Friday, May 11, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[MarkBarrett]

Elyse had 75K in the bag. If she lost the 28K on the wager then her potential third place total would be $23,600. If Catherine had missed, her 2-day total would have been 19800. If Rose had missed, her 2-day total would have been 12,400.

So, on an easy clue Elyse gets an extra $4,600. On a hard clue Elyse gets $75,000 on the nose only if she wins a tiebreaker. With Elyse potentially falling to Rose's day two double-up was that part of the thinking for Elyse's wager?

When the FJ clue came up I saw Iowa and was ready to write Hoover. I read the clue again and thought I had to figure out who was president when Iowa was admitted. On the third reading I finally understood who was wanted.

28 for me in the J! round with the popular bronze getting by me and Evian for the other one. 24 in the DJ round with 3/6 I didn't get from Musical Terms to make the night +18 over last night.

If someone sets up one of those useless online petitions for Elyse to get a TOC invite I'll sign anyway.

[OrangeSAM]

Good luck to all the young ladies in whatever they wish to do in the future!

Yes. And to all the other tournament participants as well.

[Cortana431]

Did anyone think the clues, especially the Final jeopardy's, were honestly way too easy this tournament? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think except for one or two games, each of the 3 contestants got the FJ right...

[DBear]

Answered Mountain Dew for Pepsi, argot for lingo. FJ took about five seconds to parse out, then it was easy. Rather surprised to find out that Iowa didn't become a state until 1846, thought it was much earlier.

[seaborgium]

If anyone was wondering, Elyse is the first person to jeopardize a lock tournament since Rachel Horn (Teen Tournament winner in 2008), and the first tournament winner to clear the minimum first place prize since Kyle Hale (College Championship 2002).

I've got my wagering suggestions up in the other thread: http://www.jboard.tv/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=274#p8315 I can't fault Catherine for her wager. Minimum guarantees muck things up, and if you've cleared them and are trailing in a lock game, it's meaningless whether you finish in second or third. So I say it's okay to wager with your gut instead of your head. She made the amount she went for, and I can't fault her for that.

edit: I got as far as figuring out that we needed to determine when we got the territory with what's now Iowa, and mentioned that to my dad, who said Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase. I think I would have pulled it out before time was up.

[Bamaman]

If you are locked out of winning and have already cleared the guarantee, you have to decide what you want to risk. There is also the ego factor of deciding if you want to play for second place just to say you came in second rather than third.

Another comment. This is not "house money" this is your money. While Elyse's bet made for great viewing, it was a foolish risk on her part just to win an extra $4,000.

I think the Teen champ should get the same $100,000 the college champ gets. And the college winner really gets $105,000 and a free trip to LA, as they can play in the TOC, with the chance to win even more money.

I also first thought of hoover when I saw the answer. It was a clumsily written clue, congrats to the girls for not getting tripped up on it.

I did not like Roe's late DD bet. She knew she was way behind, might as well bet it all (or hold back a buck) to try to get back into the game.

[reddpen]

Did anyone think the clues, especially the Final jeopardy's, were honestly way too easy this tournament?

"Honestly way too easy" is pretty subjective... but I was 10/10 (11/11 if you add in the 5/4 tiebreaker), which is more than a little above my usual.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think except for one or two games, each of the 3 contestants got the FJ right...

Well, you asked... Here are R/W totals from the quarterfinals:
4/30: 1R 2W
5/1: 2R 1W
5/2: 3R
5/3: 1R 2W
5/4: 3W

Maybe you're thinking only of this week's FJs, of which only Kevin missed one, in the last semifinal on 5/9. Maybe TPTB didn't want to disappoint the crowds in Constitution Hall.

Props to Elyse for a seriously ballsy wager (ovar-wager?), and to both Catherine and Rose for taking Sony for much more than the stakes. All three of you were a joy to watch. Especially enjoyed Catherine's weary "Who is Bella?"

[ACW]

Catherine's "Who is Bella" made me

Someone explain the "Bella" in-joke to me.

She said "Bella" with such disdain.

Bella's from Twilight FYI.

[Woppy T]

Catherine's "Who is Bella" made me

Someone explain the "Bella" in-joke to me.

She said "Bella" with such disdain.

I still don't get it. Haven't read Twilight. Is Bella a b*tch?

[seaborgium]

It's more like Bella's a shoddy excuse for a heroine (if I'm to believe the images juxtaposing her with Hermione from the Harry Potter series or certain Disney princesses) and Twilight is a series that is popular to dislike.

[Johnblue]

I actually fell asleep in the theater during the second one. Just horrible crap.

[ACW]

When making the FJ! bids today, did the young ladies know the totals from Day 1?

[Paucle]

When making the FJ! bids today, did the young ladies know the totals from Day 1?

Are you asking if they were there on Day One?
Seriously, I don't know this for fact, but I'm going to assume that on such an important wager, Day One totals would be available so they could most accurately calculate maximum totals. There are tournament finalists here who can confirm or deny.

[Budphrey]

Coming in on this late I want to join the parade of those congratulating the three finalists, and all the other competitors, on a great tournament with a thrilling conclusion. Elyse's wager in particular was pretty risky but it's great to see all three finalists end up with more money than the prize minimums.

[John Boy]

28 grand? 28 grand??!!

I loved it, dumb or not. Some people just have such supreme confidence in themselves that they automatically will go for broke without hesitation, screw the logic. Those who want to criticize her will probably play it safe for the rest of their lives . They will never experience what this little girl, Elyse, will have for the rest of her life; a moment no one can take away from her.

Thing is, she would have had the victory and $75K in hand with a $0 bet in FJ. And that would have been a spectacular, dominating win, also a moment no one can take away from her. And NO ONE would be second-guessing her for "why didn't you bet it all?!"

Given what she stood to win with a correct response (an additional 5% over her guaranteed winnings) and what she stood to lose with a miss (um, the tournament), wagering big was just not the way to go. You say "play it safe" as if that's always a bad thing. As I read this thread, a lot of us here believe it would have been absolutely the right thing to do in this situation.

That said, many congrats to the champ. I should live so long and be so good as to be in a position to make that wager.

And thumbs up to the other finalists as well. Very nicely done.




P.S. I know only the most rudimentary part of the Bella story, so the meaning of the inflection was kinda lost on me. Any help would be appreciated.

[Miss Mellie]

Bella is seen by some as an anti-feminist character because (among other things) she chooses to marry her undead boyfriend right out of high school, to have his creepy baby even though doing so will kill her, and to forfeit her human life in order to be with the vampire she loves for, like, all eternity. Doing the laundry and cooking dinner (activities Bella is described as enjoying) can't really compete with battling evil (Hermione Granger) and sparking a revolution (Katniss Everdeen).

All the high-fiving and hugging at the end was awesome. Congratulations, ladies!

[seaborgium]

I actually fell asleep in the theater during the second one. Just horrible crap.

Why did you bring a book to the theater?

[TenPoundHammer]

I actually fell asleep in the theater during the second one.

Must work in reverse for my mom. She never goes to the theater because she's always out the instant they turn off the lights. But she said that Pokémon: The Movie 2000 was so bad that she couldn't even sleep through it. (What can I say — I was 13 in 2000 and I was basically humoring my then-8-year-old sister.)

I rarely go to the theater because a.) there are only two within 50 miles, with a total of 3 screens; b.) I've actually had to leave one of said theaters more than once, because not enough people showed up to justify showing the movie (seriously, a former worker told me that no one at all came for The Polar Express!); and c.) 99.9% of all movies within the past 5 years have just sounded very uninteresting to me.

[Volante]

I totally misread the final, trying to figure out who the president was when Iowa got statehood. (Polk. I went with Tyler...off by one year!) Seemed awfully hard for even a TOC final asking that, but I plowed through rather than rereading it, figuring maybe there was some trick I was overlooking.

[harrumph]

I don't know if Elyse was as specific in her wagering goals as we're surmising.... I'm guessing that her thought process was more along the lines of "I wagered huge on all the DDs and did well, I wagered huge in the first game's FJ and did well, so to make sure that I win this tournament I'm gonna wager really huge on the final clue". Her strategy may change if she's invited to a future tournament, props to her and everyone who played.