Ferno's game today.

Noel talks about Love Week next week and says anything could happen... Noel says he's love sick!! But then says he's just sick. Joy has gone down with bronchitis, so we have 2 newbies today - Ruth who has replaced Joy and Sarah.

The first time he had box 19 was on Wednesday just gone and that was £10, the next day, 19 again, and £100,000. And today he has got box 19.

So that's box 19 3 times within 4 games!!!!

Hopefully his target is the £250,000.

Ferno has box 19.

His name is Mark Ferno and says how the Ferno is linked to the Ferno islands... he is now in Cleethorpes! His fiancee Debbie is in the audience and he has 2 children from a previous marriage. Ferno works for the ambulance service and Debbie joined as a trainee - and that's where Ferno met her.

He is the current Daddy of the group. He writes a target in the book... he has a tennis ball with him... Noel says we'll find out why later... he's a goalkeeper for a local team at the weekends. Noel says not much could get past Ferno!! He believes what happens is what is meant to be...

Here we go...

Would someone tell Bing to shut up and open her box please.

Ferno chooses Bing and Noel asks her how the hotel is... she says how she asked for another bed in her room for her daughter as her daughter is thin and she's fat, and they both can't fit in one bed. She then talks about a Frenchman and a sink... Ferno says how she was given a disabled room by mistake, and everything was very low down...

20 - Bing - £1

Bing says how she calls Ferno "Frodo"... Noel says this is going to be a long game!

16 - Richie - £20,000

Ferno said he wanted to choose Richie early on, while he was still awake

9 - Derek - £10

5 - mummy Viv - £10,000

21 - Reg - £100,000

Time for the banker...

Ferno doesn't know what the banker will make of him...

The banker wonders why both Joy and Noel have something wrong with their throats!! The banker jokes about Bing, Ferno and Frodo - and the Lord of The Bings! He says he loves Ferno and whilst he's not a spring chicken, Debbie is a hottie!! The banker says Ferno is a hero to all larger men!!

Banker's offer

£4,999

The banker says Ferno is a gentleman...

Ferno quickly NO DEALS

7 - Kate - £100

Ferno doesn't have a system and is picking them randomly...

Ferno picks George, who says he knows Ferno is picking all the good-looking ones first!!

1 - George - £5

Ferno mentions George and the karaoke...

Noel says this break should be a fracture as it's a medical break

That fidgeting about with the tennis ball is REALLY irritating!!!

And Bing- she's great fun, but sometimes, she should just get on with it. I didn't have a clue what she was going on about anyway......

I can see this might be one of those annoying games.

I love the song in these Renualt Twingo adverts But hate these stupid Virgin Airways ads

We could go with some kind of player win today - we haven't had one all week.

We're back and Noel calls Ferno a budget juggler as he can only afford to juggle 1 ball

13 - Justin - 50p

Noel talks about Justin's nerves again

Banker time...

Indeed, only Adie dealt for more than what was in the box, and even then, he turned down a much larger sum previously.

The banker says he has seen George doing karaoke. George says he was wearing a kilt, which had a flashing sporran on the front! The banker has been trying to get rid of the image of George wearing a flashing sporran!!

Banker's offer

£11,999

Ferno NO DEALS

14 - Rachel - 1p

18 - Chris - £15,000

That produced some "ooh"s. Noel asks if Ferno is ever still and he says he always fidgets - Debbie says he does it in his sleep too!!

Ferno chooses Shaz, and Noel says there's more of Shaz today and she says there is, and Shaz shows her high-heeled shoes!!

8 - Shaz - £3,000

Banker time...

4 of the power 5 left but no backup below that.

Noel asks George what the next offer will be and he thinks it'll be £12,450, and says that will buy a lot of confetti. Ferno asks for some other predictions... mostly ranging from £12,999 to £18,999... Bing whispers to Ferno and says "no comment"!!

Noel answers the phone whilst Ferno is whispering with Bing... but the banker heard what Bing said!! The banker says the mics only go on if the player's going to speak, so Bing's is on all the time

Banker's offer

£14,999

£15K on that board isn't worth thinking about.

Ferno asks Chris, who says there's another round... he asks some others who also say there are some backups on the board, so it's worth a no deal. Noel says the banker's convinced Ferno won't no deal to the end

Ferno says NO DEAL

Chris looks like my ex girlfriend

Ferno goes for Katherine, and Noel asks if she has a bad throat as well and she does - Noel says he's been very busy lately!

2 - Katherine - £750

12 - Paul - £5,000

Noel says that's ok - it's fine at this point

6 - Barry - Noel calls a break saying Ferno could be the next £250ker...

God thats when the game reaches breaking point

If the next box isn't a power 5, I think the next offer could be rather predictable.

We're back

Noel says at the next offer, the banker will do his best to get Ferno out of the game to prove the banker read the game better than Ferno

6 - Barry - £75,000

Banker time...

£20k here might be a decision.

Debbis makes a joke about finding Ferno's game nerve-wracking, and Noel says she could still get another man. Debbie joins Ferno at the Crazy Chair.

Banker's offer

£19,999

That's what I through it was going to be.

Let's hope No Deal.

Take out the £250K in the next round and you'll need to go to 2 box to get a better offer. I'd probably deal (especially if the banker's threat is true to offer less than £5k).

The banker plays the emotional card, by saying that Debbie would like a nice wedding, and he thinks Ferno and Debbie love each other very much, and that Ferno will deal this to ensure they have a nice wedding

Banker phones and talk to Debbie... Ferno tries to listen in Noel says if the banker's doing heavy breathing, she should just hang up The banker says he can see her gliding down the aisle like an angel... and he hung up. The banker said if the £250k goes next round, he'll offer £5,000 or less... Debbie says it's Ferno's game, and therefore it's his decision.

He asks for a sweep, and asks if they think he should deal. It's about a 50:50 split between deal and no deal...

Ferno DEALS

Oh dear and the £250,000 is still in play.

Noel says Love Week will start well for the banker if Ferno's dealt too soon and we now want to prove he was never going to be the next £250ker...

3 - Jill - 10p

Perfect start says Noel

11 - Martin - £50,000

Noel says that's ok but we need to see £250k now...

15 - Steve - £250

Banker time...

£30K max here I reckon.

£43k - that's way over inflated and a dead cert deal.

Banker's offer would've been

£42,999

That is rather over inflated, even with the high fifth offers we've had in the past couple of days.

Is there any reason for the 999s on the end of every offer?

Noel says he HAS to find £250k now...

22 - newbie Sarah - £500

NO says Noel... and says it's a ghastly thought if Ferno blew a massive life changing sum of money

10 - other newbie Ruth - £35,000

NO says Noel followed by "Oh my word!"

4 - Nicola - £250,000

Banker time with £50 and £1,000 remaining

He works for the ambulance service

Banker's offer would've been

£119.99

And that was definitely a TPW-avoiding 5 box offer.

Like yesterday, not the most exciting or big-money game but a sensible deal and another £20K winner (give or take a pound).

Noel opens Ferno's box 19 and reveals £1,000

The other box with Debbie - 17 - contains £50

Noel says he was chortling through the game as he knew what Ferno's target was, and it was £20,000...

Ferno says he's looking to get married in March 2009, and says the money will be of great use

His target should have been £250,000. Don't like it when people have targets unless it's the big one.

Sounds like a brilliant game!

Well, actually, it sounds like the type of game where I'd have turned my TV off as soon as Noel said "40".

Well done Ferno, shame you went a little early and didn't get the extra £10,000 but still a good deal. Enjoy the money.

That was a good show, although I feel Bing is getting a bit too much air time... Ferno had been quite quiet on the wings, but he was good in his game. The show also had other good wing banter, which is nice to see.

The proveout offer of £42,999 was an instant lie - it'd have been more like £29,999 or £32,999.

By the way, did we ever find out what the tennis ball was all about?

I'm afraid Ferno was the sort of contestant I just can't stand- he looked as though he didn't care how much he won and he held up the flow of the game by asking for pointless sweeps- why ask so many people what they thought the next offer was going to be?

And that fiddling about with the tennis ball- SO distracting!!!

One of the least enjoyable games for quite some time.

Well I sort of agree - Ferno was a rock solid targetist and I could tell Noel was trying to push him on. I didn't like how the contestants were a bit ignorant about offer generosity too, I thought the £14,999 was on the poor side and the £19,999 could have been higher e.g. mid/high 20s etc.

Just a rather average game for me too.

Well I enjoyed it. The banter with Bing and George the 999 retition and the bankers liking to Debbie (Fernos Wife) I liked it don't care about it don't watch it

After MJ's game anything is possible. I think £43,000 was a reasonable offer when MJ only had 10k as a backup in active play and was offered 41k, and Ferno had 35k as a backup.

And he actually lost out on more than £10,000 it was like £23,000 hence TBW

I totally agree with mark people need to have the big money as a target and not as a bluff or means to deal their 10k target



I, on the other hand turned my TV off as soon as he said 'deal' to £19,999.

MJ was a self-confessed gambler who proved it by turning down £26,000 on an unstable board. Ferno wasn't. He took £19,999 on a fairly stable board (granted, it could become a one-box game). I'd have been much more inclined to believe £41,000 in MJ's game if it was a proveout as well, because unlike Ferno's game it wouldn't have messed around with the result and made a TPW a TBW.

Plus the offer would have probably been £30,000 anyway...



Because you're selfish and couldn't give a *beep* what the players win and whether or not they're happy with it, because you just want them to go all the way regardless so you can get a tense (and hence enjoyable) game? I wouldn't call watching someone crashing £29,000 very enjoyable... didn't find it that enjoyable in Julian's game... I see.

If you want people to value £20,000 as next to nothing, go watch big-money poker on digital channels, don't bother with this show.

Well done on your £19,999 TPW Ferno!

I'm sure i've said this before... but if everyone went to the end then it would be boring. I agree with that absolutely. And on the flip side, if everyone dealt a target and never gambled the show would be boring. At the moment, it is not a case of #1. But it is a case of #2. We are getting too many targetists and very very little amount of gamblers. Most of the time if people go to the end they've had a trainwreck of a game. It would be much nicer to see people take risks on the better boards. It makes me sick when gamblers actually play the game and win a blue, after all that effort, and then someone with no backbone deals early with an amazing board in their face... too many targetists and not enough gamblers... that's my point...

Playing the game does not mean going to the end.



They won't see it as that, methinks. It's just taking a risk that in that case would backfire.



And probably a life-changing sum of money (to them) being thrust right in front of them.



Which is, in fairness, a valid criticism. Personally, I'd say too many targetists and not enough analysts - people who can spot a weak-for-the-board offer and reject it, but also people who can spot a strong-for-the-board offer and accept it, rather than just going 'it's below £20,000, No Deal!' or 'it's £20,000, Deal!'.

I just watched Ed and Danielle's games last night and it reminded me how good the show can be.

Danielle's game had a great deal of tension and build through her last offer in live play that I haven't seen in the last couple of months.

If Endemol could find a player like Ed every few months, it would be something to truly look forward to. He seemed to be spot on in his analysis. I wonder if he came to Las Vegas and tried his hand at Blackjack?

Point being, these games, as good as they are, don't have the UMPH of months past without some players thinking beyond their target.

Mind you, that horrible January isn't helping their mindset either.

We at least need a mixture of more calculated risk taskers, analysts and a some wakeyists to improve the game at the moment. That said it's mainly the way the boxes have fallen as well. Couldn't fault Ben's deal for example, we just don't need 20K targetists at the moment.

Another average game really. Sure it had some fun moments, but overall the game just felt rather average and not that exciting.

Plus, as people have pointed out, that offer of £42,999 seemed way over inflated, especially as the £50,000 was hit. I would of expected an offer more in the region of £26k-£35k.

I also hope Joy returns soon. As they've replaced her with a newbie though it seems we might not see her for a while.

Right. So you're saying you wouldn't be comfortable with anything under £250,000?

No, he just wants everyone to go to the end.

Too many people on here just want players to go to the end without giving the offers any thought, don't they

Meh, another so-so game. Ferno was alright...

And £42,999 was much too high!!

Cause it makes better television chap!

So, would you rather Orry did what he actually did do or would you have preferred him to deal £25,000 and find £100,000 in his box?

On that finish £25,000 wasn't a very good offer at all, so i'd rather he went for it. In hindsight, it's bad if he blows the 25k and wins £1 but it is much much worse if he deals £25,000 and blows £100,000. You are losing more than triple. 4x the amount exactly. But no dealing 25k and winning £1 you are only losing 1x the amount

Personally I'd feel a lot worse "blowing" £25,000 by no dealing to the end and winning £1 than "blowing" £100,000 by selling it for £25,000.

I also wouldn't call watching someone win £1 over £25,000 good TV as well (although I admit, the tension would be exciting).

Everyone's entitled to their own opinions though.

You can do more with £25,000 than £1 though.

Well if he had not done the silly thing of swapping he woulda had 100K!

Swapping just leads to tears bar a couple of games where its worked. (Involving power 5)

The only correct way to play the all-or-peanuts finish is to decide if you can do twice as much with the big red amount as you can with the offer. Money's what you make of it, and if you can make at least half as much of £18,000 or £25,000 or whatever as you can with £100,000, then a guarantee of that is more valuable than a 50-50 shot at £100,000. If it's not, then the gamble is more valuable. End of.

Exactly. All talk of odds regarding how much you win versus how much you lose is totally irrelevant. For correct odds calculation to be a factor would require you to play repeatedly. But you only get to play Deal once.

Hence... me in chair for Orrys game 100K or £1 ; offer £25K = instant deal. I'd deal anything over 15K in fact because of the low blue.
But if I got to play over and over I'd no deal 45K. Obviously.

I have a serious life changing shopping list of about 30K's worth of stuff. So the extra 70K would be amazing but ultimately frivolously spent and less valuable by comparision.

If you'd do differently, great! That's what Deal's about. But don't blame it on odds or the relative size of the offer or "courage". It's just that you have a different utility curve from me. You'd probably get higher offers than me if the Banker read me correctly. That's what makes Deal more complex than it first appears and ultimately more fun isn't it?