Duel: Strategy and Knowledge is at Its Finest in This Game Show

"Let's Duel!" As these words are uttered by host Mike Greenberg (from ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the morning"), two contestants facing one another take their chips, valued at $5,000 each, and prepare for questions that will take strategy, knowledge, and a bit of luck for them to earn some big bucks and have a shot at a jackpot well over $1 million.

The game itself is simple: Each question has 4 possible answers. Two contestants place one chip on each answer they think could be right; thus, if "Jim" knows D is not the correct answer, but has no idea about the other 3, he would place a chip on A, B, and C. Assuming he is correct, he loses 2 chips, those placed on wrong answers. The intent is to make sure you get the answer right, while having the most possible chips for later questions.

Each person has no time limit...until they're pressed. Each contestant has two "presses" which can be used after they lock in their answer(s). This forces their opponent to answer within 7 seconds. As Greenberg has said many times, "There are two times when to use a press: When you're sure you know it, and want to force your opponent to waste chips, or when you're sure you don't, and you want to make your opponent waste chips."

The four players at the end of the 6 days with the most duels won (with the tiebreaker being amount of money bankrolled) receive a chance to face-off for the jackpot.

There are a few reasons why this game show is much better than others: Greenberg keeps things fairly business-like, moving along at a steady pace so the viewer feels like a lot of action is happening. And the set isn't all too glamorous, with an obsessive amount of lighting. Instead, the focus is on the players and each duel, a welcome change from the normal waste-time-with-dialogue exchanges between contestant and host.

How people get up on stage to face-off is also different, as 3 people are chosen at random from a gallery of about 30 players (which steadily dwindles as the week goes on), and the current champion chooses who they want to face.

"Duel" also allows each player to keep whatever money they do win, even if they do not finish in the top 4. So, if someone wins a duel with 1 chip left ($5,000) but loses her next, she takes home five grand. Period.

The contestants come from all walks of life, from an alligator wrestler to a stuntwoman to a cab driver. But they all have one common goal: To get up on stage and win a shot at the jackpot.

"Duel" is an exciting blend of poker and knowledge, and if ABC doesn't fiddle with this winning combination, then you should look forward to more dueling in the future.