I fail to see where there was anything complicated about it.
Bob: You're going to play Hit Me. Would you cut the cards, please? Hit Me is played just like blackjack. Have you ever played blackjack before?
Contestant: No.
Bob: Well, you're trying to make 21 without going over.
Contestant: What do you mean, "make 21?" Twenty-one what?
B: You want to get the sum of your cards to total 21, without going over. Now, Dian will take these cards you just cut, and will draw the top card. That will be the hole card for the house. The next card she draws will be the up card for the house... and it's a five. As the sign says, the house hits at 16 and stays at 17.
C: ...wait wait wait. I have no idea what you just said. You used a bunch of words that have no meaning to me. What's a "hole card"?
B: It doesn't matter. It's a mystery card. We'll reveal it at the end of the game.
C: So I'm supposed to use that card to make 21?
B: No, that card belongs to the house.
C: "The house?" You said my goal was to make 21.
B: Well, making 21 is an automatic win. But if you can't make 21, but you can beat the house, or if the house goes over 21, you still win.
C: I see. So really I just need to beat the five and the mystery card?
B: No, because the house will keep drawing until it gets at least 17. You don't know how many cards the house will have, so you need to set a high score you think the house can't beat. Or get 21.
C: That's making more sense. How many points is the King worth? It outranks the Jack and Queen, so I'm guessing thirteen?
B: All face cards are worth ten. So if the hole card is a King, the house will have 15, and must keep drawing. That would be good for you, because it would bust on seven or higher.
C: Oh, ok. I think I get it now. So now I pull my cards from the deck, right?
B: No. That's how they do it in Vegas, but that's not how we do it on The Price is Right. Your cards will come from these products here. Won't you describe them for us, Rod?
...
B: Each product has a card attached. Now, you'll notice that each of the products has a price on it. One of these products has the correct price, that has an Ace. One has the actual price multiplied by ten, that has a ten. The others could be the price multiplied by any number one through ten. Get it? So the optimal strategy would be to start by trying to find either the Ace or the ten. Where would you like to start?
C: Uhhhh.... that $14.00 bag of pasta looks like it's gotta be a ten.
B: Actual price, $1.75. You have an eight.
C: So now I'm 13 away from 21. I should try to pick the ten and get 18, right?
B: Well, not necessarily. It might be better to try to find a two or three. That will give you ten or eleven.
C: Why would I want to do that?
B: Then you can pick the ten or Ace and get 21.
C: You mean the ten AND the Ace would give me 21, right?
B: No, if you have ten you can use the Ace as eleven.
C: I'm confused. Why is that?
B: The Ace has special rules. You can decide whether it should be worth 1 or 11.
C: I'm not complaining, but it seems like you're making this up as you're going along. You said the Ace would be hidden behind the product multiplied by one, not eleven!
B: Well, I'm telling you now!
[rather than unearth any more hidden rules, the contestant draws the Ace and stops with 19]B: Okay, let's see what the house has.
Dian flips the house hole card to reveal... an AceC: Um... so what happens now?
B: On a whim, I just decided I'll treat the Ace as 11. So the house has 16 and must draw again. See, I'm helping you, because now the house is far more likely to bust. The only way this can hurt you is if Dian turns over...
Dian hits and draws... another five, obviously. The losing horns sound.B: I'm sorry.
C: Since you arbitrarily decided the Ace would be 11, can't we just arbitrarily decide it will be a 1 instead?
B: No. The losing horns already played. Stay tuned for more pricing games on the second half--
C: Why couldn't I have played Double Prices?