Card Sharks

Card Sharks was an American television game show in which contestants guessed whether a playing card was higher or lower than the card that preceded it.

The Money Cards

The winner of the main game played the Money Cards 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.

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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) on each card on the first two rows. The contestant gained money with each correct guess and lost money on each incorrect guess.

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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 (changed 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" after this point, the game ended.) The contestant was required to wager at least half of his or her earnings on the Big Bet.

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The most a contestant could win on the NBC version -- by wagering everything on every card -- was $28,800 (adjusted to today's dollars, an amount over $87,000); that was done exactly once by contestant Norma Brown in 1978. Contestants could win up to $32,000 on the CBS and first syndicated versions, but the top prize was never won. However, big payoffs of over $25,000 has been awarded several times. The highest Money Cards win on this version was $29,000.

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When a person lost all of their money in the Money Cards on the 1978-1981 version, an abbreviated version of the Losing Horns (from The Price is Right) would play (which followed the so-called "NBC Claxon Buzzer", which was later used on Scrabble and Hit Man). For the 1986-1989 CBS Eubanks version and the 1986-1987 syndicated Rafferty version, when a person lost on the Big Bet or busted in the Money Cards (as well as losing the car game), the full version of the Losing Horns would play. When Gene Wood described the cars on the Eubanks and Rafferty versions, it would also be accompanied by the many car cues used on The Price is Right (the main car cues were Big Banana, Beanstalker, the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour theme, and a 1983 cue mainly used for trucks and vans).

Related Topics:
The Price is Right - Scrabble - Hit Man - Match Game - Hollywood Squares

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Rule changes

Originally, a contestant could only change the first card on the bottom row. 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, one card on each row could be changed by choosing one of three pre-dealt cards. Originally, on this version, the contestant was given three opportunities to change a card (thus, a player could change one card more than once).

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Duplicate cards (e.g., two eights 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 (which were called a "push"). 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.

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