Street Smarts

Street Smarts is a United States game show that features two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people who were found on the street. The show aired in syndication from October 2, 2000 to September 23, 2005, hosted by Frank Nicotero.

Before the game actually starts, two studio contestants are introduced, as well as three "street savants", whose interviews were pre-recorded.

A question is posed, and the studio contestants must choose which of the three "savants" gave the correct answer. A correct guess earns $100. Three questions are asked in this round, and sometimes two "savants" will have answered a question correctly. Sometimes, as an aside, Frank will call for a wrong-answer clip to be played to add humor to the show.

This is similar to the first round, but the object is to guess who got the question wrong; for each question, only two of the "savants" are considered (one of whom answered correctly), and correct guesses are now worth $200.

Also, a Dunce Cap is in play in Round Two; Once the question is posed, an in-studio contestant can hit their buzzer if he/she thinks that his/her opponent does not know the answer. The person hitting his/her buzzer usually placed the Dunce Cap on his/her opponent. The "dunce" is allowed to hear the question in its entirety, and must then answer the question within 5 seconds. If the dunce gets the question wrong, $200 goes to the person who hit the buzzer. However, if the dunce does know the answer, then the "dunce" gets the $200 and is allowed to place the dunce cap on his/her opponent (that is, the person who hit the buzzer originally). In either case, the cap must be worn for the remainder of the round. Also, only one dunce cap opportunity is available.

The third round saw the two contestants choose one of the "savants" to work with for the entire round. The round was known as "Pick Your Pony" for the first three seasons and "Pick Your Brain" in the final two seasons. Each question goes to an individual contestant, who must decide whether their "brain/pony" got the question right or wrong. Three questions are asked of each contestant, for a total of six in the round. Correct guesses are now worth $300. The Dunce Cap is back in this round, regardless of whether it was used in the previous round. Once again there is one dunce per round, but dunces are now worth $300.

The "right" reference is indicated in green; the "wrong" reference in red.

Before the final commercial break, a question is asked. During the commercial, the contestants each choose, in secret, 1) which "savant" they wish to pick, 2) whether they got the question right or wrong, and 3) the amount of their score that they wish to wager. A correct guess adds the contestant's wager to his/her score, while an incorrect guess loses the wager. High scorer at the end of the game keeps their money, and, in season 5, has the opportunity to risk their winnings for the possibility of a slot in the season-ending Tournament of Champions (see below). An exception to this rule occurs when celebrities play for charity: the winning player's charity receives the money won, with a minimum of $1,000; the losing player's charity receives $500, regardless of the actual score.

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