Card Sharks facts for kids
Card Sharks is a fun game show that has been on TV for many years. It first started in 1978. The show is all about guessing if the next playing card is higher or lower than the one before it.
How to Play the Main Game
Two players competed in the main game. One was the champion, shown in red. The other was the challenger, shown in blue.
The host, Jim Perry, would ask a special question. This question was asked to 100 people before the show. For example, "We asked 100 lawyers: Have you ever defended someone you thought was guilty? How many said yes?"
One player would guess a number. The other player would then say if they thought the real number was higher or lower. The player who guessed closer to the correct number got to play with the cards.
There were two rows of five cards on a big board. The top row was red for the champion. The bottom row was blue for the challenger. The player in control had to guess if each new card was higher or lower than the card before it.
They played two games. The player who won both games moved on to the "Money Cards" round.
The Money Cards Round
The winner of the main game played the Money Cards. This was a chance to win more money! The player started with $200.
Just like before, they had to guess if each card was higher or lower. But this time, they had to bet money on each guess. For example, they might bet $200 that the next card was higher than a 2.
The player worked their way across the bottom row of four cards. Then they moved to the second row and got $200 more. For the first two rows, the smallest bet they could make was $50.
Finally, they reached the top row, which had only one card. This was called the "Big Bet" row. Here, the player had to bet at least half of all the money they had won so far.
Other Versions of Card Sharks
Card Sharks first aired on NBC from 1978 to 1981. Jim Perry was the host.
The show returned on CBS and in syndicated reruns in 1986. The CBS version was hosted by Bob Eubanks and ran until 1989. The syndicated version was hosted by comedian Bill Rafferty, but it only ran until 1987.
In 2001, Card Sharks came back again. This time, Pat Bullard was the host. This version had different rules. Two teams of two players had to guess higher, lower, or even if the next card was the same number. This version was not very popular. It was canceled after only 13 weeks. Many fans of Card Sharks say this version was the worst game show revival ever.
Card Sharks returned to television in 2019. This newer version is an hour long and airs on ABC. Joel McHale is the host. The way the game is played is very similar to the older versions from 1978-81 and 1986-89.
