Many long-time The Price Is Right fans would agree that “3 Strikes” is one of the hardest games to win, but some eagle-eyed viewers think they’ve spotted a loophole that could guarantee victory.
For those unfamiliar, “3 Strikes” is a game that debuted on Price is Right on February 12, 1976, and has been a part of the show ever since. It’s a pricing game where a contestant has the chance to win a brand-new luxury car by correctly guessing its price.
The contestant is shown eight baseballs, five white ones with non-repeating numbers on them, each representing one of the five numbers in the price of the car. There are also three red “strike” balls with an X on them.
After all eight balls are placed into a rotating drum and shuffled, the contestant blindly draws a ball from the bag. If they pick a numbered ball, they must correctly put it in the right position of the car’s total price. If they’re right, the ball is discarded, and the digit is lit up in the price display. But if they’re wrong, the ball goes back into rotation.
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However, if the contestant draws a red ball with a strike, a foghorn sounds instead, and an X marker is lit on the board before the ball is discarded. If the contestant draws three strike balls, the game ends.
While Price is Right is currently in repeats for the summer, viewers have been paying close attention, and some believe they’ve figured out a sure-fire way to win the “3 Strikes” game.
“This game has a flaw that can make the win rate sky rocket,” said one fan, per The U.S Sun “The non strike balls have numbers on them that are taped on. You need to feel the ball for a number before lifting it out.”
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It’s true that the balls have numbers taped to them, so, theoretically, a contestant could feel around inside the bag to try and determine which ones have numbers and which are Xs.
When the game was first introduced in the 1970s, the numbers were represented with wooden discs in white with the number painted on them in black, while the strikes were red discs with black Xs. They didn’t change to baseballs until October 15, 2018.
Another fan believed a contestant could potentially “mark” the balls, saying, “The only concern I have with… letting the contestant place [the balls] in the bag themselves is that they could somehow mark the balls…to make the strikes easier to identify.”
However, another user stated, “Standards and Practices would never allow them to cheat like you said.”
“3 Strikes” is considered one of the hardest games to win on Price is Right. It suffered a four-year losing streak from October 2016 to January 2021, when Erik Ortiz broke the streak by winning a $46,120 Range Rover. Yet, since Ortiz’s win, the game has been on another losing streak.
The game was last played on the primetime show on January 31, 2024, and the car was not won. Only time will tell if future contestants attempt this loophole or if the show will make changes to the props.
The Price Is Right, Weekdays, 11am ET/10am PT, CBS
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