The Colour of Money

Quote:

June 24, 2009 column

A new game show has premiered in the UK, called the "Colour of Money." A lone contestant is randomly given a target amount, which has been known to range from £55,000 to £79,000. To earn money, he picks 10 of 20 bank machines, each containing £1,000 to £20,000, in even increments of £1,000. When he picks a machine, it will begin counting upwards from £1,000, in £1,000 increments.

The player may yell "Stop!" at any time, and he will bank the amount showing on screen. If the player does not stop in time, and the machine runs out of money, then he banks nothing. A hostess provides statistics, such as number of machines left to pick, amount left to earn, average amount needed per machine to win, and what amounts remain in the machines.

A player can "play the gaps," in that if a run of machines have been picked, say, £4k, £5k, and £6k, a machine would be guaranteed to make it to £7,000 once it passes the £3,000 mark. My question is, what kind of strategy should a player use?