn off.