I'm on "Wheel" (1of4)

Part 1 of 4 of my 2-day appearance on "Wheel of Fortune."

Tape date: 10 February 1994
Air date: 11 March 1994

RANDOM THOUGHTS RE: THIS CLIP

I promise, the reception improves dramatically in parts 3 and 4.

As you'll see, Vanna is preggers with her first child (Nicholas) here in 1994.

My name tag says "Bob." In 1994, I only used "Rob" on newspaper bylines.

Pay attention to the description of the silver.

At the end of this clip is the moment that the black-and-white still photo of Pat and me was taken. I know that one of these clips (3?) is missing a chunk. I've been too lazy--er--BUSY to find and repost this bit.

In response to GSNMAN, and anyone who plans to be a contestant: My advice...

Most of these are just common sense that good contestants forget once they're onstage. Contestantry is a surreal experience. In fact, even you're a professional public speaker, expect 'stage fright' to manifest itself in one or more of the following: dry mouth, stuttering, inability to remember one's name, diarrhea. Be prepared for as many of these as you can.

As far as the game goes:

Know common letter patterns. If a word has T as its second letter, the first (if not a vowel) is almost always S. This especially helps in puzzles with puzzles containing punctuation. Given the category, I can solve more than 75% of those before the first letter is guessed.

Know the quirks of the various categories. "What are you doing?" always has a gerund (-ING verb, usually in 1st position), "Song/Artist" always has the word "BY," "Food and drink" often uses the word "WITH," etc.

Maximize your spins based on common letter frequency. If you're starting a "What are you doing?" puzzle and spin $2500, guess N. If you spin $300, guess G and save the N for a bigger spin.

Buying a vowel can be a great stalling tactic while you're trying to figure out puzzle, but it also gives info to your opponents who are not as stressed at the moment, because it's not their turn. Choose wisely, Indiana Jones.

Don't make a decision about picking up the Mystery Wedge without checking ALL of the scoreboards. A 50-50 shot at ten grand is almost always worth taking, especially if you're in the lead. It's also a great way to catch up to an opponent who's already won the Prize Puzzle.

Keep a frequent eye on the scoreboard, especially if you're NOT the current leader. Too many contestants solve a puzzle "just to get one under their belt" or in panic mode, and end up losing the game by a few hundred dollars. Be bold, and play to win. There are only 2 Bankrupts on the wheel. Spin, baby, spin. The exception to this rule is the first puzzle. Solve that one quickly, so you'll play more rounds with the bigger money on the wheel.

Speaking of "under the belt," never solve your first puzzle with less than $1000 (unless it's a prize puzzle, of course). You're gonna get the $1000 anyway. Gamble a bit.

Get the heft of the wheel as soon as you can. If you can master a spin that goes exactly once around, you can make some fabulous money.

Be gracious to your opponents in both victory and loss. Karma is a bitch.

If I think of anything else, _ ' _ _ _ _ T _ O _ _ _ O _ .

Keep me posted, so I can root for you.

--Rob

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• 1994
• fortune
• pat
• sajak
• vanna
• wheel
• white

[gsnman]

I'm going to the final audition for "Wheel," and I'm hoping to be a contestant like you on "America's Game." Kinravip, do you have any advice for me?

[Kinravip]

@gsnman My response is too long. Let me try to add it to the video's description instead.

[Kinravip]

20,000 views??? That's insane!

[Kinravip]

My first video to surpass 10,000 views. 10,559 on 11 September 2008.

[MimsFamilyGang]

Did you like Jimmy or Pat better Kinravip?

[Kinravip]

Pat. Jimmy was in over his head...

[mylesspike119]

Both 1989-1992 and 1992-1994 WOF themes are both my personal favourites.

[megamanj2004X]

I liked this intro w/ the dancing wedges.

[MrLogoman007]

That was only because the format on "Trump Card" was ineffective. Telepictures should've reworked the format.

[Arnarkusaga]

That's awesome.

[MegastarLV]

Oh yeah? Well, I was born 9 days before the taping date.

[steve01659]

The $1,000 space was yellow for the other remaining rounds.

[samsticka]

Pink? I thought it was yellow.

[Wolfman12395]

You'd be surprised how quick WOF videos can get a lot of views, especially older episodes. :)