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Card Sharks
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Card Sharks was an American television game show created by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Although various changes were made to the game's format throughout its run, the core format remained the same. Two contestants competed against each other, guessing the answers to various questions (generally survey questions) to gain control of a row of cards, and then guessing whether the next card in the line was higher or lower in value.
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Encyclopedia
Card Sharks was an American television game show created by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Although various changes were made to the game's format throughout its run, the core format remained the same. Two contestants competed against each other, guessing the answers to various questions (generally survey questions) to gain control of a row of cards, and then guessing whether the next card in the line was higher or lower in value. (similar to the card game acey-deucey.)
Jim Perry hosted the show's first incarnation, which was aired on NBC from 1978 to 1981. A 1986 revival was aired by CBS until 1989 and hosted by Bob Eubanks; for the 1986-1987 season this version overlapped with a syndicated version hosted by Bill Rafferty. The third and most recent version of Card Sharks aired in syndication as well; hosted by Pat Bullard, it lasted from 2001 to 2002.
Broadcast history
Card Sharks debuted on NBC on April 24, 1978 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Jim Perry hosted this version, which ran until October 23, 1981 (864 episodes). This version is the best-known of the three incarnations.
CBS and Mark Goodson Productions revived the show with Bob Eubanks, of The Newlywed Game fame, as its host. This revamped version premiered on January 6, 1986 at 10:30 a.m. ET, and ran until March 31, 1989 (845 episodes). A weeknight syndicated version began on September 8, 1986, and ran until May 8, 1987 (196 episodes) hosted by Bill Rafferty. It lasted one season.
Another revival, with different rules than the previous versions, was hosted by Pat Bullard; this version premiered on September 17, 2001 but was canceled after 13 weeks.
In 2006, the series was among the seven game shows used in the CBS series "Gameshow Marathon." The set was modeled after the Perry version, also borrowing its theme music and logo; the use of 'audience poll' questions and the car game after the Money Cards was based on the Eubanks and Rafferty versions.
The dealers on Card Sharks were Janice Baker, Lois Areno, Ann Pennington and Markie Post on the NBC version. Lacey Pemberton and Suzanna Williams were the dealers on the CBS and syndicated versions. Tami Roman (then Tami Anderson) of The Real World: New York was the dealer on the 2001 syndicated version.
The dealers on the 2006 Gameshow Marathon version, which aired June 15, were Phire Dawson and Rebecca Pribonic.
The music to the 1978 version was composed by Edd Kalehoff for Score Productions; it had originally been used for Double Dare, an earlier Goodson-Todman game that aired on CBS. Kalehoff also composed a different theme for the 1986 revival of Card Sharks. The 2001 version's theme was composed by the Alan Ett Music Group.
Opening poems
For the 1978-81 version with Perry, announcer Gene Wood read a poem during the opening sequence:
- Ace is high, deuce is low
- Call it right and win the dough!
- On Card Sharks!
The custom was soon changed to having Wood read a different poem each time. Initially, poems written by the staff were used, though later episodes featured viewer-submitted poems. At the beginning of the show, Perry would acknowledge the viewer whose poem was recited, followed by the contestant's hometown and local NBC-affiliated station.
Announcers
Gene Wood was the regular announcer of the NBC, CBS and first syndicated versions. Bob Hilton, Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Narz, Jay Stewart, Johnny Gilbert, Rod Roddy and Johnny Olson all substituted for Wood on occasion; Olson also announced on the show's pilot episodes. Gary Kroeger announced the 2001 version. When the show was featured on Gameshow Marathon, the announcer was Rich Fields.
The main game
Two contestants competed against each other on all versions of Card Sharks. In the original and 1986 revivals, each contestant was assigned a row of five oversized playing cards. Each contestant had a standard 52-card deck; the ace ranked highest and the deuce (two) ranked lowest. The champion played the red cards on top, and the challenger played the blue cards on the bottom.
Toss-up questions
Control of the board was determined by playing a toss-up survey question, based on the surveys done on Family Feud. Questions were posed to 100 people of the same occupation, marital status or demographic (example: "We asked 100 teachers, 'Has a student ever given you an apple?' How many said yes?"). The contestant who received the question (with the red-card player, usually the champion, going first to begin the game) then gave an educated guess as to how many people gave the answer that the host gave. After hearing the guess, the opponent had to choose whether the correct number was higher or lower than that guess. Choosing correctly gave control of the board to the opponent, otherwise, the initial contestant gained control. The initial contestant would also gain control of the board if he/she correctly guessed the survey answer. Starting in the fall of 1980, and continuing through until the CBS version ended in 1989, an exact guess won a $500 bonus for the contestant, theirs to keep regardless of the game's outcome.
Up to four toss-up questions were played; and three on the syndicated version (later changed back to the original configuration of four).
In addition to the regular 100-person survey questions, some questions on the CBS and syndicated versions used one of the following formats, as opposed to the straight 100-person survey.
- 10 studio audience members: Beginning on July 7, 1986, questions were asked about a panel of 10 audience members, each sharing a common profession or characteristic (e.g., mothers-to-be, nurses, students), who taped an entire week of shows (originally five different poll groups were used in any one week). An exact guess by the contestant won $100, and the panel members each received $10.
- Educated guess questions: Introduced on October 6, 1986, the only time a non-survey based question was ever used on Card Sharks. Each question was general knowledge with a numerical answer (e.g. "In miles per hour, how fast is the fastest snake?" or "How old is Bill Rafferty?"). Originally answers only ranged from 0-99 (the range of the readouts on the contestant podium). This changed in 1987 to questions with various ranges. To accommodate the change, values would be superimposed with on-screen graphics or written on cards by the contestants.
Playing the cards
The first card in the row of five, termed the "base card," was revealed. The winner of the question could choose to either play that card or have it replaced with the next card on the top of the deck. The contestant then guessed whether the next card was "higher" or "lower"; if correct, he or she could continue to guess the next card after that, and so on (if both cards were the same, it counted as an incorrect guess). An incorrect guess returned the contestant to the base card (the overturned cards were removed), and the opponent received a free chance to play their own row of cards, but could not change their base card. Contestants could also choose to "freeze," thus making the last revealed card the new base card and preventing the opponent from receiving a free chance. If neither contestant guessed all the cards on his or her row correctly, another toss-up question was asked and the same procedures were followed until someone cleared the row or the fourth question in the round was asked. In the final months of the NBC run, a $500 bonus was awarded for anyone who guessed correctly on all four cards in a single turn without freezing.
$100 was awarded for each game won, with two games winning the match and the right to play the Money Cards bonus game.
During most of the 1986-87 syndicated show's run, no money was awarded for winning a game or the match. To make up for that, several "prize cards" were shuffled into the deck, consisting of trips (up to $6,000), furniture, appliances, and cash ($250, $500, $1,000, and $5,000; every amount except $500 was later removed). If one of those turned up during a player's turn, the name of the prize placed on their side of the board adjacent to their row of cards and another card would be dealt which they had to call. Only the contestant who won the match claimed the prizes they had found.
Sudden death
The fourth question (third in the tiebreaker round) in each round was always a "sudden death" question, in which someone had to win the game on the next turn of the cards. Whoever won control of the board had the opportunity to play the cards (and could change the base card if desired) or pass them to the opponent (who could not change the base card and had to successfully clear the remainder of their row). An incorrect guess at any time caused the contestant to lose the game and their opponent to win by default.
Tiebreakers
If the match was tied after two games, a tiebreaker game was played to determine the winner. Contestants played rows of three cards instead of five, and three questions were asked instead of four (two during one point in the '80s syndicated version), with the third being sudden death.
Starting on January 4, 1988, the tiebreaker was changed to only one sudden-death question; this also determined the winner of the match on the finale of the Rafferty version, as well as the final match of that version's Young People's Week. In the one-question tiebreaker game, both base cards were turned over so the player had an idea of what they were up against when they decided to play their cards and change their base card or pass to their opponent, who was not able to change their base card.
The Money Cards
The winner of the main game played the Money Cards bonus game for a chance to win additional money. The Money Cards board consisted of seven cards on three rows; three cards were dealt on the bottom two rows, and one card was dealt on the top row. On the NBC version, the winner's first base card to begin the bonus game was dealt from the deck after the seven cards were placed. On the CBS version, however, the first four cards were dealt on the bottom row, with the first card as the base card, followed by three on the middle row, and one on the top row (so in reality, this version dealt 8 cards out at the start instead of 7 -- 11 if the three reserve change cards are included).
In addition to guessing whether a card was higher or lower, the contestant had to wager money on that prediction. The contestant was given $200 to bet with and had to wager at least $50 (and in multiples of $50, there was an occasional $25 increment on the Big Bet) on each card on the first two rows. The contestant won money for each correct guess and lost money on each incorrect guess.
After completing the first row, or if the contestant "busted," i.e., lost everything on that wager, the last card was moved onto the second row and the contestant was given an additional $200 (raised to $400 in 1986). The contestant had to play three more cards before reaching the last card on the top row, known as the "Big Bet." If a contestant busted prior to reaching the Big Bet, the game ended. The contestant was required to wager at least half of his/her earnings at the Big Bet.
The most a contestant could win on the NBC version was $28,800, which was done once in the entire show's run by contestant Norma Brown (it was also done on the 1978 version's pilot). Contestants could win up to $32,000 on the CBS and first syndicated versions, but the top prize was never won. The highest win on that version (and on any version) was $29,000.
The maximum payoff was increased to $144,000 for a contestant at home during Game Show Marathon.
Rule changes
Originally, only the first card on the bottom row could be changed. In mid-1978 the rule was changed so that the first card on every row could be changed. In the CBS and first syndicated versions, the contestant was given three opportunities to change a card by choosing one of three pre-dealt cards (thus, a player could change more than one card on a row, but could only change once on each card). This was later modified to allow the contestant to change only one card on each row. The second syndicated run used the NBC change rules.
Duplicate cards (e.g., two 8s in a row) originally counted as losses against the contestant. In the fall of 1980, this rule was changed so that the contestant neither won nor lost money if a duplicate was revealed (referred to as a "push" by Eubanks/Rafferty, and a "double" by Perry). From that point on, hosts encouraged the contestant to wager everything on an ace or deuce since there was no chance that the contestant could lose on either card.
On the Game Show Marathon version, the best-known rules to the Money Cards were brought back. A player started with $1,000 in betting money for the first two rows, and had to wager at least half the money on the big bet. Minimum bets were still $50, and players could change one card per line by using one of the three pre-dealt cards in the numbered slots. The "push" rule was also brought back but was not needed.
Car games
Starting in the fall of 1986 on the syndicated Card Sharks and eventually becoming a part of the daytime show, a secondary bonus round following the Money Cards was added, giving players a chance to win a new car. Originally, the round was played using jokers; the contestant earned one for winning the main game and could win more if any of three additional jokers that were in the deck for the Money Cards came up. The contestant then placed the joker(s) in a rack of seven numbered cards; if any of the chosen cards revealed "CAR" after it was turned over (the other cards read "NO"), the contestant won the car. During the special weeks when children played, the top prize was usually a trip to Hawaii (with either "WIN" or "HAWAII" displayed on one of the cards). The children received two jokers to start.
Beginning on July 4, 1988, a new car game was instituted that used the audience-poll group. The question was played the same way it normally would during regular gameplay, with the contestant predicting how many of the poll group gave a certain answer. For this bonus round, a prop with a dial was used, and the contestant moved the dial to lock in their guess. A correct guess won the car. Missing by one in either direction won the contestant an additional $500, except on the final episode when it also meant a car win. All other incorrect guesses won nothing more.
Returning champions
On the NBC version, contestants could return until they either were defeated or won seven consecutive matches. There were no winnings limit on this version since NBC shows, with few exceptions, did not have cash limits like CBS or ABC.
On the CBS version, five match wins became the maximum, but if a contestant topped the CBS winnings limit at any point during their run (originally $50,000, increased to $75,000 in the fall of 1986), they would be automatically retired.
The same rules applied for the Rafferty syndicated version, including a winnings limit that was never specified. Brian Hunt was the only contestant to actually exceed the limit, winning $63,105 in cash and prizes (including two cars) in 1986, thus making him the biggest winner in the history of Card Sharks.
In addition to the above rules, a rule concerning car wins was in place on the 1986 syndicated series and was adjusted twice during the course of its run. For the first few weeks after the car game was introduced, a player was retired immediately after winning a car. During this period General Motors supplied high-end luxury and sports car models. When GM started supplying mid-range price sports cars the limit was adjusted again, with a contestant being allowed to win three cars before retiring. Midway through the season Card Sharks began offering base models from American Motors through its Jeep and Renault brands, and adjusted the limit again to two cars where it stayed for the remainder of the series.
2001-2002 version
In 2001, Card Sharks was brought back for a 13-week run in syndication. The gameplay was different than the '70s and '80s versions. It lasted from September 17, 2001 until January 11, 2002. Pat Bullard was the host, with Tami Anderson as the card dealer and Gary Kroeger as announcer. The show was taped at Tribune Studios in Hollywood.
Format
The gameplay was drastically different from the successful incarnations of the 1970s and the 1980s. Four players competed, two at a time. They played in a best-two-out-of-three match, each playing a common row of seven high-low cards.
No survey questions were used on this version. Instead, one player started the game in control of the cards and kept control as long as they kept guessing correctly. An incorrect guess passed control over to the other player unless it was on the last card of the row, when it meant an automatic loss for the player who guessed it wrong.
All four players were given two "Clip Chip" tokens to start the game, and if one of them wanted to change the card in play they would place the token in a slot on their podium. A video clip would play, with one of three possible options:
- A situation (a la Candid Camera or Street Smarts) which was stopped before its resolution.
- Someone introduces himself/herself and then asks which of two others he/she is associated with.
- Someone trying to list answers related to a topic within 10 seconds, or sing the correct lyrics to an obscure song.
Correctly predicting the solution of the clip allowed the contestant to change the card, while an incorrect answer did not.
Each game was worth $500. Two games were needed to win the match and a total of $1,000. Both players kept their money; the loser received an Argus digital camera as a consolation prize.
The third game, if necessary, was played similar to the tiebreaker on the original Card Sharks with three cards. The difference, other than the fact that there was only one row of cards used, was that no Clip Chips could be used.
The two match winners then squared off in the Big Deal, one final row of seven cards. Clip Chips, if the players had any left, were still in play. Whoever won this final showdown received an additional $1,100 and advanced to the Money Cards. The loser of the Big Deal won a consolation trip to Las Vegas in addition to their prior winnings.
Money Cards
The day's champion advanced to the Money Cards, which differed from the original two versions of Card Sharks. The champion's winnings were divided equally among each of the three rows. Three rows of cards (three cards on the bottom row, two cards in the middle and one card on the top) were dealt, with the last card on the top row called the "Major Wager."
The contestant began with $700 on the bottom row. The top card from the deck was placed at the start of the row and shown to the contestant, who then made a wager based on whether they thought the next card was higher or lower, with a minimum wager of $100. Wagering continued until the contestant played the three cards on the bottom row or busted.
The last card on the bottom row was moved to the left of the middle row and the contestant received an additional $700. The contestant then played the next two cards as they did on the first row, wagering as they went along.
The last card in the middle row was placed next to the card on the top row for the final bet, the "Major Wager," and the contestant received an additional $700. The minimum bet on this card was at least half of the contestant's current total. The maximum total possible was $51,800.
Contestants could only change the base card on each row. A tie (push) originally returned the amount wagered to the contestant, but partway through the series this was changed to a loss of bet if the cards were the same value. If a contestant busted on the final card, they received $700 as a consolation prize. The most money ever won on this version was $27,450.
Unlike the earlier versions, the games were self-contained, starting with the semi-finals and ending with the Money Cards. In addition, there were also no returning champions and no car games.
Special shows
During the show's 13-week run, a special week of shows taped after the September 11, 2001 attacks included Los Angeles-area firefighters and police officers playing for charities.
Cancellation
This version of Card Sharks, which aired in some markets as a companion show to the syndicated To Tell The Truth and Family Feud (which Pearson Television was also producing), suffered from low ratings and failed to make it to mid-season, being canceled after thirteen weeks. Reruns continued into January, after which the show went off the air.
Three months later, Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck, a game show for GSN, premiered using most of Card Sharks' set.
Tournaments
Card Sharks held many special tournament weeks over the years, including a three-week tournament which pitted eight game show hosts against each other. The participants of this tournament were Allen Ludden, Gene Rayburn, Bill Cullen, Wink Martindale, Tom Kennedy, Alex Trebek, Jack Clark and Jim Lange. In the final week, the top four winners (Rayburn, Cullen, Trebek, and Clark) faced each other with a $25,000 bonus (won by Trebek) going to the winner's chosen charity.
Other tournaments held included "Kids' Week", "College Week" and "Celebrity Card Sharks" specials, in which celebrities would play against each other for their favorite charities. During the "Kids' Week" specials, parents played the Money Cards with their children. Future actress Kelly Packard was a contestant during one such week, as was future actress Kellie Martin. Competitors on Kids' Week during the CBS Version were only given cash up to $2,500 outright; the rest of their cash winnings was put in savings bonds. All competitors keep their prizes.
Pilots
A pilot was produced for a revival in 1996, but never made it to air; hosted by sportscaster Tom Green (not to be confused with the late-1990s MTV comedy show host of the same name), it completely scrapped both the traditional main game and Money Cards formats. Instead, the maingame had both players answer a 10-person poll question for the right to try and make it to the end of a single 10-card pyramid (similar to the 2001 revival). Doing so won $250 (doubled to $500 for guessing all ten cards in a single turn) and a chance for $5,000 in a bonus round similar to the Shell Game from The Price Is Right. The player was shown four cards (three numbered cards and an ace). A video was run, featuring a celebrity answering a question (similar to the "dilemmas" used in the 2001 version). A correct prediction as to whether the celebrity correctly answered the question earned the right to pick one card out of the four. After three questions were asked, the player won $100 times each number card, but if they kept the ace, they won $5,000.
Card Sharks' Money Cards is similar to "The Money Hill", the bonus game used on King of the Hill, which taped at least two failed Pilots for ABC in February 1975; other than the bonus game, neither show is related to the other. ()
Recording locations
Jim Perry's version of Card Sharks was taped at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, in the same studio which would house Perry's next game show, Sale of the Century.
Bob Eubanks' and Bill Rafferty's versions were taped at Studio 33, now the Bob Barker Studio, of CBS Television City in Hollywood, California. The Gameshow Marathon version was taped at Studio 46 of CBS Television City in Hollywood, California.
Home games
A board game based on Card Sharks was made by Endless Games in 2002. Although it used the logo of the 2001 revival, the rules were the same as those of the 1980s version. The Eubanks version was planned for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but a game was never released. However, a version for the Apple II series, Commodore 64 and IBM compatible computers was released (although it was based on the Eubanks version, the host character resembled Perry).
Versions outside the USA
The British version of the show was known as Play Your Cards Right for ITV and hosted by Bruce Forsyth. This version aired several times; the first time from 1980–1987, and later revivals from 1994–1999 and 2002-2003. The German version (1996-1999) hosted by Elmar Hörig was known as Bube Dame Hörig ("Jack, Queen, King") for Sat.1, and the Swedish version was known as Lagt kort ligger for SVT. The German and British versions altered the gameplay in that two pairs of players competed, although this was not the case when the British version began. These versions, like many international versions of American-based game shows, were produced by Reg Grundy.
There was also a Dutch-language version in Belgium called Hoger, Lager ("Higher, Lower") with Walter Capiau (known as the host of the Belgian version of Wheel of Fortune) as host. It was broadcast on the national television BRT (now called VRT). A version in Australia, which used the same title as the British version, briefly aired on the Seven Network in 1984 with "Ugly" Dave Gray as host. The Turkey version of the show was known as Asagi Yukari for aTV and hosted by Meltem Cumbul.
Most versions of Card Sharks outside of the United States use couples instead of solo players.
Episode status
All episodes of Card Sharks still exist. The Jim Perry and Bob Eubanks versions currently air on Game Show Network. Perry's Card Sharks airs at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) 10:00 a.m. (Pacific) weekdays and at 9:30 a.m. weekends. Eubanks' Card Sharks airs at 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and at 9:00 a.m. on weekends. The Bill Rafferty syndicated version has been seen on GSN at various times. The 2001 series has not been seen since its cancellation.
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