I know the common perception is that DOND games with very bad first rounds tend to be more boring because the offers are never going to be high, a big win is unlikely, and a small win is likely, but I disagree.

So, say you see a game where a contestant knocks out both of the top two amounts or three out of the top five amounts, or worse, in the first round? Will it be a good time to turn DOND off? I say no, and here's why:

The game is still the same on worse boards caused by bad early rounds, albeit for lower stakes. So, you might get to see more jokes from the banker and other miscellaneous entertainment you might not normally see in a normal to strong starting game.

But, my main argument against games with bad opening rounds usually being boring is that you might see a big turnaround resulting in a decent (or even good) win after all. And, it's not much like an OPW is much less likely, either. And, early deals are less likely in games with bad starts, which should please those who hate them.

Personally, I sadistically enjoy seeing games with really bad starts, especially over games with very good starts followed by mid-game disaster rounds (which I usually DO find boring). Furthermore, from what I observe, bad-start games usually don't tend to produce as low of wins as mid-game-crash games.

But, what's your opinion? Are games with really disasterous first rounds generally going to be borefests, or can they be entertaining? And, do contestants with horrible starts actually often come back to win something decent? How have contestants with the worst first rounds usually ended up faring in the UK DOND?

I don't think the early luck influences the entertainment of a game that much. There's room for a turnaround as you say, less time on an unlucky main game means more time on amusing miscellania...

I haven't got any relevant statistics, but I think bad starts often but don't always lead to bad final outcomes. Often the OPWs are relatively modest, sure, but that doesn't make them feel much less happy.

The most spectacular such turnaround from a truly horrid opening round was Stephen, who hit the top three in the first round, hit barely any other big reds for four more rounds, then Dealt at £20,000 (an absurdly generous offer for the configuration he had, but it looked as though he was a Wakeyist until then) and then hit the top three in the proveout.

On the other hand, Siobhan's game was so bad it was funny. And it was funny. Emi is another good example of a 'comedy trainwreck'.

Here's some examples I can remember

Audrey - Top 3 in opening round/all red - recovered to sell a 1p box for £8,500.

Irene - All red start - £5.

Michael - All red start - Won £10,000

Buzz - Worst ever start (on normal game) - Recovered to £9,800 OPW

Maddie - Removed £50,000, £100,000, £250,000 - £10,000 OPW

Sarah-Jane - Top 3 - Recovered to £14,010, although held £50k.

Irish David - Top 3 in opening round - Trainwreck

Jo - Top 3 and £20,000 - £8,000 OPW

Stephen - Top 3 - £20,000 OPW

Paul M - All red start - Sold £100k for £20,000

Annie - Not too bad but removed £500k in first box - £10,000 OPW

Robin - All red start - £39 OPL.

Siobhan - All red start - £5.

Lisa - Top 3 and £20k - Nearly got £35k but ended up with £3k

Viv - All red - Won £5k after an end-game crash.

Emi - £50k, £100k and £250k - Absolute trainwreck - Won a tenner.

Emi was crazy wasn't she she took it exteremly well

Halloween Chris was one of the most recent examples of a massive turnaround, losing both 6 figure amounts in the first round, but getting to the end and winning the highest 5 figure amount!!

A bad start can often lead to a good end - as Noel used to say, "It's not how you start, it's how you finish". I'd say that whilst you expect a bad start to lead to a bad finish, I normally think of bad starts being followed by a run of blues.

Of course if you have a bad start and hit more reds, then it's game over. Conversely, if you start with a run of blues, it seems more likely you'll find reds... unless you have a Daniel (2) type game!

What about Lynne and Chris B who took out the 250k and 100k in the opening round and won 75k? (Or 76 in Chris' case)

Even if someone hit all the power 5 in the first round I would still watch. I find it interesting how each board develops and can so easily turn around or indeed become a complete trainwreck.

Sure if you have a good start then your offers are going to be more generous to start with, but if you end up having a mid game crash then the offers will crash down too and as no one is likely to deal the first three (rarely a third anyway) offers it doesn't really matter how of a good start you have if you end up blowing it in the middle, it's when the game gets to the latter stages that matter the most. If you only have 1/2 box game and the Banker makes an offer that 'floats' in between your highest box and your lower red then you may make a cautious deal, but if you turn that down and can keep the remaining influential amount(s) in your game then your offer can increase a lot, especially if the Banker thinks you're a bit of a gambler or risktaker.

That's the thing about DOND, the shape of a game can change in an instant, but even with a bit of bad luck you can still end up with a good result and that's why I always watch each game to end as you just never know what might happen. Especially if the Banker decides to use his gamble/second chance tactic.

In reading this thread, it does seem like games with bad opening rounds are usually decent afterall, SOMETIMES. They do tend to be more likely to have OPWs, even if they are more likely to have low wins.

Now, I have to ask this: How often do games with disasterous FOURTH rounds (or other such mid-game round crashes) end up with good results? Or, disasterous fifth rounds after a brave fourth-offer no-deal. I'd say not often: They do usually seem to result in low wins. How often is there a decent win and/or OPW after a big mid-game crash?

The first such recovery that springs to mind is Charley's, who hit everything above her £26,000 eight-box No Deal in four boxes only to chase those losses and win the £20,000 in her box.

There's a heck of a lot more blue wins from mid/late-game collapses partly because the temptation to chase losses takes over... or when it doesn't, it would be better if it did...

Nicky from November recovered from hitting the top 3 in a round (1 in 56 chance!) after her 19k 8-box offer to go on and win the 15k, very similar to Charly's actually!