Hit Me

Hit Me is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting in 1980, this blackjack-based game is played for a four-digit prize, worth between $2,500 and $10,000, and uses grocery items.

Gameplay
The object is for the contestant to "beat the house" in a standard game of blackjack.

Six grocery items are shown, each with its displayed price multiplied by a number between one and 10. Concealed with each product is a standard playing card, which corresponds with the number by which the product's price is multiplied; an ace will always be found with an item whose actual price is displayed.

At the start of the game, host Bob Barker asks the contestant to cut a deck of playing cards, from which the house draws its cards. The house receives two cards –- an "up" card which is displayed face up, and a "hole" card face down.

The contestant is then asked to select a grocery item. After the price is revealed, the matching card is also drawn out. (For example, if the shown prices was $55.92, and the actual price was $6.99, the contestant would have an 8.) The contestant could continue to draw cards in an effort to build a better hand, or stand at any time and allow the house to play (remembering that the house hits on everything 16 and below, and stands on 17 or higher).

The game ends in one of the following ways:


 * If the contestant hit 21 exactly (usually by drawing an "ace," and "10" or face card), the contestant wins, regardless of the house's hand.
 * If the contestant's hand beats the house's, he/she wins. Ties also go to the contestant.
 * If the house goes over 21 after the contestant stands, the contestant wins.
 * If the house beats the player, the contestant loses.
 * If the contestant goes over 21, he "busts" and does not win anything.

Strategy
The Hit Me board always contains one item that is marked at its actual price (it conceals an ace, which can be treated as an 11 or a 1) and one whose price is multiplied by 10 (which hides a 10 or a face card). Thus, this game can always be won if the contestant is familiar with the prices of the items. But even if the contestant has no idea of the actual prices, there are things that can help him win:


 * Most importantly, if only one price ends in a zero, it is obviously the 10/face card.
 * Many grocery prices end with "9". As a result, remembering the multiplication tables can often lead to a win. A marked price that ends in "9" -- especially if the price is a low number -- is likely to be the ace; a price that ends in 8 is likely to be a 2; and so on.
 * Outside of the always available ace and ten/face card, the other four cards are often (but not always) two pairs of numbers adding up to 10 (e.g., 8 and 2; and 4 and 6).

Trivia

 * The style and size of the playing cards used in Hit Me are very similar to those seen on the earlier CBS game show Gambit.


 * The rules for dealing with a "soft" 17-21 -- where an ace is present in the hand and counts as 11 -- are not particularly clear. Sometimes, Bob treats the ace as a 1 and continues drawing, pursuant to Las Vegas rules. Other times, he treats the ace as a hard 11. His decision on how to deal with this situation seems to depend largely on his mood when it arises.