You Bet Your Ass

Host
Stewart Francis
Co-host
Sitara Hewitt
Broadcast
The Comedy Network: 2005–2007
Packager
Lone Eagle Entertainment

"Welcome to YOU BET YOUR ASS! Please welcome our host STEWART FRANCIS!"

You Bet Your Ass was a Canadian gambling/pop culture quiz game show.

Gameplay

Main Game

The game was played in four rounds.

Round 1: Piece of Ass

In this round, the three contestants were shown a category by Stewart as he said the show's tagline "Hit Me", and had to answer a question for 100 points. The contestant in the left podium would begin the round. After seeing their category, contestants had the option of "doubling down", and instead receiving two questions in the category, for 200 points (although both questions had to be answered correctly in order to score). However, if the contestant got a question wrong, not only would they lose points corresponding to how much it was worth (100 normally, 200 for a double-down), but the other contestants would have a chance to steal the question. Players were given 1,000 points to begin the game. Also, one player could get a wild card instead of a category, and they had to choose an opponent from whom to take 500 points if they could answer a single question.

Round 2: Dirty Dozen

This was much like the typical "lightning round" on many game shows. Twelve questions were asked (four per contestant), with a spotlight randomly falling on a contestant who had to then answer directly. The correct answer to each question served to segue to the next question. Questions were worth 500 points apiece (100 in Season 1), and no points were lost on incorrect answers. In Season 1, the contestant who answered was determined before Stewart read the question, however, in Season 2, he would read the question, and then the contestant would be chosen.

Round 3: Up Your Ass

This took the same form as Round 1, only with 200 or 400 points at stake, and 1,000 points were again given to all players.

Round 4: Ass on the Line

This was the final round. It presented the contestants with four categories. The player with the lowest score would get the first choice and could 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) (contestants couldn't bet uneven amounts; 2550, for example, would only be 2500 or 2600) (the round ended for that player if they fell below the minimum). The player who began the round in second place would choose from the three remaining categories and the same structure applied, followed by the same routine for the player that was leading to begin the round.

The contestant with the most points at the end of the final round won the game, $500, and played the bonus round.

Bonus Round

The winner got to see one final category, and could choose to answer one question for a further $1,000, or to answer two questions for a further $2,000. Regardless of the choice, it was an all-or-nothing bonus: if, for example, the winner opted to answer two questions, but answered the first one correctly and missed the second, they only won the $500 for winning the game.

In Season 1, the winner could choose to take $500 or "double down" and attempt to answer one final question correctly for $1,000, but a wrong answer meant he/she got nothing. If a game ended in a tie, the double down question was not offered and the tied contestants split the $1,000 prize automatically.

Running gags

Sitara wore a different shirt every episode, each one featuring a different motto or creed, such as "Brunettes have more fun" and "My ass is always on the line."
When a round ended, the sound of a donkey would be heard. Occasionally, Stewart would say, "That's my wife, gotta go".

Music

Peter Warnica

Inventors

Michael Geddes and Christopher Geddes

Trivia

You Bet Your Ass also aired on Action TV in the United States of America in 2009.