Line #5 Headscratchers/DealOrNoDeal


1	* Why does the USA version use suitcases?
2	** To us in the USA, I don't think most of us even knew they weren't briefcases in the original.
3	*** Actually, the Dutch version of the show (the original) does in fact use briefcases. The models opening the cases, on the other hand... I mean, just bringing them out is fine, but removing the only reason to watch the briefcase game as a stand-alone show was just stupid.
4	** BriefcaseFullOfMoney?
5	* Did anyone ever, for whatever reason, take the first banker's offer in their game?
6	** I've never seen that happen whenever I watched the show. My impression, however, is that they screen for people who are naturally reckless risk-takers. Most contestants I saw would confidently scream "No deal!" even in clearly advantageous circumstances. (One contestant wanted to be a professional poker player, and they brought in one such person to mentor her. All of the professional's advice was obviously going in one ear and out the other. The contestant didn't know there's strategy in poker, and she didn't care.) Hence, I think they try to find people who will drag on their rounds for as long as possible, for the sake of drama and to save money in the long run.
7	* Why don't the contestants just ask for their box to be opened at the beginning and save half an hour of endless applause and pointless banter with Noel Edmonds?
8	** Assuming it's not a gimmick episode, admittedly a hard thing to assume nowadays, half of the cases in the US version contain under $1,000. It is rare to see an episode where the offer never goes above $50,000 at least once. Thus, under the far more difficult to assume logic that the player is rational and knows that the odds of having the million dollars are slim, taking a timely offer is almost always preferable to receiving the contents of the first case. And that's before you consider that immediately handing out case contents damages both the watchability and budget of the show.
9	** You don't seem to understand the point of the game show, do you? Think about it as a condensed, simplified auction, with the case you chose as the item being bid on. Like in an auction, you're trying to get the best deal out of the case, while the banker is trying to give you the worst deal possible (in this case, he's trying to get you to "sell" the case for the lowest amount possible, while you're trying to get the million dollars or — failing that — make the most money off of your case). Since each case you bump off from the pool affects the banker's offer, and there's always the possibility you can get the banker to buy your case for exponentially more than what it's actually worth, the point is to try and outwit the banker and walk away with as much money as you can. Opening up the case you pick right off the bat would be pointless, since it won't give you a chance to improve your options and earn more money; you'll be stuck with whatever you chose, and would you want to go on a game show only to have it end five seconds later with your grand winnings being less than a thousand bucks? I don't think so.

Context Headscratchers / DealOrNoDeal