Street Smarts
Host: Frank Nicotero
Premise: Play the Percentages I played for comedy.
To begin, the three street players are introduced via a short video piece.
"Who Knew It?"
In this round, all three street players are asked the same question, and the two contestants predict which of the three answered a particular question correctly. Each correct prediction is worth $100.
"Who Blew It?"
Each question is worth $200 if the contestants can predict which of two street players would answer the question wrong. In round two, there is one "Dunce Cap" in play. Either player hits their buzzer to challenge their opponent to answer the question. Whoever wins the challenge gets $200 more. After three questions, round three is played.
"Pick Your Pony"
Each contestant chooses one of the three players (low scorer chooses first) and predicts whether that person would be right or wrong three different times, each worth $300. There is another Dunce Cap in this round, also worth $300.
"Wager of Death"
Each player chooses one player, whether he or she would be right or wrong, and bets on the outcome. Bets are paid 1:1, and the player with the higher score keeps the cash. If there's a tie, the players play a final question like the Dunce Cap, win-and-in, miss-and-out. If both players were greedy bastards, bet the lot and blow it, nobody wins a dime.
Twice in the five years of the show, a player has not won any money during the show. Since there's nothing to bet, the opponent wins the game, and plays the Wager of Death alone, keeping whatever is left over at the end.
Tournament of Champions
Season Five introduced a new twist to the game. The player who won more money after the Wager of Death had a choice to make: keep the cash in front of him or her, or give it back for a chance to compete in a tournament, where the eventual winner collects $100,000 in cash.
Out of 75 shows, the 32 who risked the most money came back for the tournament, which is a win-and-in contest. Each round is now played for points, the money is taken out of play. The one person who wins five games and survives the 31-game matchup leaves with $100,000, the rest get nothing.
"Street Smarts" is the kind of show that lends itself to theme shows, and there have been plenty: Super Bowl, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?", Star Wars, and others. Recently, Frank did a tribute to Mr. Rogers. Less seriously, Frank tries to get in a dig relating to women's driving abilities, plus numerous bad impressions. And yet, the show remains watchable.
Frank won $14,000 on "Debt" in 1996, and won $10,000 worth of goodies on "Ultimate Fan League."