Idiotic Jeopardy wagers (no spoilers before 6 EST)

Idiotic Jeopardy wagers (no spoilers before 6 EST)

If anyone else watched Jeopardy tonight then maybe they feel my pain on this one. The worst part is that if either of the 2 trailing players had bet the "right" amount they would have won, including the guy who went into Final Jeopardy with only about 1/3 as many chips as the other players.

Dollar amounts of players from right to left entering Final Jeopardy from left to right (I don't remember their names):

P1: $4800 P2: $13,800 P3: $12,000

Category/question is irrelevant but for the curious it was "Acting Families" and they were looking for the last name of a father and son who played 2 different real US Presidents, one on film and one on TV.

Spoiler
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Brolin

Now obviously neither P1 nor P3 can possibly win if P2 gets the answer right. He is forced to bet at least $10,201 to give him a total of $24,001 which is $1 more than double 2nd places $12K total.

With that in mind, the only way either of the other 2 have any shot whatsoever is if P2 gets it wrong, and since he has to bet at least $10,201 then he will have, at most, $3599 when that happens.

This means that P1 actually has a chance here provided P3 is stupid enough to be an amount that allows him to win. He's totally in it, he should bet $0 and his answer is irrelevant. Basically if P3 is not smart enough to make his victory impossible then she's probably dumb enough to make a huge bet and he'll win if they both miss it (which actually happens quite a lot in Final Jeopardy).

P3 however shouldn't bet any more than $2399 since that would allow P1 to pass her if he bet it all and got it right, which she can't allow to happen if she's thinking about it at all. So she can bet whatever she want's between $0-$2399 and if the leader (P2) misses the question she is GUARANTEED to win as he MUST bet $10,201 minimum.

Well, here's how it actually went down:

They all got it WRONG. Here is what they bet and what they wound up.

P1: $4,799 >>> $1
P2: $13,000 >>> $800
P3: $11,900 >>> $100

They totally handed it to P2 by making horrible wagers. Had either of them made rational bets they would have won easily. Notice how P3 sort of understands that leaving herself with something if she gets it wrong is good but ultimately decides on $100 for some reason that I'm sure made sense to her at the time. I expect this kind of **** on The Price is Right, but Jeopardy contestants should really know better.

09 June 2009 at 12:32 AM
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97 Replies

5
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Just watched my first Jeopardy in a long time. The third semi-final matchup. Wasn't that thrilled by it.


Luigi probably a better player but Troy has a chance. The smallest chance, but a chance.

Ben versus Yogesh is good


by King~of~Diamonds k

Luigi probably a better player but Troy has a chance. The smallest chance, but a chance.

Based on what metric?

FWIW, the Jeopardy Fan had Troy as the favorite going into the finals. All three semi finals went to the player who was favored by the prediction model.

I think Troy came into the tournament as the player with the second highest average Coryat score behind Chris.


Based on vibes


Um yeah, Troy looking like an absolute beast.


by chuckleslovakian k

Um yeah, Troy looking like an absolute beast.

6 game champ in his original run. Lost game 7 to an eventual 3 game champ when he didn't find any DDs in DJ and his opponent hit one for a big double up, then lost on a FJ triple stumper when trailing like 15k to 25k.


4 games in and Yogesh already made two serious FJ betting mistakes. Cost him the first game, didn't matter today.


Vibes are undefeated


Troy was leading 4/6 of games, and only won once. Weird how he wasn't good at final jeopardy while Ben got it right every time.


Invitational Tournament looks pretty stacked, minus a few key players. Good way to end the post strike run before regular games resume in April.


by chuckleslovakian k

Troy was leading 4/6 of games, and only won once. Weird how he wasn't good at final jeopardy while Ben got it right every time.

Career stats:
Troy: 21/23 on daily doubles, 9/15 on final jeopardy
Ben: 24/32 on daily doubles, 14/18 on final jeopardy

Obviously lots of variance involved.


by madlex k

Career stats:
Troy: 21/23 on daily doubles, 9/15 on final jeopardy
Ben: 24/32 on daily doubles, 14/18 on final jeopardy

Obviously lots of variance involved.

Yup.

If Ben hit the DD in DJ, he wins the ToC.

In Amy Schneider's first game, she's trailing Andrew He at FJ. Different FJ category and the 2nd longest streak in history becomes a 1 game champ.


This will get me watching again:


Regular games with new contestants begin today. About ****ing time.


by ntnBO k

Regular games with new contestants begin today. About ****ing time.

Off to a great start with 15 incorrect responses, 15 triple stumpers, 4 unplayed clues (first unplayed clues since July of last year) and all 3 players messing up their FJ wagers. Only fitting to see a triple stumper there..


You should not get the points if you say Klu Klux Klan


Wagering all your money when you were winning is one of the dumber things you can do


Say what you will, but I like civilian J! episodes like last night's because they make me feel a bit better about my abilities.

JIT was brutal on the self-esteem!


The best thing is getting one right that the geniuses miss


We weren’t sure when the episodes would air. But I can now announce that my girlfriend is a two-day Jeopardy champ


awesome dude


how did she prepare, did she read the thread?


by King~of~Diamonds k

We weren’t sure when the episodes would air. But I can now announce that my girlfriend is a two-day Jeopardy champ

Nice. When do they air?


by marknfw k

Nice. When do they air?

I assume he's referring to the current 2-day champion.

I'll need evidence (like a posted pic) to believe his claim, though. 😉


Nice, King. Congratulations to her!

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