Press Your Luck was an American television daytime game show that ran Weekday mornings 10:30 a.m./09:30 central (later 4:00 p.m./3:00 central) on CBS from September 19, 1983 to September 26, 1986, where contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions, and then used the "spins" on an 18-space gameboard full of cash and prizes. The person who amassed the most in cash and prizes at the end of the game won.

The show was memorable for the "Whammy", a red cartoon creature of indeterminate species wearing a cape. The Whammy's spaces on the game board took away the contestant's money, accompanied by an animation that would show the Whammy taking the loot—but frequently being chased away, blown up, or otherwise humiliated in the process. The animated Whammies were created and animated by Savage Steve Holland and Bill Kopp, and voiced by Executive Producer Bill Carruthers. Throughout the show's run, approximately 60 different animations were used, and the Whammy became popular enough that at the end of many episodes, Peter Tomarken, the show's host, would read a "Whammy poem," sent in by a home viewer. "Whammy poems" would also appear after the first round of the Big Board before going to commercial on occasion. The show's announcer was Rod Roddy, who would later go on to announce The Price is Right, in February 1986, prior to working on both shows. Other announcers, including John Harlan and Charlie O'Donnell, occasionally filled in for Roddy.

The show originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles. During its first few months, it taped in studio 33 (also now known as the Bob Barker Studio), but by 1984 it regularly shot in studio 41 although for a few weeks every so often it would again shoot in studio 33.

Three contestants one a returning champion competed in this game of strategy. The game consisted of two rounds, each with two parts. In the first part of each round, host Tomarken read a toss-up question; the first to signal is given a chance to answer. That response, plus two other possible answers are then listed, with the other two contestant then given a chance to choose from the three listed answers. A correct answer earned the first contestant three spins and his/her opponents one spin each. Four such questions were played; the players used the spins to accumulate cash and prizes on an 18-space board. One contestant at a time is in control of the board; he/she stopped a randomly-flashing cursor by pressing his signal device (and usually the scream "STOP!"). The contestant wins whatever appears in the lit space a cash amount, a prize, perhaps an extra spin or other action space ... or it could be a Whammy, which caused the contestant to lose all he/she had accumulated in that game. The Whammy was an animated devil who starred in the sequences, which played when a contestant lost his winnings. As long as a contestant is in control of the board, he/she can continue to press their luck and possibly lose their accumulated winnings on the next spin or elect to pass his/her remaining spins to an opponent (the leader or the player in second place, depending on who passes), meaning he/she must use those spins. Any player who lands on four whammies is eliminated from the game; the high scorer after two rounds is the winner and returns. Only the winner keeps what he/she had won; a player continued until winning five shows, until defeated or winning $25,000 (later $50,000, then the winnings limit at CBS). The most famous contestant on "Press Your Luck" was Michael Larson, who memorized the flashing patterns of the gameboard cursor. Putting his knowledge to use, he racked $110,000 in cash and prizes during his 1984 appearance on the show (which was broken into a two-part show); the game was soon redesigned by the producers to prevent future fortune-hunting gameplay. For years, "Press Your Luck" reruns aired on the USA Network; Game Show Network was scheduled to begin airing reruns of the show starting in September 2001. "Press Your Luck" was based on the 1977 game show, "Second Chance," which was largely identical to the later game show. Written by Brian Rathjen

On this game show, contestants answer a series of questions and earn money with each correct one. After these questions, contestants then have to gamble those winnings on a light-board that flashes in a seemingly random fashion and hit a button to stop it at a hopefully desirable spot. The results can range from increased winning to hitting the "Whammy" which causes a cartoon character to appear and the player loses all the winnings. Written by Kenneth Chisholm

The same Whammy animations used in the original American version of Press Your Luck (1983) were used in this version of the show (complete with the original voices).

During the show's run, announcer John Deeks travelled between Melbourne and Adelaide to do announcing duties for "Press Your Luck" and Wheel of Fortune (1981) respectively.