Aurora's Blog

Okay, I’m already getting slightly rusty, because I haven’t watched since my episode taped.

And I did make a few errors on my show, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But since people ask, since I’m geeeeeeenerally pretty good at Wheel of Fortune, I’ll give you the strategies I do have.

1. Know your “definites”

   So, the things that are definitely there. If it’s “what are you doing,” ING is in that puzzle. Start with some combination of those letter. If you’re doing “song & artist,” BY is in that puzzle. Call Y & B in whatever order makes sense.

2. Know your ‘oftens’

   “location” and “vacation” show up a lot in the 3rd puzzle. I haven’t done the actual math/data, but it seems like S in general shows up a lot less in the 3rd puzzle, so I wouldn’t be guessing S until I was reasonably certain it was in the puzzle. If it’s an 8-letter word, I’m probably hoping it’s “location” or “vacation” and the way I’ll know the difference is if I call O and it’s in the 2nd spot of the word as well.
   “Chocolate” shows up often enough in categories having to do with food, that if I saw a 9-letter word in a foot category, I’d be guessing T, and if it’s in the ‘right’ spot, building from there.

3. Buzz in just a SPLIT second before you know the toss-up.

   The idea is that in the time it takes for the ding to go off and Pat to call your name, you’ll fill in the rest in your mind, if you’re super close.

   This CAN bite you in the butt. I buzzed in just a HAIR (one letter) too early on the 3rd toss-up*. But, I did get 4 of the 5 toss-ups, which is reasonably good, so I do stand by the strategy. (I just miscalculated one of the times.)

   [*Side note on this: The whole point of this strategy is that you trust yourself. You trust how you’ve studied. You’re buzzing it early because you believe in you.
   You should have like a feeling, like a gut feeling that you know it, or almost know it, or probably know it, and your brain will catch up in the extra second after you buzz.
   However, in the 3rd toss-up (and only the 3rd) I buzzed not because I was super close to getting it and trusting myself. I buzzed because “oh no, I don’t know it, but too many letters are being revealed. I have to buzz or someone else is going to.” I didn’t know it, and I didn’t even think I knew it. I was just getting scared. So, I wasn’t actually following the strategy. The strategy is not to ring in early all willy nilly. It’s to ring in when your gut says to because you trust yourself. And the one time I rang in because of fear and not my gut, I missed it. So, ring in when you aaaaalmost know it – when your gut tells you (and trust yourself).]

   I already sort of thought this, but I got confirmation that made me feel better, when I heard Ken Jennings talking about always buzzing in a split second before he knew it [just to make sure he beat his competitors on the buzzer] on Jeopardy! and trusting himself that he was gonna know the answer. And if you studied, and you trust yourself, way more often than not you’ll be right. (And on Wheel, you don’t lose money for a wrong answer, so I’m willing to gamble on this.)

4. Trust yourself and follow your gut!

   Speaking of our guts, at the end of the day, trust yours. I’m not gonna say ‘don’t listen’ to the contestant coordinator people, as they’re super smart and doing their job. And also, it would be disrespectful of me to say that after all they do for us.
   However, don’t let them get in your head. You’ll get SO much info between the audition, the packet(s) you get in the mail, the full entire many hours of the tape day [and a full standby tape date, if you’re a California resident!] that it would be easy for them to potentially get in your head a little.

   Don’t have them in your head to the point that you’re starting to second guess yourself, or wonder if this is how they would play, or how they ‘want’ you to play. Don’t get caught up in if you’re doing it ‘right’ (on the subjective things, that aren’t like literally rules of game play, because those you actually do have to get right).

   The contestant people picked you because you can play. So, play the game you want to play. You’re the one going home with what you win or you don’t, and how you come across on TV, and all of that.

   Don’t play ‘for them’. I mean, sure, if you can make it a good game, do so! And I personally like people who gamble more, and keep going, and pick the mystery wedge and all of that! So, hopefully you’re like that! haha. But play the game for you.

These are the most simple, straightforward pieces of advice I have, but if you have any other questions, let me know!