Wow what a game, well done Greame, enjoy the money and the wedding

Can't believe it, I knew what Graham had won but still wanted to see his show, I recorded it but right at the crucial moment it blacked out...

I don't think Graham or Di were foolish. They were both brave, one was lucky, one was unlucky. And how can you say that Graeme should have dealt earlier when he won £101K dealing when he did. How many games lately would the player have got more if they'd no-dealt one more round. I've lost count.

Plus if Graeme's game ancourages gambling for a week or two then it'll even up all the cautious safe dealing we've had to suffer recently.

I hate it when that happens!!!!! It always happens to me right before the end of a show! Another thing I do quite regularly is tape something on the wrong channel.

A few things about Graeme's game today. I find it hard to believe he didn't know he was playing, since he was so dressed up. When he was walking the Walk of Wealth, all I could think was "I really hope this guy isn't going true Scotsman."

Well done to him winning so much money. I thought he was completely mad to decline £41,000, since there was only one value above it. Thankfully the gamble paid off for him.

That's a matter of opinion and you of course are just entitled to call him brave as I call him foolish. The terms "brave" and "foolish" on DOND are very finely balanced - I think the more cautious person would call Graeme foolish and the less cautious person would call him brave.



When he turned down £41,000, I thought "He really should've dealt that on that board" - but because he then got an offer of £101,000, I'm not going to suddenly change my opinion and say "Actually, he was wise to no deal £41,000".

I don't want to fall into the trap of calling Di stupid and Graeme clever - because it's really down to luck. It is of course my opinion and I have my own views on money, and no doubt Di and Graeme have their own (well, clearly they do!) - I'm not saying Graeme or Di should have dealt because I say so, I'm saying I think they were foolish not to, but luckily for Graeme it turned out it was the right decision. Ultimately, it is of course their game and they can play it how they want to.



It'll be good to see the variety back in the show again... however, there was a period in January when every player just seemed to no deal to the end and I thought that was pretty boring in terms of gameplay! I like some variety - for example, the early deals last week and Graeme today - it really does prove each game is different from the next.

Is it possible that he wasnt dressed up originally then when he found out he was playing he asked if he could get dressed up then they re-filmed the start again ? I remember Chantelle "dressing up" at one point in her game having started by wearing combat gear.

As for his game was brilliant to watch. Hopefully will be able to congratulate him on his win personally soon as I have met him before....he is the main caller at one of the bingo clubs in Aberdeen just along the road from me. In fact I saw him there 2 days before his game was filmed but nothing was said about him going to be on the show.

Jim

Statistically, the best option would have been to deal at £21,000 at 8 box let alone £41,000 at 5 box. Graeme was very fortunate and his decision was both brave and foolish imo but the luck paid off for him. Again, personal circumstances come into the equation. If you can afford to gamble £41,000 away then no dealing is fine, but of course if you can't then it makes it more brave/foolish to go on.

Either way, well done Graeme for showing true Braveheart courage and winning £101,000. I hope you had a wonderful wedding and honeymoon!

This is what I don't understand. You are not actually gambling a penny of your own money. Each player starts the game with nothing and the chance to win a sum of money. Even if you only get 1p you are leaving with 1p more than you came with. So everyone is a winner no matter what.

So of course they can afford to gamble £41k. 20 minutes ago they had nothing. Whether they want to gamble and possibly throw away the chance to win £41k is another matter.

I can assure you I'd be much more cautious if I was gambling with my own money. The fact that its their money anyway, and no matter what happens I'll be going home with more than I came with makes me think its worth taking a gamble in many situations where others would deal.

This is why I don't understand why so many people play so safe. Its like going to a casino, being given money to gamble with and then refusing to play any games/machines in case you lose it. Whats the point!

I think it effectively becomes your money the moment the Banker offers it. You have to think about the amount offered, and consider it alongside your existing financial circumstances, and think which scenario you would feel worst about: turning it down and going away with the lowest amount left on the board, or taking it and finding the highest amount left on the board is in your box?

Of course, the earlier in the game, the less likely these extreme scenarios are, so there's less risk in no-dealing. But the definition of a life-changing sum will vary so much between individuals, I mean I certainly wouldn't put £10,000 in that category but it seems a lot of contestants would, and if you've had the opportunity to take that amount and end up with a penny it would be quite hard to come to terms with for someone who's really struggling financially. I'm sure people like that wouldn't see the Banker's offers as "casino chips" to play with!

Exactly, if you say "DEAL", then that money is yours, so in effect, when the banker makes the offer, the money is yours! Something worth noting is that Noel has often got the gameboard to be removed from the screen in the studio, so the player doesn't get too carried away with the game and focusses more on the money. I wonder if that happened every episode, how many extra deals we would have seen?



Yes, I think "regret" has a lot to do with it as well - it works both ways (although not if you listen to Noel) - that you can regret dealing too late as well as dealing too early. Although, of course, in cases when the player deals too late / plays to the end and wins a blue, they shouldn't have any regrets, because they "remained true to themselves"...

No, but you’re gambling on what could be your money. You only have to say a four letter word and the moneys yours!



True, but if you went on the show because you needed some money, you wouldn't think of it like that and you'd play cautiously. And even if you didn't need the money, you'd still want to go away with a reasonable sum of money. I mean I'd be pretty pissed off if I gambled £41,000 and went home with 1p.



Well, put it the other way - It's like going to a casino, being given money to gamble with, gambling it all, losing and going home with nothing. What’s the point! You have to know when the right time to stop.

And that's what the game is all about - timing. Knowing when to do the right deal at the right time. Not gamble to the end regardless nor playing it safe. Of course there are players that would gamble right to the end or play it safe and that's fine, because they are playing their game their way and making their decisions.

I can see where you're coming from though.

I'm with Power5 here. It is, indeed, real money. You can't lose money relative to your financial position when you first enter the Bristol Underground Club, but you certainly can lose money relative to your financial position as of midway through the show, because when the Banker offers you money, that is of course real, you can take it.

Let's take a now-typical game with a £10,000 opening offer. Forget the financial situation you were in five weeks ago, or indeed five boxes ago. You are now £10,000 richer than you were before. Now bear in mind that the average adult (taking simply the arithmetic mean here) has over £4,000 in unsecured loans and rising; there are a significant number probably with between £5,000 and £10,000. Total debt including that secured against property is now apparently close to £25,000 per person; the £21,000 suggested by Graeme's wife may well have been their total debts. (Why else would she not say a nice round £20,000?)

Graeme showed, to me, signs of delusionary grandeur, dressed up by Noel as 'courage' of course.

Personally, there are games where I might have gambled and lost over £10,000, including this Monday's game - but the effect of it on me would be huge. In fact it would probably be that fear which would make me most likely to Deal prematurely. Early Dealers still win significant, and often life-changing, sums of money. The players who go to the end... well, by definition, more than half of those who turn down all six offers will go home with a grand or less.

That's right, I believe that you do have to go into the game with some kind of strategy as to what degree you will be cautious or take risks. It's very easy to have regrets if the proveout goes wrong or you end up winning a blue amount, but the question has to be whether you would have made the same decision if you played the game again with the same set of circumstances in terms of the board at each stage, but not knowing what was in each remaining box. If you would do, then there is no need for regrets at all.

I think I remember reading (either here or in the DOND book) that on arrival at Bristol, the contestants actually give their clothes and outfits over to the production crew/stylists and it's they who actually choose what a player is wearing on any given day, not the player. I think it's to avoid instances of adjacent players wearing the same colours or, heaven forbid, clashing with Noel's shirts (didn't Khanny end up wearing something quite sober for his game, after sporting some pretty loud shirts before that?)

In that respect, given the crew obviously know who is playing each day, then I'm guessing that they do tend to make sure that a contestant is looking their best for the game, both in terms of appearance and clothes. Now, if I was Graeme, I'd think I'd have a pretty good idea that it was my turn to play if they suddenly wheeled out my kilt for the show, but, who knows, he might not have made the connection!

What annoyed me was the banker brought up Morris's game and offer when he should have done the same with Bunney's game which was far more alike.

I, therefore am just as entitled to call over cautious dealers foolish!

You are. It's your opinion. I personally don't think it's foolish to be cautious, but you have every right to. If I was playing, I'd rather be cautious and win a lot of money, but be beaten by the banker than carry on regardless and win 1p.

Yeah it's fair enough to comment on a player's decision, I just think the choice of words can be important - if people can avoid direct personal insults like "coward", "chicken", "idiot" etc. then the discussion is much better for it.

wwell, offers wise: laura was offered £45,000 with £3k and £250k left. Graeme on the other hand is offered £54,000 more, with £5k and £250k, on the basis that he has something, and i have no idea what, in common with Morris the bloody poet.

Morris's game was a year ago......or maybe that was why he offered £101k

OK, well this is my first post. I have been watching DOND regularly for about 6 months and I have to say this is the only time I have felt there was something not quite right about the show.

I'll come out and say it - I think Graeme knew it was going to be his game and somehow I think he knew where the £250,000 was.

There are a number of strange factors, any of which on their own you could dismiss but when you put them all together you have a suspicious pattern:
- Graeme was clearly dressed for his game and knew he would be playing.
- Unluckily for him he took out most of the big reds early on which made his 'no deal' decision at £21,000 surprising particularly as he had just said he would deal at £21,000.
- Seriously, with that board would anyone out there have said 'no deal' at £41,000 - unless you knew for sure where the £250,000 was.
- He was also unlucky that the newbie had the £250,000 box which meant he had to leave him until the very end to open his first box. Has anyone left a newbie to the very end on their first show?

Personally I didn't buy his surprise at being chosen to play, the story about how unlucky he is or the 'tears' at the end. I think he used his knowledge of where the £250,000 was to control the game and engineer a large offer rather than take the big prize which would have really raised suspicions.

Of course I may be talking utter rubbish (it wouldn't be the first time!) but something didn't feel right to me about the way that game panned out.

Anybody agree/disagree?