OT: Jeopardy! fans

[Kodos]

Regis!

[Julio Riddols]

They would have to do a celebrity edition with the real Connery.

[britrock88]

Jeopardy! April Fools episode w... by JackBauer112

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Are you suggesting Ken Jennings?

SI

absolutely

[Solecismic]

I was secretly hoping Quik was talking about me...

[Lathum]

I have now seen it all.

The Final Jeopardy question tonight in the TV Animation category was " this duo made their TV debut in a 1992 short playing frog baseball"

Funny thing is none of the 3 contestants got it right, and all 3 are ages 25-40.

[britrock88]

That was only in '92? That makes (creator)'s career arc (with that other long-running series) a lot denser than I thought.

[Suicane75]

Something caught my eye last evening on Jeopardy as well and I thought it was what I would read when I saw this thread bumped. At the very end of single Jeopardy, there was a question about when the summer of love was. First guy answered 64 I think, second guy answered 69 and they were both wrong. The woman then buzzed in with the correct answer of 67 and turned to the other two players and said "thanks guys". They did not look too pleased. It's the first time I can recall a player zinging another player and it made me do a double take.

[Jas_lov]

I know they're just kids, but today's show might take the cake for worst wagering of all time from both 1st and 2nd place. They're kids but they're supposedly smarter kids who should be able to do basic math. It just baffled me that they would all bet everything. Would have been something to see 3rd place leave herself with $1 and have it actually work.

[finketr]

if i recall correctly it was like 16k/12k/1600 going into final.

WTH was the leading guy doing? the third place girl had no chance.

1st place guy should have bet in the 8000 range.
2nd place guy could have bet anything between 0-4000ish.
that was just horrible by everyone.

[britrock88]

If it's ~16k/~12k/1600, "proper" wagering strategy:

1st: double 2nd's total + $1 -> $8001 wager
2nd: bet it all
3rd: can't beat 1st if he misses at $8001; bet anything -- all but $1 in case of a triple stumper with all-in wagers (like actually happened) is feasible

EDIT: if it's exactly 16k/12k, though, there are some different issues with 2nd having exactly 3/4ths of 1st's total. 1st might wager 8k or 0, 2nd may wage 4k, yadaya

[larrymcg421]

1st place guy only needed to wager $7601 to cover 2nd place. As for 3rd place, can't really blame her as she should've had no chance if 1st and 2nd wagered rationally, but I often see people in that position bet $0 just in case. If the two players don't bet rationally, it's more likely that they'll bet everything or all but $1, not all but $1700, so doubling the $1600 doesn't really have much value.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by britrock88

If it's ~16k/~12k/1600, "proper" wagering strategy:

1st: double 2nd's total + $1 -> $8001 wager
2nd: bet it all
3rd: can't beat 1st if he misses at $8001; bet anything -- all but $1 in case of a triple stumper with all-in wagers (like actually happened) is feasible

EDIT: if it's exactly 16k/12k, though, there are some different issues with 2nd having exactly 3/4ths of 1st's total. 1st might wager 8k or 0, 2nd may wage 4k, yadaya

It was 16400, 12000, 1600.

[lighthousekeeper]

Maybe they thought they were playing a game and not managing a hedge fund.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

Maybe they thought they were playing a game and not managing a hedge fund.

Yeah but you play to win.

Leader is essentially obligated to bet enough to cover second place if second place doubles up.

Second place isn't threatened by third, and since first place is obligated to wager enough to cover you, you can even bet nothing. After all your only hope is really that the guy in first misses.

Third betting there just doesn't make any sense.

[ntndeacon]

I would think the best strategy for 2nd is to assume 1st is going to bet $1 more than double his total is to bet enough to go ahead if first misses or bets 0. so for 16400, 12000, 1600 I would bet 4401

[General Mike]

Catching up on my DVR and just saw this now. Way to fuck up the bidding. Second time I've seen this in the last year, both times in the teen tournament

[henry296]

Didn't see it but one thing about tournaments in the first round the semifinal wild card should come into play for the 2nd place person. However from reading this the leader messed up because you just want to advance.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by henry296

Didn't see it but one thing about tournaments in the first round the semifinal wild card should come into play for the 2nd place person. However from reading this the leader messed up because you just want to advance.

True, which is bad wagering, but it also changed the wagering for game 3 since those players presumably knew they were playing for 2 spots, one for winning and one for being the highest non-winner.

A bigger question I have is, did the players in the 2nd semifinal know that if there was a tie at 0, that no one would advance?

[finketr]

Originally Posted by General Mike

True, which is bad wagering, but it also changed the wagering for game 3 since those players presumably knew they were playing for 2 spots, one for winning and one for being the highest non-winner.

A bigger question I have is, did the players in the 2nd semifinal know that if there was a tie at 0, that no one would advance?

I think all the rounds are independent of each other and the contestants do not know what happened in the previous round?

At least that's my recollection.

[henry296]

I went to the taping of the college tournament one year and they did three shows back to back to back so I think they do try to keep the results confidential. Otherwise the last group has a big advantage.

[albionmoonlight]

The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament Just. Got. Real. - The Triangle Blog - Grantland

[Comey]

I watched that episode last night while at the Y. Epic.

[larrymcg421]

The DD wager was awesome and I'm glad he won, but his cockiness could've been really embarrassing here. He did not have a lock game. If Nilai's answer was correct he would've had $21,400 + $19,000 from the previous day and ended up with $40,400 to beat Leonard.

[kcchief19]

Wow. That could have tremendously backfired but what a move, from the all-in daily double to the taking a knee at the end. Leonard earned his day in the sun.

[Jas_lov]

Leonard got lucky that Nilai missed FJ but at least he made one big and smart wager, which is more than we can say for everyone else in the tournament.

The ToC starts today so hopefully we see more risk taking and smarter wagers.

[Young Drachma]

[mckerney]

Today show pariah Matt Lauer poised to replace Alex Trebek, kill off another American institution

[Ramzavail]

i don't approve.

[QuikSand]

[britrock88]

Heh. Perhaps I could have bumped this thread when a college friend of mine won $75k a few weeks back.

[cuervo72]

Was it Sara?

(Sara was quite cute. And she bounced when she laughed, like she was standing on a big exercise ball.)

[britrock88]

Yes, it was. We played on the college quiz bowl team -- obviously she was one of our 2 strongest people. I was the guy they kept around for questions like that triple stumper FJ that knocked her out (only because 2nd place mis-bet, grr) about secondary college mascots.

[Neuqua]

Jeopardy ‘Mad Genius’ Arthur Chu speaks out: ‘I have nothing to apologize for’ - Yahoo Finance


Fans of “Jeopardy” won’t soon forget the name Arthur Chu.

Chu, 30, stunned fans of the long-running game show last week, as he barreled his way past a dozen competitors to win the game four nights in a row. But it wasn’t his impressive winning streak that turned him into an Internet sensation — it was how he won.

Taking a cue from past “Jeopardy” champions, Chuck Forrest and Keith Williams, who bounced around the board in order to confuse other contestants, Chu decided to toss tradition out the window. Typically, players play 'top to bottom' — selecting a clue with the lowest dollar value and work their way down to higher-valued clues on the bottom of the game board. It’s not a rule, but the game has been played that way for so long that viewers and players alike are accustomed to that progression path.

“I thought [my strategy] would draw attention,” Chu said when we caught up with him by phone on Monday. “But I never understood why this traditional way of playing the game has been kind of locked in.”

Chu stubbornly targeted the $1,000 clues first, snatching them away from his competitors and jumping around the board in order to maximize his chances of stumbling upon the coveted Daily Double. He was so intent on winning that he hit the buzzer sometimes before host Alex Trebek could even finish reading the clue.

As a result, the usually streamlined clue board looked uncharacteristiaclly jumbled:

Chu used the controversial 'Forrest Bounce' technique to confuse competitors.
As if he hadn't shaken things up enough already, Chu even bowled over Trebek at times throughout the show. After unlocking a Daily Double for Sports, Chu blurted out a bet for just $5, knowing he wasn't likely to get it right. And before Trebeck could finish reading the clue, Chu spoke over the host, saying he didn't know the answer.

Viewers didn’t find his stunts all that amusing. They assailed him online, accusing him of ruining the “fun” of the game, while others called him a “mad genius” and “hero villain.”

Chu seemed a bit dazed by the backlash but had no problem defending his strategy — he’s taken home $102,800 so far and stands to add even more to his loot when his next show airs on Feb. 24.

He credits Forrest and Williams for inspiring him, but it turns out his decision to rebuke tradition had more to do with timing than anything else. Chu, a history buff from Broadview Heights, Ohio, had auditioned for “Jeopardy” two years ago and thought his hopes of earning a spot on the show were all but lost until a producer called him out of the blue in November and told him he would be on the show at the end of the month.

That left him just 30 days to cram.

“A month’s time isn’t that much. If I had had some advanced warning, I would have learned wheelhouse categories, boned up on sports, classic films, opera, things like that,” he said. “But when you know your limitations, you’ve got to learn to leverage knowledge with your strategy.”

Chu, who works for an insurance company and freelances as a voice-over actor, knew he was weak in sports knowledge. In defense of his controversial $5 bet, Chu says he didn't bother to give an answer because he knew he’d never guess right. Fans called him out for being a bad sport, but Chu says it was all about playing to his strengths.

“If I get a Daily Double in sports and I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna know it, why would I take an unnecessary risk?” he said. “I guess people see it as a jerk thing to do, but the benefit in that is that I can take that clue away from someone else who does know about sports.”

As for offending die-hard “Jeopardy” fans, Chu seemed more concerned with Trebek’s reaction than anyone else. Even the host couldn’t hide his irritation when Chu rattled off answers while he was still speaking.

“The crew, the production team and Alex, they want you to take the clues in order. That way, Alex doesn’t have to go hunting around for the right note card when he has a clue,” Chu said. “I hope he wasn’t too mad. I don’t want to antagonize Alex. Alex is a national treasure.”

Fans will see if Chu gets the last laugh when his fifth game, which has already been taped, airs on Feb. 24. With a fifth win, Chu would be guaranteed a spot on the show’s special “champions” episode, where long-running winners go head to head. In the end, he’ll endure a little more public ridicule if it means taking home an even bigger prize. With the winnings, he says he plans on visiting family in China, saving a chunk and donating the rest to a charity benefitying fibromyalgia patients.

“I keep coming back to this: when you’re playing the game up there, you’re playing for real money, and that means a lot to me,” he said. “Maybe I would get impatient at times and I don’t think that in and of itself is something to apologize for.”

[DaddyTorgo]

I've got no problems with the way he's playing at all. It's how I end up playing scrabble - I have no problem playing defensively to cover a big multiplier tile with a little letter if it's all I can do.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

“The crew, the production team and Alex, they want you to take the clues in order. That way, Alex doesn’t have to go hunting around for the right note card when he has a clue,” Chu said. “I hope he wasn’t too mad. I don’t want to antagonize Alex. Alex is a national treasure.”

This was the only thing that surprised me in the article. Is this really how the game runs in 2014?

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah - you'd think they'd upgrade to electronics at some freaking point.

[KWhit]

Chu stubbornly targeted the $1,000 clues first, snatching them away from his competitors and jumping around the board in order to maximize his chances of stumbling upon the coveted Daily Double.

What?

How does jumping around the board maximize his chances of getting the DD? I've read two different articles about this guy and they both said the same thing. WTF?

[sterlingice]

Doesn't it seem like the Daily Double is almost always on the 4th or 5th clue in a category? So you could just forego 1-3 and increase your odds?

SI

[KWhit]

I dunno. I didn't think so, but I barely watch the show. I thought it was supposed to be random.

[cuervo72]

Yeah, they are typically deep into the category, though I'm pretty sure they've been in the second slot a few times recently.

Someone uses this approach every couple of months, it's not really new. It is fairly annoying as a viewer, as it breaks up the flow of the game. It can sometimes kill a category too if it's a trick/gimmick one (spins on Before and After, etc) - start off with the $1000 without a good intro to the trick (a warm-up $200 question) and *crickets*. Overall it disrupts your thought processes - of course that's mostly the point, along with hitting the doubles.

The speaking over Trebek thing - THAT is sheer asshattery, IMO.

[QuikSand]

I believe the DD location is random, with the top row excluded.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by KWhit

What?

How does jumping around the board maximize his chances of getting the DD? I've read two different articles about this guy and they both said the same thing. WTF?

And of course, in order to jump around the board, you gotta be the one getting the previous question right (save for the beginning of rounds).

[henry296]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I believe the DD location is random, with the top row excluded.

Also, I don't think they have 2 in the same category during double jeopardy, so once you find one you can skip that category.

Overall, I agree with Kwhit, it really doesn't help your odds much.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by henry296

Also, I don't think they have 2 in the same category during double jeopardy, so once you find one you can skip that category.

Ahh, correct.

[cuervo72]

Stats: http://j-archive.com/ddstats.php?season=29

(just change the number in the query string for other seasons)

[Jas_lov]

How is hunting for the DDs taking the fun out of the game? I like the way he plays. What's boring is starting at the top and going down each category. There is no minimum bet on the DDs so what's wrong with a $5 wager? If anything, he takes it off the board for other players. DDs are the equalizer so I don't know why you wouldn't hunt for them.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

How is hunting for the DDs taking the fun out of the game? I like the way he plays. What's boring is starting at the top and going down each category. There is no minimum bet on the DDs so what's wrong with a $5 wager? If anything, he takes it off the board for other players. DDs are the equalizer so I don't know why you wouldn't hunt for them.

Exactly.

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by Logan

This was the only thing that surprised me in the article. Is this really how the game runs in 2014?

I think he makes phonetic notes on them for easier reading

[stevew]

I don't usually watch Jeopardy! but if I saw this monster I can pretty much guarantee I would be dwelling on it for up to a week. Just watching the clips makes me pissed. I may be OCD.

I get mad when the category changes before it is complete.