Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2013 December 25

= December 25 =

Anyone ever been "cut off" by $1 on The Price is Right and still won the bid?
Example of what I'm saying: If contestant A bid $800, contestant B bid $801, and the price was $800. Has something like that ever happened in the history of the show? 75.75.42.89 (talk) 16:07, 25 December 2013 (UTC)


 * I seem to recall that happening, yes. It's not as unlikely as you might think, in that prices often end in 00 or 99, so if the first person bids 799 or 800 they have a good chance.  Also note that your chances of getting the price exactly right are not affected by subsequent bids. StuRat (talk) 15:53, 26 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Ben Blatt recently wrote an article for Slate about using game theory to increase one's chances of winning various games on TPIR, and discusses Contestant's Row, though not specifically the situation you ask about. He cites trpirstats.com and qwizx.com as sources of the data he used for his analysis (I get Site Advisor warnings about both when I click on them, so use your judgement).  According to our article, a contestant who guesses the exact price of a prize wins a cash bonus, and not a huge one, so it seems like guessing the exact price at least must not be exceedingly rare.  I also feel like I remember seeing the situation you describe happening, but it could be just that I remember a contestant guessing the exact price, without having been outbid by a dollar. As StuRat says, Contestant B's bid wouldn't in reality affect Contestant A at all, but it would seem like kind of a big deal in the moment.  --some jerk on the Internet    (talk)  14:37, 27 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Well, of course it does affect the overall chance that Contestant A will win, even if it doesn't affect their chance of having the price exactly right. I've often thought they should change the rules for that initial game, to make them have secret bids, with some type of random decision if more than one player has the winning bid.  This would stop those cutthroat tactics. StuRat (talk) 15:03, 31 December 2013 (UTC)