Temptation
(Blog post:
https://stoseontpir.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-ultimate-price-is-right-strategy_65.html)
Random fact
Early in the show's history, there was a game called Double Digits that had sort of similar mechanics. It was played a total of five times. You can see a playing here:
(Jump to the 1:50 mark to see the Double Digits playing.)
Win-loss record
- Actual (seasons 29-47): 20-154 (11.49%)
- What it would be by random chance: 1/16 (6.25%)
The correct digit to choose was...(seasons 40-47)*
- The higher digit in the prize's price: 134 prizes (46.05%)
- The lower digit in the prize's price: 157 prizes (53.95%)
- The digit that appeared more frequently in the prize's price**: 106 prizes (47.32%)
- The digit that appeared less frequently in the prize's price**: 118 prizes (52.68%)
* Excluding the $549 prize used in season 40
** Excluding prizes where the digits appeared equally often (such as $2,299 in cash.)
Strategy
Car pricing strategyThe last digit is almost always 5, and when it's not 5, it's 0. Since at least season 40, the prices of all the cars in this game have ended in 0 or 5; in seasons 46 and 47, one car had a price ending in 0 and all the others ended in 5. For digits 2-4, it's "know the price" territory.
Should you take the prizes or go for the car?In order to decide if you should go for the car, you need to know two things:
- The ratio (R) of the value of the car to you against the value of the prizes. For example, if the car is worth $18,000 to you and the prizes are worth $6,000, this ratio is $18,000/$6,000, or 3.
- The probability (P) that you are right about the car.
Given those values, go for the car if and only if P > 1/(R+1). For example, if R (the ratio) is 3, then go for the car if and only if the probability you have the car's price right is 1/(3+1) = 1/4 = 25% or greater.