The Ultimate Price is Right Strategy Guide: 10 Chances

10 Chances

Rules

Three prizes are shown, the first of which has two digits in its price, the second of which has three digits in its price, and the last of which is a car with five digits in its price. The contestant starts by guessing the price of the first prize from three given digits. Then they must guess the price of the second prize from four given digits. Finally, they must guess the price of the car from five given digits. The contestant is given 10 total chances; if they run out of chances before they guess the price of the car, they win whatever prize(s) they correctly guessed.

Random fact

Because of the nature of this game, some contestants end up completely clueless but still win this game. Here's an example of how Bob handled one of those contestants toward the end of his run as host:

UNWRITTEN RULE

EVERY CORRECT PRICE IN THIS GAME ENDS IN 0.

This may be the most famous unwritten rule on the show, and it means every prize they ever use in 10 Chances ends in 0. Without exception. If you haven't found the correct price and you're tempted to try endings that aren't 0, stop. Look for the combinations you missed that have the 0 at the end. You are wasting chances if you try prices that end in something other than 0.

Win-loss record

• Actual (seasons 29-47): 81-86 (48.50%)
• What it would be by random chance if you follow the 0 rule and know the first digit of the car: 7/9 (77.78%)

Strategy

I don't need data for this game beyond the 0 rule. If you end all of your guesses with 0 and have even just a bit of a clue about the prices of things, you'll win every time. In fact, since at least season 32, every contestant who has ended all of their guesses in 0 has won this game. But I'll add one more thing that can help: the second prize has always been at least $500 since season 43. That can help you remove some combinations for the second prize.

Edited to add: If you want more detail besides "every prize ends in 0", check out this excellent post by RatRace10 at golden-road.net. You should read the whole thing, but I'll mention one point to whet your appetite: very rarely is the first prize $50 and very rarely does the second prize end in $x50. So if you see a 5 in the first two prizes, it's very likely not the tens digit.