Picking up from yesterday –
So, I’m going on an on with games I didn’t even play, because as I said, I could talk about Price is Right all day.
Let me make it clear that I know there is tons of luck involved. Heck, even in the game I played – first, I guessed that it was about a twenty-thousand dollar car. So, picking 19 made sense.
When it came to the last two numbers, I picked 96 thinking that whole thing of companies charging very close to the next hundred without actually charging it so that psychologically you think it’s cheaper than it actually is.
Then I picked 52 because it just felt right. It was just in my lucky spot on the board and seemed like something I want to pick.
I later learned that that’s also a tactic companies use – numbers falling at the end of the price to make it seem lower. (The 5 was lower than the 6 in the hundreds column before it, the 2 was lower than the 5.)
(Some strategies that people that in the game I played (The Money Game) include: if one of the pairs starts with 0, pick it. Bob Barker called that “el cheapo.” That’s how often it got people – he ended up making a special name for it…
Or, many people think the two correct squares are often actually next to each other on the board. Though, I have no stats on that to back it up.)
Another strategy on a different car game that I’ve heard people should use, but never really see implemented is to purposely get the first number of the car wrong in Cover Up to try to get yourself an extra turn at the board. (Of course if you also happen to get every single other number in the price wrong on that first turn, then you’ve totally screwed yourself.)
Anyway, moving back toward the point – I’ll totally admit I’m not some guru who knows everything when it comes to pricing. Luck definitely played into it for me (and probably for many people), and I’ll never act like it didn’t.
All I am saying is that even though big parts of your Price is Right appearance can be attributed to luck (especially any of the games that involve rolling dice or racing rats), you should do everything you can to control the parts that have to do with your decisions and thought processes.
So, bid smart in contestants’ row. Keep your head and breathe onstage. Really, nothing is more important than keeping your head.
If you remember nothing else, remember this incredibly important thing: In the majority of the games, you are not timed!
Take an extra breath.
If you watch my appearance, it may look rushed to you, and like it goes quickly, but that was me really taking my time.
In your head, you may feel like you’re taking years to think it all out, but in real life it’s only a few extra seconds. And it makes all the difference in the world.
I’ll finish this out tomorrow –