Card Sharks (2001)


Aired
Pilot, November 17, 2000 Syndicated, September 17, 2001 – January 11, 2002
Run time
30 Minutes
Host
Pat Bullard
Dealers
Daphnee Lynn Duplaix (pilot) Tami Anderson (series)
Announcers
Burton Richardson (pilot) Gary Kroeger (series)
Origination
Tribune Studios, Hollywood, California

This is chronicling the ill-fated 2001 revival of Card Sharks. This version was once well-known for making drastic changes with mainly Candid Camera/Street Smarts-esque like video clips replacing survey questions while also having a bad reputation for being the most hated version of all time.

Game Format[]

Pilot[]

Two contestants competed. The main element of the show was a "Hidden Camera" question format where contestants predicted the outcome of situations in order to win control. A contestant would watch the clip and when the video stopped at mid-point, the contestant in control must then decide what the outcome of the video is. A correct prediction earned control of the cards, but an incorrect prediction gave the opponent control of the cards. The contestants alternate turns doing this.

Round 1: Blackjack[]

Each time a player earned control they gained control a card and can choose to keep the card or change it. Just like in Blackjack, a player could stand if their hand totaled 12 or more. Once a player stood, the opponent continued to draw cards until they beat their opponent's hand or busted. The player who won this round received $200.

Round 2[]

Three cards were dealt and a question was played. The winner of the question was shown the first card and either chose to play the cards or pass the cards to their opponent. Whoever played the cards had to correctly predict whether the following cards were higher or lower than the previous card. If the player was successful, he/she won $300; otherwise, their opponent won the money. After the first set of three cards were played, another question and four cards were dealt, played in the same fashion for $400. Following this, a final question and five cards were dealt with the winner receiving $500.

Round 3: Classic Card Sharks[]

Each player was dealt five cards from the deck. Whoever earned control played their cards similar to Round 2; the player in control could "freeze" their position and be able to change that card should they win control. The player who won the round received $1,000 with the first to reach $1,500 winning the game. Both players kept any money earned.

Series[]

Main Game[]

Four players competed, two at a time, in a best-of-three match, with each round using a row of seven cards. Whomever won a pre-show card draw 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 outcome of the clip allowed the contestant to change the card, while an incorrect answer did not.

Each game was worth $500. The third game, if necessary, only used three cards and no Clip Chips. The loser received an Argus digital camera as a consolation prize in addition to the $500 if they won a game.

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 won 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 previous $1,000.

Money Cards[]

The day's champion faced a pyramid-shaped board, with three rows of cards (three cards on the bottom row, two cards in the middle and one card on the top) were dealt. Their money was split evenly among the rows (their total winnings in the pilot, a flat $700 per row in the series). The player had the option to change the first card on each row. To begin, 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 he/she 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 additional money. The contestant then played the next two cards as he/she did on the first row, wagering as he/she 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 additional money. The minimum bet on this card was at least half of the contestant's current total. In the series, the maximum total possible was $51,800.

In the series, a tie (push) originally returned the amount wagered to the contestant, but it was later changed to a loss. In the series, if a contestant busted on the final card, he/she received $700 as a consolation prize. The most money ever won was $27,450.

Sequence of The Top Prize (Series)[]

$25,900	$51,800
$6,300	$12,600	$25,200
$700	$1,400	$2,800	$5,600

Trivia[]

Tom Bergeron was once offered the chance to host this version, but later turned it down.

Some of it's set and props from this version were later re-used for the short-lived Game Show Network/GSN reboot of the cult-classic 1980s game show Press Your Luck called Whammy!: The All-New Press Your Luck (shorten to Whammy! later on in 2003) hosted by Todd Newton and was also announced by Gary Kroeger from 2002 until 2003.

The "WOOSH!" sound effect from this version was carried over to the current syndicated version of Family Feud (starting with the O'Hurley version) since then.

Despite its short run at the time, this version did a week of special shows in October 2001 featuring Armed Forces members, firefighters and police officers called "America's Heroes", in order to celebrate the police and firefighters of 9/11. During that week, any money earned by contestants would also be matched by the production company in the form of a donation to the contestant's preferred 9/11-related charity.

This version only features one female card dealer instead of two female card dealers (i.e. Daphne Lynn Duplaix in the pilot and Tami Anderson [now Roman] in the series). In addition, this was the one and only version to do so.

Daphne Lynn Duplaix from the pilot, would later host the short-lived and sexually adult-themed Cash Cab game show knockoff Show Us Your Wits on Playboy TV in 2009.

Tami Anderson [now Roman] was reportedly a huge fan of the original 1978 version of Card Sharks with Jim Perry and even mentioned Perry's name in the first episode.

Many game show fans have referred to this version as Casino, ("Card Sharks in Name Only") or Card Guppies.

This was the one and only revival produced by Pearson Television (later FremantleMedia [North America], now Fremantle) to have never did a split screen-styled brief promo for their online Uproar game during the end credits.

Besides The Price is Right (1972 version) until 2007, this was the one and only version to feature the name, logo and announcement of "A Mark Goodson Television Production" said by Kroeger.