History Main / LetsJustSeeWhatWouldHaveHappened

* ''Tipping Point'', a game show based entirely around a penny pusher, has a finale where the player must put a Jackpot counter into the machine, whereby they win said jackpot by pushing it back out again. They can answer questions to win counters to do so, but if they run out of questions and counters, they are allowed to gamble what they have earned already (£50 per counter pushed out throughout the course of the show) and buy 3 more counters in an all-or-nothing shot at the jackpot. This trope is invoked when the player opts out of the jackpot and keeps their winnings - they still go for the three counters, but they can't win the jackpot. Usually accompanied by cheering or crying. [[note]] Although, given the inherently-random path the counters take down the baffles onto the machine's platform, it's more like a case of "COULD have won", as there is no guarantee the 3 counters would have dropped the same way had the contestant wagered their earnings for real. [[/note]]

* ''Tipping Point'', a game show based entirely around a penny pusher, has a finale where the player must put a Jackpot counter into the machine, whereby they win said jackpot by pushing it back out again. They can answer questions to win counters to do so, but if they run out of questions and counters, they are allowed to gamble what they have earned already (£50 per counter pushed out throughout the course of the show) and buy 3 more counters in an all-or-nothing shot at the jackpot. This trope is invoked when the player opts out of the jackpot and keeps their winnings - they still go for the three counters, but they can't win the jackpot. Usually accompanied by cheering or crying.

* ''Tipping Point'', a game show based entirely around a penny pusher, has a finale where the player must put a Jackpot counter into the machine, whereby they win said jackpot by pushing it back out again. They can answer questions to win counters to do so, but if they run out of questions and counters, they are allowed to gamble what they have earned already (£50 per counter pushed out throughout the course of the show)and buy 3 more counters in an all-or-nothing shot at the jackpot. This trope is invoked when the player opts out of the jackpot and keeps their winnings - they still go for the three counters, but they can't win the jackpot. Usually accompanied by cheering or crying.

Okay, you're on a GameShow, and you've won a substantial pile of cash and prizes. The host offers you the chance to walk away with your pile of loot, or go for broke and play one question for One Million Dollars. You elect to walk away, and the audience supports you. You're celebrating your cool collection, and the host congratulates you, reminding you that it's all yours to keep...''but'' he wants you to play out the final question anyway, because he has at least two more minutes of show to fill. Unfortunately, this can result in [[EpicFail extreme disappointment]] if you would have ''won''.

** Whether or not the player solves the bonus puzzle, Pat will reveal the prize in the envelope. If the player fails to solve the puzzle, it counts as this trope.

Also known as a Proveout. For games that rely on the house's honesty like DealOrNoDeal, this is also used to demonstrate that it was in fact possible to win the big prize.

** Canadian version though sometimes show the question. Quite a few people have been grateful when they find out they wouldn't have gotten the answer at all.

* ''Series/{{Catch 21}}'': If a contestant quits before busting out.
* ''Series/LetsMakeADeal'': Quite often. Half the point of the show, really.

** Averted on the Donny Osmond version; 99% of the time, he just ran onstage and screamed "OH! OH! OH! OH!" before the audience yelled out whatever the missed box was.

* ''[[TreasureHuntUS (The New) Treasure Hunt]]'' (Geoff Edwards' versions): You quit with the money? Okay, then, but we'll still do the skit!
* Since the early 2000s, ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' has had two Mystery Wedges. These can be taken for their cash value of $1,000 (originally $500) per letter, or flipped over. One has a [[{{Whammy}} Bankrupt]] on the other side, while the other has a $10,000 cash prize (originally a compact car). If a contestant opts not to flip over a Mystery Wedge and solves immediately afterward, Pat will often ask the contestant if he or she wants to see what was on the other side. When the wedges were first introduced, he would often flip over the other one if one had already been flipped.

* ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'': Turned out to be especially heartbreaking during the Tournament Of Ten, where nearly all of the contestants walked...and nearly all of them would've gotten it right.

* ''Tipping Point'', a gameshow based entirely around a penny pusher, has a finale where the player must put a Jackpot counter into the machine, whereby they win said jackpot by pushing it back out again. They can answer questions to win counters to do so, but if they run out of questions and counters, they are allowed to gamble what they have earned already (£50 per counter pushed out throughout the course of the show)and buy 3 more counters in an all-or-nothing shot at the jackpot. This trope is invoked when the player opts out of the jackpot and keeps their winnings - they still go for the three counters, but they can't win the jackpot. Usually accompanied by cheering or crying.

* ''[[{{Gambit}} Catch 21]]'': If a contestant quits before busting out.

* ''Series/{{Pyramid}}'' (Dick Clark's versions): Dick would come out and try to give clues; quite often, he gave ''the perfect clue'' due to having plenty of time to think about it and hindsight regarding what clues ''didn't'' work, leaving the actual celebrity dumbfounded (and, in the case of Vicki Lawrence, visibly pissed). Occasionally, though, even '''he''' whiffed.

* ''AreYouSmarterThanAFifthGrader'': Happened in the event of a bailout, especially with the final question (Million-Dollar Question during the FOX era, 10x Bonus Question during the syndicated run).

* ''DealOrNoDeal'': Oh, does it '''ever''' in some countries, and especially prevalent if they take a commercial break while doing so. Often, [[{{Troll}} they'll inflate the hypothetical offers by 10%, which means that's not what truly would've happened had the contestant played on.]]

* ''LetsMakeADeal'': Quite often. Half the point of the show, really.
* ''{{Pyramid}}'' (Dick Clark's versions): Dick would come out and try to give clues; quite often, he gave ''the perfect clue'' due to having plenty of time to think about it and hindsight regarding what clues ''didn't'' work, leaving the actual celebrity dumbfounded (and, in the case of Vicki Lawrence, visibly pissed). Occasionally, though, even '''he''' whiffed.

* ''TheJokersWild'': If a contestant stopped during the bonus game.
* ''ThePriceIsRight'': Usually happens following a bailout in Punch-A-Bunch, Pass The Buck, Temptation, It's In The Bag, Step Up, Spelling Bee, and Pay The Rent.

* Since the early 2000s, ''WheelOfFortune'' has had two Mystery Wedges. These can be taken for their cash value of $1,000 (originally $500) per letter, or flipped over. One has a [[{{Whammy}} Bankrupt]] on the other side, while the other has a $10,000 cash prize (originally a compact car). If a contestant opts not to flip over a Mystery Wedge and solves immediately afterward, Pat will often ask the contestant if he or she wants to see what was on the other side. When the wedges were first introduced, he would often flip over the other one if one had already been flipped.

* In {{Poker}}, when one player wins a pot by way of everyone else folding before the final showdown, sometimes one or more players request that the dealer invoke this Trope by dealing out the remainder of the hand anyway. In Poker parlance, this is called "rabbit hunting". A variation involves the winner showing some but not all of his cards and letting the opponent's imagination run wild.
* ''BullseyeUK'' had a [[Creator/PeterKay notoriously cruel]] variation of this where, if the players failed to win the big prize, Jim Bowen would say "Let's see what you ''could've'' won!" and they would bring out the speedboat accompanied by a sad remix of the usual victory music.

Also known as a Proveout. For games like that rely on the house's honesty like DealOrNoDeal, this is also used to demonstrate that it was in fact possible to win the big prize.

* ''DealOrNoDeal'': Oh, does it '''ever''' in some countries, and especially prevalent if they take a commercial break while doing so. Often, they'll inflate the hypothetical offers by 10%, which means that's not what truly would've happened had the contestant played on.

* ''BullseyeUK'' had a [[PeterKay notoriously cruel]] variation of this where, if the players failed to win the big prize, Jim Bowen would say "Let's see what you ''could've'' won!" and they would bring out [[MemeticMutation the speedboat]] accompanied by a sad remix of the usual victory music.

* On ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', Jeff Probst often fills time at the reunion show by asking how the jury would have voted had so-and-so appeared before them instead in place of one of the final two or three who generally did. This is often lamented by man fans as so much nonsense, since hindsight is 20/20 and things can change once the players get in front of the actual jury.

* ''Cricket'' is another unlikely example, but with Hawkeye technology this happens with close LBW decisions with the simulation showing whether the ball would have hit the stumps or not. Very important, since the LBW laws have a degree of subjectivity.

Okay, you're on a GameShow, and you've won a substantial pile of cash and prizes. The host offers you the chance to walk away with your pile of loot, or go for broke and play one question for One Million Dollars. You elect to walk away, and the audience supports you. You're celebrating your cool collection, and the host congratulates you, reminding you that it's all yours to keep...''but'' he wants you to play out the final question anyway, because he has at least two more minutes of show to fill.

* ''CashCab'': Averted, in that if the players don't accept the double-or-nothing video bonus question, Ben simply hands over the amount they won and they get out of the cab. Neither they nor the audience have any idea what the question would've been. Since the video screen is controlled by the producers, and Ben is fed the questions through an earpiece, there's good reason to believe that even ''he'' doesn't know what it would've been.

** Averted hard on the Donny Osmond version; 99% of the time, he just ran onstage and screamed "OH! OH! OH! OH!" before the audience yelled out whatever the missed box was.

Also known as a Proveout.

* In {{Poker}}, when one player wins a pot by way of everyone else folding before the final showdown, sometimes one or more players request that the dealer invoke this Trope by dealing out the remainder of the hand anyway. In Poker parlance, this is called "rabbit hunting".

** However, other times it turns out to be a great relief when the contestant finds out that they would've lost a lot of money if they had answered the question. One notable case is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIzjWsn62hw Lyn Payne]] whose gut was strongly leaning towards one answer for the million-dollar question and almost half of the audience agreed with her, but she chose to walk away because she thought it was still too risky...and found out that if she ''had'' gone with her gut, she would have lost $468,000.

Okay, you're on a GameShow, and you've won a substantial pile of cash and prizes. The host offers you the chance to walk away with your pile of loot, or go for broke and play one question for One Million Dollars. You elect to walk away, and the audience supports you. You're celebrating your cool collection, and the host congratulates you, reminding you that it's all yours to keep...''but'' he wants you to play out the final question anyway, because he has two more minutes of show to fill.

* ''AreYouSmarterThanAFifthGrader'': Happens in the event of a bailout, especially with the final question (Million-Dollar Question during the FOX era, 10x Bonus Question during the syndicated run).
* ''CashCab'': Averted, in that if the players don't accept the double-or-nothing video bonus question, Ben simply hands over the amount they won and they get out of the cab. Neither they nor the audience have any idea what the question would have been. Since the video screen is controlled by the producers, and Ben is fed the questions through an earpiece, there's good reason to believe that even ''he'' doesn't know what it would have been.

* ''DealOrNoDeal'': Oh, does it '''ever''' in some countries, and especially prevalent if they take a commercial break while doing so. Often, they'll inflate the hypothetical offers by 10%, which means that's not what truly would have happened had the contestant played on.
** Other versions avert this Trope by occasionally inviting a player to forfeit their deal and open their case/box anyway, if the two numbers left on the board are on opposite ends of the spectrum. It's most commonly done in the UK, where it's called a "Banker's Gamble".
* ''[[{{Gambit}} Catch 21]]'': If a contestant quits before busting out.
* ''LetsMakeADeal'': Quite often. Half the point of the show, really.
* ''{{Pyramid}}'' (Dick Clark's versions): Dick would come out and try to give clues; quite often, he gave ''the perfect clue'' due to having plenty of time to think about it and hindsight regarding what clues ''didn't'' work, leaving the actual celebrity dumbfounded (and, in the case of Vicki Lawrence, visibly pissed). Occasionally, though, even '''he''' whiffed.
** Averted hard on the Donny Osmond version; 99% of the time, he would just run onstage and scream "OH! OH! OH! OH!" before the audience yelled out whatever the missed box was.
* ''TheJokersWild'': If a contestant stopped during the bonus game.
* ''ThePriceIsRight'': Usually happens following a bailout in Punch-A-Bunch, Pass The Buck, Temptation, It's In The Bag, Step Up, and Spelling Bee.
* ''Series/RussianRoulette'': When a player won $10,000 in the bonus round, but decided not to go for the $100,000. They would pull the handle, step off the Drop Zone, and after finding out what would have happened walks off with Mark down the corridor as the credits roll.
* ''[[TreasureHuntUS (The New) Treasure Hunt]]'' (Geoff Edwards' versions): You quit with the money? Okay, then, but we'll still do the skit!
* Since the early 2000s, ''WheelOfFortune'' has had two Mystery Wedges. These can be taken for their cash value of $1,000 (originally $500) per letter, or flipped over. One has a [[{{Whammy}} Bankrupt]] on the other side, while the other has a $10,000 cash prize (originally a compact car). If a contestant opts not to flip over a Mystery Wedge and solves immediately afterward, Pat will often ask the contestant if he or she wants to see what was on the other side. When the wedges were first introduced, he would often flip over the other one if one had already been flipped.
** ...Until the show began adopting the ShowTheFolksAtHome tactic of revealing the other side of the Mystery Wedge while Pat gives the contestant their options.
** Early in the show's NBC daytime run (at least on the June 7, 1976, show aired on GSN), host Chuck Woolery would sometimes invite a contestant who finished in second or third place (but won the last round) to spin the wheel one last time, just to see what they would have landed on -- the idea being if the contestant quit at a good time or could have spun and (with a good letter call) possibly won the game.
* ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'': Turned out to be especially heartbreaking during the Tournament Of Ten, where nearly all of the contestants walked...and nearly all of them would have gotten it right.
** However, other times it turns out to be a great relief when the contestant finds out that they would have lost a lot of money if they had answered the question. One notable case is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIzjWsn62hw Lyn Payne]] whose gut was strongly leaning towards one answer for the million-dollar question and almost half of the audience agreed with her, but she chose to walk away because she thought it was still too risky...and found out that if she ''had'' gone with her gut, she would have lost $468,000.
* ''Cricket'' is another unlikely example, but with Hawkeye technology this happens with close LBW decisions with the simulation showing whether the ball would have hit the stumps or not. Very important, since the LBW laws have a degree of subjectivity.
* ''Series/OneVersusAHundred'': if the player opts for the money over the Mob, both the correct answer and the number of Mob members who would have been eliminated are revealed.
** Inverted in ''1 vs. 100 Live'' for Xbox 360, as you were only offered Money Or Mob ''after'' the answer and eliminations were revealed.
* In {{Poker}}, when one player wins a pot by way of everyone else folding before the final showdown, sometimes one or more players request that the dealer invoke this Trope by dealing out the remainder of the hand anyway. In Poker parlance, this is called "rabbit hunting".

[[redirect:ptitlefkpij48d]]

* ''AreYouSmarterThanAFifthGrader?'': Especially with the final question (Million-Dollar Question during the FOX era, 10x Bonus Question during the Syndicated era).
* ''CashCab'': Averted, in that if the players don't accept the double-or-nothing video bonus question, Ben simply hands over the amount they won and they get out of the cab. Neither they nor the audience have any idea what the question would have been. Since the video screen is controled by the producers, and Ben is fed the questions through an earpiece, there's good reason to believe that even ''he'' doesn't know what it would have been.
* ''DealOrNoDeal'': Oh, does it '''ever'''; especially prevalent if they take a commercial break during this trope. Often they'll inflate the hypothetical offers by 10%, which means that's not what the truly would've happened had the contestant played on.
* ''[[{{Gambit}} Catch 21]]'': If a contestant quits with $5,000.
* ''LetsMakeADeal'': Quite often. Half the point of the show, really.
* ''{{Pyramid}}'' (Dick Clark's versions): Dick comes out and tries to give clues; quite often, he gave ''the perfect clue'' due to having plenty of time to think about it and hindsight regarding what clues ''didn't'' work, leaving the actual celebrity dumbfounded (and, in the case of Vicki Lawrence, visibly pissed). Occasionally, though, even he whiffed.
**Averted hard on the Donny Osmond version; 99% of the time, he would just run onstage and scream "OH! OH! OH! OH!" before the audience yelled out whatever the missed box was.
* ''TheJokersWild'': If a contestant stops during the bonus game.
* ''ThePriceIsRight'': Usually happens following a bailout in Punch-A-Bunch, Pass The Buck, Temptation, It's In The Bag, and Step Up.
* ''RussianRoulette'': When a player wins $10,000 in the bonus round but decides not to go for the $100,000.
* ''TreasureHunt'' (Geoff Edwards' versions): You quit with the money? Okay, then, but we'll still do the skit!
*Since the early 2000s, ''WheelOfFortune'' has had two Mystery wedges. These can be taken for their cash value of $1000 (originally $500) per letter, or flipped over. One has a [[{{Whammy}} Bankrupt]] on the other side, while the other has a $10,000 cash prize (originally a compact car). If a contestant opts not to flip over a Mystery wedge and solves immediately afterward, Pat will often ask the contestant if he or she wants to see what was on the other side. When the wedges were first introduced, he would often flip over the other one if one had already been flipped.
** Until the show spoils the home viewers showing the other side of the mystery wedge which is why the contestant can't immediately pick up the wedge which you have to listen Pat telling whether or not you want to take the risk.
* ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'': Turned out to be especially heartbreaking during the Tournament Of Ten, where nearly all of the contestants walked...and nearly all of them would have gotten it right.
* ''Cricket'' is another unlikely example, but with Hawkeye technology, this happens with close LBW decisions with the simulation showing whether the ball would have hit the stumps or not. Very important, since the LBW laws have a degree of subjectivity.
* ''[[{{Ptitleqcbxbsu4}} 1 vs. 100]]'': if the player opts for the money over the mob, both the correct answer and the number of mob members who would have been eliminated are revealed.
** Inverted in ''1 vs. 100 Live'' for the X-box - you're only offered Money Or Mob ''after'' the answer and eliminations have been revealed.
* In {{poker}}, when one player wins a pot by way of everyone else folding before the final showdown, sometimes one or more players request that the dealer invoke this trope by dealing out the remainder of the hand anyway. In poker parlance, this is called "rabbit hunting".