Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

This is where all of the games are discussed.

Moderators: alietr, trainman, econgator, dhkendall

miggydub
Contributor
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:03 am

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by miggydub »

Shoulda read Margaret's account of her Fists of Fury before posting.:) I figured it was good natured fun. To the untrained eye it looked a tad ungracious. An ugly Win is still a Win! Congrats!
User avatar
Spaceman Spiff
One-and-done J! Champ (and proud of it!)
Posts: 1010
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:10 pm

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

StevenH wrote:Congrats to Margaret on the win!

I thought that the J! round board was kind of bad but I enjoyed the DJ round.

FJ was an instant get, but mainly from the year. The "Arabic" part made me briefly consider the Kaaba but I thought that the Kaaba was older than that so I stuck with my first instinct.
Ditto on the congrats, Margaret! Add "Jeopardy Champion" to your resume!

(BTW, I'll have to have you talk to a niece of mine, who is an undergrad architectural student.)

Like others, I went with the Taj Mahal based upon the year; I knew it had Muslim origins, so the Arabic made sense. I also didn't have anything better to put down. :mrgreen:
User avatar
Swift'sSecondCourse
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:18 pm
Location: Boston, MA

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Swift'sSecondCourse »

jeff6286 wrote:
Swift'sSecondCourse wrote:First, congrats Margaret! Even if you are an Eph, I hope you do well. Second, OK everyone, here was my thinking. I had already achieved every goal I had set. I had won at least one game, I had won over 100K, and I was pretty sure I was going to the TOC. Since the taping was happening in the middle of the school year, I was in danger of missing a significant amount of class from continued wins. So, I decided to go big or go home. But, I didn't want to wind up with 0 if I lost, so I bet so that even if I go the answer wrong I would still have "the answer". Yes, I'm a "Hitchhiker's" fan.
Yikes David, I hope that revelation doesn't earn you a bunch of enemies around here. Am I understanding you correctly that you knew that you could bet a smaller amount on FJ and still win if Lukas missed? But you decided rather than possibly win with ~$12K, you would instead prefer to either win with $35K or walk away with $2K/$1K for second or third? I can understand not wanting to miss too much of law school, but even with the knowledge that you'll be returning for the TOC, Jeopardy! is still essentially a once in a lifetime experience. I can't imagine ever deciding that I've played enough Jeopardy! and it's time to go home now. Then again, I'll probably never be faced with a decision like that, as even if I am fortunate enough to get on the show, there's probably not quite a snowball's chance in hell that I'll ever be in a position to win my 6th game, barring either a whole lot of studying or an even greater amount of luck. So who cares what I think? :mrgreen:

Now maybe you just assumed that you would get FJ correct, since you had gotten the last 4 that you faced, and the "go big or go home" idea was just a sliver in the back of your mind? I could buy that reasoning.
I was pretty confident in the category or I might have been more hesitant to make that wager. Also, I was running out of stories to tell Alex and changes of clothes. It felt like the right time to throw caution to the wind. The way I saw it, if I made an insane wager and won, I'd win big, and if not, I had no regrets.
Last edited by Swift'sSecondCourse on Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
dhkendall
Pursuing the Dream
Posts: 8789
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:49 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact:

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by dhkendall »

Congratulations David on the run, and Margaret for the amazing win!

Now that it's over, David, do you mind explaining your username? (I was going to ask earlier, but was afraid it might have been a reference to a clue or FJ that ultimately dethroned you, so I waited until your run was over.)
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
User avatar
mswanson
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:45 pm
Contact:

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by mswanson »

miggydub wrote:The ending twist was priceless. Margarets reaction was kind of puzzling. Was that a toungue-in-cheek nanny nanny boo boo? Then it looked as if she took an aggressive swipe at Lukas as if to say, "Take that you SOBs!" Lukas didn't look happy...
Ahhh, yeah... I would take that one back if I could. At the time, I was just kind of in shock and obviously giddy, and (in my mind at least) I'd had a kind of jokey rapport with the guys between breaks all day, and the whole thing was just so unlikely that I think it was also meant to be a "You guys!! Can you believe what just happened???!?!" thing. I was not at all thinking about how David and (especially) Lukas were prooobably not going to be as enchanted as I that my absurd "I'm going to come from behind!" threat had ended up coming true. I definitely grimaced a little bit when I saw myself do it last night! So, apologies to both of my very formidable opponents. Especially Lukas, because yeah... what a maddening way to go out... :(

David, I'm sure you won yourself a host of new fans with your final $42 total! You definitely had the whole studio in shock when you dropped that bombshell! But I can understand your reasoning. Plus, even with the best of outcomes, the experience of taping is surprisingly exhausting, and I know I was grateful that the day would be over either way after my second game.

That Peter the Rabbit thing. Not the failed answer of the games that has been burned into my brain forever, but I appreciate the support from those who thought I should have gotten away with it!
soxfan99 wrote:Are you by any chance having a public viewing party for tomorrow's game at a bar in Somerville?
Afraid not. Watching myself on tv is half a nightmare—though now that you mention it, drinks would probably help with that!
User avatar
BobF
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2180
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 3:03 pm
Location: All over the east coast
Contact:

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by BobF »

xxaaaxx wrote:You've got to be kidding me with those wagers...the return of the (nearly) all-in suicide wager from 2nd, and a ~4600 overwager from the leader?! WTF?

Anyway, FJ took a while, but Taj Mahal seemed the most likely.

So...congrats Margaret! Sometimes, NOT making a boneheaded wager is enough to win :D
Wow, yeah, congrats to Margaret. Not to lessen her accomplishment by saying this, but way to take advantage of other people's sheer mathematical stupidity.

Oh, and congrats to the Swift guy as well on a fantastic run. When considering my dilemma this morning, I wondered if I were in such a position on a Friday show if I would do something similar, and wondered if Ken Jennings might have done that after being on for 74 shows.
Last edited by BobF on Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
Was once hugged by Maggie Speak!
User avatar
Spaceman Spiff
One-and-done J! Champ (and proud of it!)
Posts: 1010
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:10 pm

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

mswanson wrote:
miggydub wrote:The ending twist was priceless. Margarets reaction was kind of puzzling. Was that a toungue-in-cheek nanny nanny boo boo? Then it looked as if she took an aggressive swipe at Lukas as if to say, "Take that you SOBs!" Lukas didn't look happy...
Ahhh, yeah... I would take that one back if I could. At the time, I was just kind of in shock and obviously giddy, and (in my mind at least) I'd had a kind of jokey rapport with the guys between breaks all day, and the whole thing was just so unlikely that I think it was also meant to be a "You guys!! Can you believe what just happened???!?!" thing. I was not at all thinking about how David and (especially) Lukas were prooobably not going to be as enchanted as I that my absurd "I'm going to come from behind!" threat had ended up coming true. I definitely grimaced a little bit when I saw myself do it last night! So, apologies to both of my very formidable opponents. Especially Lukas, because yeah... what a maddening way to go out... :(
Hey, join us in the Fist Pump Hall of Fame! :mrgreen:
User avatar
Swift'sSecondCourse
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:18 pm
Location: Boston, MA

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Swift'sSecondCourse »

dhkendall wrote:Congratulations David on the run, and Margaret for the amazing win!

Now that it's over, David, do you mind explaining your username? (I was going to ask earlier, but was afraid it might have been a reference to a clue or FJ that ultimately dethroned you, so I waited until your run was over.)
Thanks! Yeah, the username is a reference to "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. It doesn't have any real significance, I just couldn't think of anything better while staring at the "enter a username" bar.
John Boy
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2981
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2011 7:11 am

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

legendneverdies wrote: Or the other two players making inoptimal bets.
One of many "gentle" words I've seen in this thread to describe wagering by the guys. Good grief.

I have really enjoyed watching David's run: he seems very knowledgeable and a good guy to boot. Is this the first time in his run that he had to wager from behind in final? 'cause that was just an awful way to throw away another win. Seems that, while he's preparing for the ToC he'll have to spend some time on strategy.

Congrats to the new champ, no matter how she got there.

I figured this would be a horrid FJ category for me. When I saw the clue my mind ran all over the map, including to a couple of answers offered up by these contestants. None seemed quite right. The date (1650, was it?) spoke to me of Mogul dynasty and I came up with Taj Mahal about halfway through. Not an instaget, but I love it whenever I get one that's a TS on the show.
User avatar
Swift'sSecondCourse
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:18 pm
Location: Boston, MA

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Swift'sSecondCourse »

John Boy wrote:
legendneverdies wrote: Or the other two players making inoptimal bets.
One of many "gentle" words I've seen in this thread to describe wagering by the guys. Good grief.

I have really enjoyed watching David's run: he seems very knowledgeable and a good guy to boot. Is this the first time in his run that he had to wager from behind in final? 'cause that was just an awful way to throw away another win. Seems that, while he's preparing for the ToC he'll have to spend some time on strategy.
Thanks for following my run. See my prior posts in this thread for an explanation of my "inoptimal" wager.
John Boy
Watches Jeopardy! Way Too Much
Posts: 2981
Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2011 7:11 am

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by John Boy »

mswanson wrote:Where to even start with this game?? Clearly, DJ was not a great round for me. I lost whatever buzzer mojo I'd been able to muster earlier in the game (to this day, I truly could not tell you if I was getting in too early or too late; never really felt like I got a feel for it), and there weren't any categories that I felt mega confident about. When Lukas got the final DD, I looked up at the board, saw my $10,000+ deficit and HELICOPTERS(!!1!1!!), I was just like, "Well... this sucks." We went into the commercial break before FJ, and I just remember standing there after locking in my (nearly hopeless) bet, looking at the scores and feeling bummed—this was not the way I had wanted my one game to go, and ugh, my family in the audience must be so disappointed, and oh, now it's over forever and I was such a sorry 3rd! I just felt sad. Then out of nowhere, I had this moment of thinking, "You know what? Fuck it. I'm going to win this thing! I BELIEVE I CAN FLY!" and I actually turned to David and Lukas and said, "Watch out, guys, I'm going to come from behind!" Which, of course, was sort of a ridiculous thing to believe, and I think they both looked back at me with a "Well, isn't that cute?" kind of smile. Then before the clue came up, Alex said his whole, "she could still win it" thing (how weird that he would say that!), and I was all, "Alex, you beautiful genius. OF COURSE I WILL."

Then FJ. Right. I completely blanked on the Taj Mahal. My mind was nowhere near there. During the end credits stand around segment, we all were saying how the "Arabic calligraphy" part threw us off (and then Alex put on his best Indian accent and said, "Well, you know therrre arrre Mus-lims in In-dia, too!" with a little Hindi-esque head shake. Picture that for a moment.), and all I could think about was Moors. I took so long to write down an answer because I was also considering the Hagia Sophia—somehow, the 1650 part just wasn't registering in my brain at all, though I'm not sure how much that would've helped. Despite all the architectural history classes I've taken in college and grad school, somehow the Taj has just never quite been on my radar… Shameful! But anyway, I was trying to decide between wrong and wronger, hence I ended up with "Alhamb|". Not the best feeling when that music ended and my pen stopped writing!

Wagering was the thing I was most concerned about in the weeks after getting The Call. Math-under-pressure has never been a strong suit of mine, so I spent a lot of time with piles of scratch paper and the J!Archive wagering calculator, trying to remember all of the rules and wager along with games on Youtube. Still, going into FJ with about a third of David's score and Lukas even farther out ahead, it wasn't looking good. The only way I should have been able to win with my bet was if Lukas bet to cover David going all in AND David bet too much AND they both got it wrong AND I got it right.

So my sad little "Alhamb|" came up, and that blew; but then David shocked everyone with his big bet, and I think my ears started to perk up a little. But I still should not have been able to win! Lukas had Hagia Sophia and for a second, I was like "Aw, man" (not that it would've mattered if we'd both gotten it right, obviously. But you know, MY PRIDE.), and then that wager! WHAT. It was that great moment that I had (very cheesily) been forcing myself to visualize in the all the weeks prior, of the camera pulling back over to me as the winner. My rather unsportsmanlike fist pump toward the guys at the end was, I think, me saying something like, "See! I told you!" Because I literally had just told them!!! (Also, all day long, I had been making similarly air-punchy threats toward my Amherst rival David as he kept on winning. Because I am way intimidating!)

I ran into Lukas in the hotel lobby on my way out to dinner that night, and all he said to me was, "I bet too much." Which... yeah. Yeah, you did. But he and David both played a great game, and OMG DAVID YOU'RE GOING TO TOC AND THAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER. I was mostly just happy to get to play another game, because really, once you're there, I think everyone just wants a chance to keep playing!

So, not the prettiest win in the world, but it made for a dramatic finish, no??


Not pretty, perhaps. But just getting there is one of the coolest things that could happen to anyone, and it happened to you, so WAY TO GO, GIRL! Oh, yeah, and winning? Even Cooler. And getting to come back and play again?? That too.

Thanks for coming on the board and sharing your experience. And retroactive good luck in tonight's game.
miggydub
Contributor
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:03 am

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by miggydub »

Swift'sSecondCourse wrote: Thanks!
Nicely done! Looking fwd to watching the TOC. Best of luck.

Am I the only one who sees a Justin Long resemblence?
User avatar
mswanson
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:45 pm
Contact:

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by mswanson »

Swift'sSecondCourse wrote: Thanks for following my run. See my prior posts in this thread for an explanation of my "inoptimal" wager.
Very few things are "inoptimal" about you, David. JEOPARDY KISSES!
User avatar
alietr
Site Admin
Posts: 8977
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Bethesda, MD

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by alietr »

OK, OK, get a room you two!
User avatar
Miss Mellie
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 154
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:24 pm
Location: Chicago

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Miss Mellie »

dhkendall wrote:Now that it's over, David, do you mind explaining your username? (I was going to ask earlier, but was afraid it might have been a reference to a clue or FJ that ultimately dethroned you, so I waited until your run was over.)
It's the avatar I've been wondering about. I kept expecting some kind of "cut him off at the knees" reference!

Congratulations, Margaret! That was some great TV! More retro good luck to you today.

Very nice run, David. I'm looking forward to watching you in the TOC. Study, study, study!

As for FJ, I won't quite say it was an instaget but it was close. I have a very clear mental image (probably from an old National Geographic) of a close-up of the mosaic work on the Taj Mahal. Lots of Arabic all over the place.
User avatar
alietr
Site Admin
Posts: 8977
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Bethesda, MD

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by alietr »

That FJ would have made for a perfect Zergcam. Been a while, also.
harrumph
Voyeur
Posts: 1846
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:00 pm
Location: Princeton, NJ

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by harrumph »

mswanson wrote:Where to even start with this game?? Clearly, DJ was not a great round for me. I lost whatever buzzer mojo I'd been able to muster earlier in the game (to this day, I truly could not tell you if I was getting in too early or too late; never really felt like I got a feel for it), and there weren't any categories that I felt mega confident about. When Lukas got the final DD, I looked up at the board, saw my $10,000+ deficit and HELICOPTERS(!!1!1!!), I was just like, "Well... this sucks." We went into the commercial break before FJ, and I just remember standing there after locking in my (nearly hopeless) bet, looking at the scores and feeling bummed—this was not the way I had wanted my one game to go, and ugh, my family in the audience must be so disappointed, and oh, now it's over forever and I was such a sorry 3rd! I just felt sad. Then out of nowhere, I had this moment of thinking, "You know what? Fuck it. I'm going to win this thing! I BELIEVE I CAN FLY!" and I actually turned to David and Lukas and said, "Watch out, guys, I'm going to come from behind!" Which, of course, was sort of a ridiculous thing to believe, and I think they both looked back at me with a "Well, isn't that cute?" kind of smile. Then before the clue came up, Alex said his whole, "she could still win it" thing (how weird that he would say that!), and I was all, "Alex, you beautiful genius. OF COURSE I WILL."

Then FJ. Right. I completely blanked on the Taj Mahal. My mind was nowhere near there. During the end credits stand around segment, we all were saying how the "Arabic calligraphy" part threw us off (and then Alex put on his best Indian accent and said, "Well, you know therrre arrre Mus-lims in In-dia, too!" with a little Hindi-esque head shake. Picture that for a moment.), and all I could think about was Moors. I took so long to write down an answer because I was also considering the Hagia Sophia—somehow, the 1650 part just wasn't registering in my brain at all, though I'm not sure how much that would've helped. Despite all the architectural history classes I've taken in college and grad school, somehow the Taj has just never quite been on my radar… Shameful! But anyway, I was trying to decide between wrong and wronger, hence I ended up with "Alhamb|". Not the best feeling when that music ended and my pen stopped writing!

Wagering was the thing I was most concerned about in the weeks after getting The Call. Math-under-pressure has never been a strong suit of mine, so I spent a lot of time with piles of scratch paper and the J!Archive wagering calculator, trying to remember all of the rules and wager along with games on Youtube. Still, going into FJ with about a third of David's score and Lukas even farther out ahead, it wasn't looking good. The only way I should have been able to win with my bet was if Lukas bet to cover David going all in AND David bet too much AND they both got it wrong AND I got it right.

So my sad little "Alhamb|" came up, and that blew; but then David shocked everyone with his big bet, and I think my ears started to perk up a little. But I still should not have been able to win! Lukas had Hagia Sophia and for a second, I was like "Aw, man" (not that it would've mattered if we'd both gotten it right, obviously. But you know, MY PRIDE.), and then that wager! WHAT. It was that great moment that I had (very cheesily) been forcing myself to visualize in the all the weeks prior, of the camera pulling back over to me as the winner. My rather unsportsmanlike fist pump toward the guys at the end was, I think, me saying something like, "See! I told you!" Because I literally had just told them!!! (Also, all day long, I had been making similarly air-punchy threats toward my Amherst rival David as he kept on winning. Because I am way intimidating!)

I ran into Lukas in the hotel lobby on my way out to dinner that night, and all he said to me was, "I bet too much." Which... yeah. Yeah, you did. But he and David both played a great game, and OMG DAVID YOU'RE GOING TO TOC AND THAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER. I was mostly just happy to get to play another game, because really, once you're there, I think everyone just wants a chance to keep playing!

So, not the prettiest win in the world, but it made for a dramatic finish, no??
One of the better contestant essays that we've ever seen.
Bamaman
Also Receiving Votes
Posts: 12895
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:39 pm

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Bamaman »

While not ideal strategy-wise, David's explanation makes it better. He'd already won a ton of cash and had secured a spot in the TOC. He was probably getting a bit drained as well. So why not try to double up with a big total, especially if you liked the category.

But Lukas, on his first day? MAKE THE MSB!!!!!!! DON'T EVEN CONSIDER SOMETHING ELSE!!!!!!!
Bob78164
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 519
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:52 pm

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Bob78164 »

jeff6286 wrote:After Alex's silly little speech pointing out that Margaret still had a chance, my reaction was "No she doesn't! Didn't you see David's perfect wager from second place last Thursday? That was the only game he has trailed in, and the only FJ that he has missed in his 5 games, but he knew exactly how to wager from second place to win on the triple stumper, so I'm afraid Margaret has no chance in this one." How wrong I was and how prescient Alex turned out to be.
It wasn't necessarily prescience. Remember, compliance staff oversees the wagers, and it wouldn't shock me if the technical staff also has access to the wagers written on the monitors. So it's not out of the question that Alex knew what the wagers were when he made the comment. --Bob
Bob78164
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 519
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:52 pm

Re: Thursday, June 21, 2012 Game Recap & Discussion (SPOILERS)

Post by Bob78164 »

Bamaman wrote:While not ideal strategy-wise, David's explanation makes it better. He'd already won a ton of cash and had secured a spot in the TOC. He was probably getting a bit drained as well. So why not try to double up with a big total, especially if you liked the category.

But Lukas, on his first day? MAKE THE MSB!!!!!!! DON'T EVEN CONSIDER SOMETHING ELSE!!!!!!!
Unless you plan to give Shore's Conjecture a try. --Bob
Post Reply