Wheel of Fortune’s most high-stakes segment is, of course, the coveted bonus round. Each weeknight, the highest-earning player takes their puzzle prowess to a final, solo puzzle. Joined by new host Ryan Seacrest with an ever-hopeful Vanna White over at the puzzle board, they get 10 seconds to solve. There, the big money awaits, with prizes ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 (and, in four cases in history, $1 million) — if they guess it, that is.
While bonus round victories hinge on a player’s ability to solve the puzzle quickly, a few factors can help them do so. Aside from selecting a category that potentially aligns with their interests (and ideally, not choosing the dreaded “Phrase”), the additional letters they pick are crucial. So, which four letters should someone go with when the puzzle is displayed? Getting three consonants and one vowel, along with the provided “RSTLNE,” is there a cheat code?
A fan asked that very question on Thursday (October 31), titling their thread in the WoF Reddit forum: “What are the best letters to pick during the bonus round?”
They continued: “If the puzzle has a three-letter word, such as ‘T’ ‘unknown’ ‘E,’ should you select ‘H’ as a letter or should you select something else? In other words, should you select letters that you know are in the puzzle or ask for letters that you are unsure as to if they are in the puzzle. What are the most common letters that a person should select?”
Former contestants shared their picks for the best go-to letters, and urged prospective players to avoid picking letters they are sure are on the board.
“I had a spreadsheet for this prepared for my appearance,” one former player wrote. “I took every bonus round in season 40 and found the most common letters used other than RSTLNE. I think I omitted ‘What Are You Doing’ categories because of the prevalence of the letter G in those. Anyway the most common three consonants + vowel were PHG-A. I used those letters on both my bonus rounds… and lost both. Lol”
“Literally almost spit my drink when I read ‘lost both.’ At least you had a strategy lol,” another fan replied.
“CDMA,” a third person advised.
“FDYO are the best letters to pick,” wrote a fourth. “Excluding ‘unhelpful’ letters like G (most bonus puzzles have an obvious ING), etc.”
A fifth person had a clutch concept, which was to go with a “Y” since it doesn’t count as your vowel (but is technically both a vowel and consonant). They wrote: “I always thought GHYI, but I’ll try FDYO and see if they would work better — Y seems to be the best since can be a consonant or a vowel.”
A sixth shared that the best course of action is to size up the puzzle first and adjust the additional letters based on what appears, like the game show’s most recent $100,000 winner who wisely chose a “P”, solving “Hot Fudge Topping”.
“There is no universal answer,” they wrote. “You can use the information you get from RSTLNE to guess.”
Aside from the thread, former contestants have offered their strategies in the past. In 2015, a contestant told The Washington Post the best letters to pick were “GHPO.”
In 2013, a fan posted a blog having gone through a log of a decade of bonus round puzzles. They learned that: “”CMDA’ are the four most frequently called letters. ‘PHOG’ are the next four in order. No one ever calls ‘V,J,Q,Z, or X’ unless they already know the answer to the puzzle and want to show off.”Related‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player Makes ‘Worst Guess’ of Ryan Seacrest EraThey observed that “O” is the most common letter to appear, so it would be the best vowel to pick. “M is an awful pick,” they added as it’s the 21st least common to appear. As that blogger concluded: “HGDO is the best selection.”The only exception is when the category is “What Are You Doing?.” As they wrote: “Since this category always begins with a word ending in -ING, having the ‘G’ be revealed in that slot is worthless.”Wheel of Fortune, Weeknights, Check local listings
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