The Ultimate Price is Right Strategy Guide: Pick-A-Number

Pick-A-Number

Rules

A prize is shown as is the price for the prize; however, one digit is missing from the price. Three choices are shown for that missing digit. If the contestant picks the correct value for the missing digit, they win the prize.

Random fact

The missing digit has not been either of the last two digits of the prize since season 42. Thus, the statistics for this article will be mostly based on seasons 43-47.

Win-loss record

• Actual (seasons 29-47): 115-172 (40.07%)
• What it would be by random chance: 1/3 (33.33%)

Which digit was the correct digit to choose? (seasons 43-47)

Overall

• The lowest valued digit: 21 playings (18.75%)
• The middle valued digit: 57 playings (50.89%)
• The highest valued digit: 34 playings (30.36%)

When the thousands digit is missing

• The lowest valued digit: 15 playings (16.13%)
• The middle valued digit: 53 playings (56.99%)
• The highest valued digit: 25 playings (26.88%)

When the hundreds digit is missing

• The lowest valued digit: 6 playings (31.58%)
• The middle valued digit: 4 playings (21.05%)
• The highest valued digit: 9 playings (47.37%)

Strategy

A couple pieces of advice:

1. If the thousands digit is missing (meaning the first digit in a 4 digit prize or the second digit in a 5 digit prize), you should lean toward the middle number being correct. 
2. If the hundreds digit is missing, you should lean toward the lowest or highest digit. But note that's not based on a lot of playings so use that with caution.
3. This game has a variation on the "digits don't repeat except for the the first two" that cars usually follow. In this game, digits don't usually repeat except for the last two. Of course, the last two digits are given to you. This means that the missing digit won't usually be the same as the digit to its left or right. I say "usually" because it has happened 1-2 times per season since season 43 that other digits have repeated. But if you're unsure of the missing digit, there's a good chance it's not the same as the digit to its left or right.