Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Placeholder for J! Round

[Archivists]

Placeholder for DJ! Round

[jeff6286]

Authors
His multi-novel series is based on Robert Browning's poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came".

Spoiler: show

Who is Stephen King? Eddie said J.R.R. Tolkien.

Kathy Wright: $21,000+$17,398=$38,398...now a 1-day champion with $38,398
Aaron Cappocchi: $19,200+$1,999=$21,199
Eddie Nwabuoku: $600-600=$0

[TenPoundHammer]

How the heck was that St. Patrick clue a stand-and-stare?

Ran Grime, which is odd for someone who throws trash on the floor when the trash can is full.

No idea how I got Whiskey in the Jar, but I did.

Spoiler: show

FJ! was frustrating. I locked onto "Dark Tower", said "oh, I know that title, I think..." but wasn't sure if my mind was playing tricks on me, since I tend to pull out random bits of stuff that end up being conflations of various other bits. Then when the answer came up, I said, "oh, of course! Stephen King!"

[debramc]

How the heck was that St. Patrick clue a stand-and-stare?

I suspect they didn't quite get it was just asking them for the date. I also thought for a few seconds that they wanted some other feast day (St Somebody's day), but in the comfort of my living-room sofa was able to shake it off and realize "Oh, they just want my sister's birthday." (Poor thing, we made her shamrock cakes every year until she was about 13 and finally said she'd like something else on her cake, please no shamrocks ever again!)
I bet Aaron is wishing he knew less about wagering and had done the overused all-in-from-second bet. Actually, I don't understand the 1,999. I'm really hoping he didn't just miswrite 19,199, but he had a comma in there, so I think he did what he intended. I imagine Kathy must have just done her additional couple of dollars the wrong way.
BTW, I think Aaron looks like House. On one of his nicer days, not when he's in full-on surly mode. I don't see the Nic Cage thing at all...
Anyway, good playing Aaron, sorry it didn't last longer for you. Best of luck with all the literary pursuits!

[gloriaclemente]

Ok, wagering experts, let me have it!

DebraMC you are correct...

[CAPS LOCK]

I bet Aaron is wishing he knew less about wagering and had done the overused all-in-from-second bet. Actually, I don't understand the 1,999. I'm really hoping he didn't just miswrite 19,199, but he had a comma in there, so I think he did what he intended. I imagine Kathy must have just done her additional couple of dollars the wrong way.

The $1,999 was a simple 2/3 scenario bet. Anywhere from $0 to about $17,000 lets me win if Kathy is wrong. Given that both Kathy and I are pretty up on matters literary, I wish I had bet more like $15,000 - but it doesn't change my 2nd place.

And yeah - I kind of wandered out of the Jeopardy! stage in a daze - thinking, could I really have won by just moronically betting it all? I never thought my $38,000 "error" would be not making the wager that discounts all math and strategy, eliminates most or all of my plausible winning scenarios, and counts on my opponent to mis-wager, but clearly that's what I should have done. If I ever get a time machine, I know where I am headed.

Congratulations to Kathy, a fierce competitor and a demon on the buzzer!! I knew all those Grime questions, but I couldn't get in on any of them.

[CAPS LOCK]

Questions for the gang:

- I should have gone for a true Daily Double on the "Side" category, right? A pretty easy category and I wagered to be near first place instead of to take it over. That's my real $40,000 mistake.

- Did anyone else expect "What is Motley Fools" to be judged wrong? I did, and was ready to ring in but surprised it was called correct. The show was stopped to discuss that answer, and I complained about it again later - producers were consistent in deciding that plural S and possessive S are indistinguishable. They have in the past accepted answers like "What is Billie Jean King's (...tennis victory)?" or "What is Kennedy's (...presidential campaign)?" and so "What is Motley Fool's (...website)? is also OK. I don't really agree with their thinking, but I am not a neural observer on the topic.

[Austin Powers]

The champ looks like Tom Sizemore!



Let's stop pretending otherwise!

Tough break in this game.

[Austin Powers]

Questions for the gang:

- I should have gone for a true Daily Double on the "Side" category, right? A pretty easy category and I wagered to be near first place instead of to take it over. That's my real $40,000 mistake.

- Did anyone else expect "What is Motley Fools" to be judged wrong? I did, and was ready to ring in but surprised it was called correct. The show was stopped to discuss that answer, and I complained about it again later - producers were consistent in deciding that plural S and possessive S are indistinguishable. They have in the past accepted answers like "What is Billie Jean King's (...tennis victory)?" or "What is Kennedy's (...presidential campaign)?" and so "What is Motley Fool's (...website)? is also OK. I don't really agree with their thinking, but I am not a neural observer on the topic.

Question One: I mean, yeah. If you are going to bet that much, might as well bet a little more, unless being at zero would really deflate you. But then there are always eight other things someone could have done differently. I suspect you knew Negev.

Question Two: I think she should have been marked off myself, but apparently the rule doesn't agree with me.

I don't think you can kick yourself on the bet. You did the correct thing - you bet to maximize your chance at WINNING. If you wanted to maximize your WINNINGS you would have gone all in, but that risks also most definitely losing, and it's more valuable to come back tomorrow with a nice chunk off money. The other way, you win even if you don't know it, if the first place lady didn't know it either. Usually people have enough sense to bet to cover; you can't kick yourself because of the math error, which happens but not enough to build a strategy around it.

I would add that some would argue that you would bet based on your level of confidence; call it a hunch, but I suspect the lady knew Authors very well (see the Shakespeare category). So, it would take a weird question for her to miss, theoretically, and that means you might miss it, too, even if you are also strong at Authors.

On a different note, I knew the four $2000 TSs in the DJ round, but had no clue on the two $2000s that the contestants got.

[econgator]

- Did anyone else expect "What is Motley Fools" to be judged wrong? I did, and was ready to ring in but surprised it was called correct. The show was stopped to discuss that answer, and I complained about it again later - producers were consistent in deciding that plural S and possessive S are indistinguishable. They have in the past accepted answers like "What is Billie Jean King's (...tennis victory)?" or "What is Kennedy's (...presidential campaign)?" and so "What is Motley Fool's (...website)? is also OK. I don't really agree with their thinking, but I am not a neural observer on the topic.

Your thinking is absolutely correct. There's no way that Motley Fools should have been accepted.

I see that 3/17 is already mentioned, but how did Marc Chagall get by, too?

[zakharov]

Congrats to CAPS LOCK for a fine run. I still feel bad about my jerky comment yesterday, but you're clearly an excellent player. I feel bad for Eddie - he ran into a couple of buzzsaws. This was a real fun game to watch.

Instagot FJ because of my nerdy friends. I haven't even read the damn books.

[xxaaaxx]

Questions for the gang:

- I should have gone for a true Daily Double on the "Side" category, right? A pretty easy category and I wagered to be near first place instead of to take it over. That's my real $40,000 mistake.

Yup. A wager that large kills you if you get it wrong, so you might as well go all-in. Plus, they spotted you the "side". When you made your wager I was afraid you would go into FJ trailing by less than 2400. Oh well, congratulations on a good run!

ETA: Don't think twice about your FJ wager. Betting it all (or as I call it, the usual 2nd place suicide wager) would've been foolish; her poor wager doesn't change that.

FJ would've been instaget, but I spent a few seconds stunned that they actually spotted us "the Dark Tower". *shrug*, they can't all be toughies.

[ACW]

Insta-get

[Bamaman]

I think on the DD you should have bet whatever it took to fall to half her total if you were wrong and then hem and haw as much as possible during the clue.

No chance on FJ.

[Woppy T]

Questions for the gang:

- Did anyone else expect "What is Motley Fools" to be judged wrong? I did, and was ready to ring in but surprised it was called correct. The show was stopped to discuss that answer, and I complained about it again later - producers were consistent in deciding that plural S and possessive S are indistinguishable. They have in the past accepted answers like "What is Billie Jean King's (...tennis victory)?" or "What is Kennedy's (...presidential campaign)?" and so "What is Motley Fool's (...website)? is also OK. I don't really agree with their thinking, but I am not a neural observer on the topic.

You got robbed.

[alietr]

I don't remember the exact wording of the clue, but since the people who started it call themselves a "Fool", one could interpret the response as being plural, like them being Motley Fools. I guess that's where they went on that one.

Congrats, Gloria, and sorry to see you go CAPS.

[DBear]

When Motley Fools was accepted, I thought perhaps I had heard wrong. Glad it's not just me. Easy trash on St. Patrick's Day, Miranda and Whiskey in the Jar that I can recall. Instaget FJ.

[gloriaclemente]

Well, I'm keeping the money anyway, but I agree with you on the Motley Fools. I thought it was plural because of the two brothers who started Motley Fool.

All I can say about my wagering mistake is that I realized it as soon as I had locked in, and I fully expected to lose. After watching 5 shows being taped the previous day and not sleeping for two nights in a row, and going against such a good champ, I'm amazed I was even competitive. Plus, as I have mentioned, math. (Although I don't even think that was a math mistake, really, just plain dumb.)

The answer I was really mad I didn't get was Miranda, to sweep Shakespeare. I know it, but it just wouldn't make the trip from brain to mouth.

[gloriaclemente]

This was a real fun game to watch.

That makes me happy.