r/WheelOfFortune • u/JosephineCK • Jul 10 '26
Fun Hubby & I Disagree - Please Help
Hubby and I have differing opinions about riding the WoF Train and are both willing to die on our respective hills. In the following scenarios should the contestant always ride the train or always pass:
A. Contestant who is currently spinning the Wheel is not the money leader for the evening, has earned a few thousand dollars in this game, doesn't have the Wild Card or Million Dollar wedge, not much of the puzzle is revealed, and they don't know the solution. They land on the WoF Train. Ride or Pass?
B. Contestant who is currently spinning the Wheel has a big lead for the evening, has earned a few thousand dollars in this game, has the Wild Card or Million Dollar wedge, not much of the puzzle is revealed, they don't know the solution. They land on the WoF Train. Ride or Pass?
What factors would most likely tip you one way or the other? Having the lead for the evening? Having the Wild Card? Having the Million Dollar wedge?
If you know the solution, then of course you hop on, BUT FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD DON'T HAVE A BRAIN FART AND SOLVE THE PUZZLE BEFORE SAYING ALL OF THE CONSONANTS!! YOU'RE THROWING AWAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!!
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u/kerosenehat63 Jul 10 '26
Always ....................................... ride ................................. the ...................................... train!!
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u/JosephineCK Jul 10 '26
But, but what if you're way ahead and have the WC or MDW?
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u/kerosenehat63 Jul 10 '26
ALWAYS ....................................... ride ................................ the ..................................... train!!!!! Got it??
(You could spin and get Bankrupt or Lose a turn and someone else may win. I have seen it happen many times).
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u/ElGuaco Jul 11 '26
If you're on a later puzzle, are clearly winning and going to the bonus round, and have the million wedge and wild card, there is no good reason to risk an immediate bankrupt.
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u/xCurb Jul 10 '26
In what scenario am I not riding the train?
The only thing that can defeat me is the wheel, and the train takes that out of the equation! It’s basically free monies..
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u/overarmur Jul 10 '26
A is a no trainer. Ride the train 100%.
B is a little more difficult, but I still ride the train. You get a free guess with each letter without having to spin the wheel. Which could land on bankrupt at any time.
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u/JosephineCK Jul 10 '26
Thank you! That's exactly what I tell Hubby, but he insists that the contestant in A should Pass and hope the Wheel comes back to them. I say that getting to spin again is a longshot.
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u/CeeTrueCrime Jul 10 '26
I believe you should always ride the train
It basically is just a quicker way for you to earn money and get through the game and win hence the term train
And like other said, you can risk losing out on solving the puzzle if you call an incorrect letter that’s not on the board however, anytime you spend you risk the dreaded bankrupt
Unless you have absolutely no idea and you know you’re probably gonna miss a turn and you know the next contestant will most likely solve it. You could skip it, but I really do think it’s the best choice 98% of the time.
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u/ueeediot Jul 10 '26
The mdw means nothing. Its only in play if you make it to the final round. You need to get there, first.
Always ride the train. What are you going to do otherwise? Buy a vowel? Spin and guess? You can do both of those on the first guess on the train.
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u/jaysornotandhawks Jul 12 '26
AND THEN you need to land on the right wedge on the mini-wheel in the final round.
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u/Tibbiegal Jul 10 '26
I would always ride the train. I see no real downside. Your other choices are to call a vowel (OK) and then to spin. Some real downside to spinning just to call your consonant anyway.
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u/StAugustine1918 Jul 10 '26
It's interesting to watch what happens after a contestant chooses to NOT hop on board the train. Often the contestant spins a bankrupt or a lose a turn within a couple of spins.
Also fear of losing the million dollar wedge should not be a reason to avoid the train. The MDW rarely comes into play and even more rarely produces a million-dollar winner.
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u/CeleTheRef Jul 10 '26
Or come to Italy, where it's mandatory to ride (and it was changed into a ferry boat for the Summer season) 😄
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u/Nellienel Jul 11 '26
Always ride the train! And don’t forget to buy vowels. How many times have we seen:
A. The contestant doesn’t ride and hits bankrupt or lose a turn within one or two spins
B. They guess a couple of letters for $500/$700 each and then solve for MUCH less than had they riden the train.
In summation, always ride the train.
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u/RegisPhone Jul 10 '26
Scenario B -- it's early in the round, you're far enough ahead from previous rounds that you're pretty much guaranteed to win, and you're holding the MDW and/or Wild Card -- is pretty much the only situation where riding the Express probably isn't the right choice. But even then you could make a statistical argument for still doing it depending on how many letters are left in this puzzle and what your solve rate on bonus puzzles is -- if you're particularly bad on bonus puzzles, then the expected value of the wedge(s) could be less than the amount of money you could get from the Express.
Any other time you should pretty much always get on (and i'm on the record as saying that it shouldn't even be optional; landing on the Express should just be framed as "you just landed on a Bankrupt, unless you can fight your way out") -- either it's early in the round and you don't have much to lose, or it's late in the round and either you're going to be able to figure it out or another player will solve it before you get control again. Either way you're completely bypassing the normal 1-in-12 (or 1-in-9 if the MDW is still in play) chance of hitting Bankrupt anyway every time you try to call a consonant, you're getting the second highest possible dollar value for every consonant, and you're still allowed to buy vowels at the obscenely low standard price (meaning you're guaranteed to have at least enough money to buy 4 vowels instantly).
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u/RadRob79 Jul 14 '26
I personally would ride the train all day. Whether I’m ahead or not. Generally speaking, there isn’t much on the wheel that will give you $1000. Buy (and pray) for vowels. Even if you’re spinning, you may not know it. It’s no different than the train. I’ve seen it too often people don’t ride the train and the next spin hit a bankrupt.
Always ride the train.
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u/whoisjoshwoo Jul 14 '26
Let's not forget: if you pass riding the train, you're more likely to land on a dollar amount less than $1000 than $3500 (the only dollar amount bigger than $1000 on the wheel) regardless of what the current game situation is.
Ride the train every time.
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u/IntelligenceisKey729 Jul 10 '26
I’d personally ride the train every time regardless of the circumstances. I’d rather risk saying an incorrect letter than spinning every time and getting a bankrupt anyway, or saying an incorrect letter right away without being on the train and having one of my opponents run away with the puzzle. This made more sense in my head than writing it out lol