Paul defeats Carol Ann in the sudden death tiebreaker after Carol Ann loses on a double King.
Paul loses $2,800 on the Big Bet after missing on a 4. He still finishes with $2,800, and his luck turns around at the range board as he gets the number correct to win the car. (Total: $22,589)
NOTE: Card Sharks did not air on February 20, 1989 (President's Day) due to The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy, Muppet Babies, and Garfield & Friends, three of CBS's Saturday Morning offerings. These also pre-empted Family Feud. The Price Is Right aired at 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Audience Polling Group February 20 to 24, 1989: 10 Men from Chippendales
Featured car: Toyota Pickup ($8,363)
Ep. #
CBS Airdate
Red Player (Champ)
Blue Player (Challenger)
Notes
798
2/21/1989
Ruth
Cat
Cat defeats Ruth, who leaves with $9,700.
Cat wins $3,800 on the Money Cards, but does not win the car. (Total: $4,000)
Frank is Cat's new challenger.
799
2/22/1989
Cat
Frank
Starts at the second question of Game 1.
Cat defeats Frank and has some very tough luck on the Money Cards, only winning $200. She does not win the car. (Total $4,400)
Jim wins $12,600 on the Money Cards, but does not win the car. (Total: $12,800)
Diane is Jim's new challenger.
801
2/24/1989
Jim
Diane
Starts at the sudden death question of Game 1.
Diane defeats Jim, who leaves with $12,800.
Diane wins $5,500 on the Money Cards, but does not win the car. (Total: $5,700)
Chris is Diane's new challenger.
Chris defeats Diane, who leaves with $5,800. He will play the Money Cards to start off the next show.
Audience Polling Group February 27 to March 3, 1989: 10 U.S. Marines
Featured car: Suzuki Sidekick ($X,XXX)
Ep. #
CBS Airdate
Red Player (Champ)
Blue Player (Challenger)
Notes
802
2/27/1989
Chris
Jacqui
Show starts with new champion, Chris, playing the Money Cards. Despite busting on the first level, he makes a nice comeback and wins $5,400. He then gets the correct number at the range board and wins the car. (Total: $14,855)
New match between Chris and new challenger, Jacqui, begins.
Jacqui defeats Chris at the end of the show. Chris leaves with $14,955, plus a car, and Jacqui will play the Money Cards to start off the next show.
Show starts off with Ainslee, the last Young People's Week champion, playing the Money Cards. She wins $8,400 and a trip to Hawaii (she missed the answer by one). (Total: $11,036)
Ainslee's return, despite not being Young People's Week, implies that the show received a cancellation notice by CBS by the time of taping.
The audience polling group in this episode were simply 10 men.
After the first commercial break, the match between Suzanna and Claire resumes in progress, starting at the second question of Game 1.
When Suzanna and Claire were brought back, no contestant interviews occurred.
Match between Suzanna and Claire continues into a third day.
Audience Polling Group March 20 to 24, 1989: Female Flight Attendants
Featured car: TBA ($X,XXX)
Ep. #
CBS Airdate
Red Player (Champ)
Blue Player (Challenger)
Notes
817
3/20/1989
Suzanna
Claire
Starts at the sudden death question of Game 2.
818
3/21/1989
819
3/22/1989
820
3/23/1989
821
3/24/1989
Nancy
Jordan
Audience Polling Group March 27 to 31, 1989: 10 Top Business Executives
Show starts with Beverly at the car game. She misses by one and wins another $500 for a total of $8,500.
Beverly believed that nobody in the audience polling group would quit their job if they inherited $1,000,000. Surprisingly, she won $500 for missing by one.
Leigh is Beverly's new challenger.
Leigh defeats Beverly, who leaves with $8,500.
Leigh wins $4,400 on the Money Cards, and becomes the final contestant in the series to win the car! (Total: $13,855)
Leigh's new challenger, Ray, would be the last male contestant in the series.
On the first question of the match, Leigh wins a $100 audience poll bonus.
Match continues at Question #2 in Round 1 on Thursday.
"Chuck Henry's after my job"--Bob Eubanks, in reference to someone who would host the show that would replace Card Sharks the following Monday (see below).
Show starts at the beginning of a new match between Ray and Pam.
Pam defeats Ray, who leaves with $9,300.
Pam wins only $1,950 on the Money Cards, thanks to a bad start.
During the final playing of the car game, Pam could win the car if exactly right or even if off by one, but to no avail. Pam leaves with a total of $2,150. And...
TH-TH-TH-TH-THAT'S ALL FOLKS!
During the closing segment on the final episode aired on CBS, Bob mentioned as many of the staffers that made the show a success. Then, Bob got emotional, choking tears, and dedicated the previous three years to Carole Costello, a contestant coordinator who passed away in 1987. Some speculated that Bob was emotional not only due to his tribute to Carole Costello, but also because he enjoyed hosting Card Sharks so much, and the series had come to an end. Card Sharks would never been seen again in first-run until the disastrous 2001 version with Pat Bullard as host, and later the 2019 remake with Joel McHale as host.
And so ends a great show. Replacing it the following Monday is the Chuck Henry-hosted revival of Now You See It.