You Bet Your Ass
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You Bet Your Ass is a Canadian game show that airs on The Comedy Network. It follows a Blackjack and casino motif, with contestants answering questions on popular culture to earn points. The contestant with the most points at the end of the show is the winner. Hosted by Canadian comedian Stewart Francis and his co-host, Sitara Hewitt, the show premiered in 2005. As of June 25, 2007, the Comedy Network had dropped You Bet Your Ass from its weekday lineup and was replaced with reruns of This Hour has 22 Minutes, Reruns have since began airing in the weekday morning block as of April 28, 2008 (replacing History Bites) and is unknown if it will return for a third season.
[edit] Rounds
The game is played in four rounds. In the first round, "Piece of Ass", the three contestants are shown a category in turn, and must answer a question for 100 points. After seeing their category, contestants have the option of "doubling down", and instead receiving two questions in the category, for 200 points. However, if the contestant gets a question wrong, not only do they lose points corresponding to how much it was worth (100 normally, 200 for a double-down), but the other players have a chance to steal the question. Players are given 1000 points to begin the game. Also, one player may get a wild card instead of a category, and they must choose an opponent from whom to take 500 points if they can answer a single question.
Round two is the Dirty Dozen, and is much like the typical "Lightning round" on many game shows. 12 questions are asked (4 per contestant), with a spotlight randomly falling on a contestant who must then answer directly. The correct answer to each question serves to segue to the next question. Questions are worth 500 points apiece (100 in season 1), and no points are lost on incorrect responses. In season 1, the contestant who answers was determined before Stuart read the question, however, in season 2, Stuart would read the question and then the contestant would be chosen.
Round three is Up Your Ass. It takes the same form as round one, only with 200 or 400 points at stake, and 1000 points are again given to all players.
The final round is Ass On The Line. It presents the players with four categories. The player with the lowest score gets first choice and can wager any amount up to their total on each of three successive questions in the chosen category, with a minimum bet of 500 points (100 in season 1) (the round is over for that player if they fall below the minimum). The player who began the round in second place chooses from the three remaining categories and the same structure applies, followed by the same routine for the player that was leading to begin the round.
Whoever has the most points at the completion of this round wins $500 and then gets to see one final category, and may choose to answer one question for a further $1,000, or to answer two questions to for a further $2,000. Regardless of the choice, it is an all-or-nothing bonus: if, for example, the player opts to answer two questions, but answers the first one correctly and misses the second, they only win the $500 for winning the game.
In season 1, the winner could choose to take $500 or "double down" and attempt to answer one question correctly for $1,000, a wrong answer meant he or she got nothing.
The Series was created by Christopher Geddes of Lone Eagle Entertainment in Toronto, Canada, and are also producers of another game show called Inside the Box.
[edit] Trivia
- Sitara wears a different shirt every episode, each shirt featuring a different motto or creed. Such examples would "Brunettes have more fun" and "My ass is always on the line."
- When a round ends, the sound of a donkey is heard. Occasionly, Stewart will say, " Thats my wife, gotta go".
