Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

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Bamaman
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Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by Bamaman »

It had been rumored on here it was going to happen and it was confirmed in the thread about boson's wife. There will no longer be co-champions on the show, all games ending in a tie will be settled by a tie breaker question.

They can do what they want, but I'm not a fan of this move. While I disagree that one should always offer a tie, there are instances where circumstance demands offering a tie, such as having double second place's score or an exact 2/3 situation.
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lieph82
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by lieph82 »

Those circumstances demanded offering a tie because of the rule that was in place. They no longer demand offering a tie. The only situation for which I think the change sucks is when two players are tied for the lead pre-FJ.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by BobF »

Bamaman wrote:It had been rumored on here it was going to happen and it was confirmed in the thread about boson's wife. There will no longer be co-champions on the show, all games ending in a tie will be settled by a tie breaker question.

They can do what they want, but I'm not a fan of this move. While I disagree that one should always offer a tie, there are instances where circumstance demands offering a tie, such as having double second place's score or an exact 2/3 situation.
Although I cheered it in the other thread, I do see the problems with it. IMO, they should both get the cash and then play the tiebreaker to see who returns.
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jjwaymee
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by jjwaymee »

I'm neutral about this. As a hopeful future contestant it makes me happy because it means more people will get on the show. As a hopeful future contestant who takes an interest in the strategic aspects of the game play, it's a bummer because it makes the game slightly harder to win.

I hearby predict that the next annoyance/problem for TPTB to "correct" will be the rise of the John Campbell "Four Corners Offense" technique of stalling when you have a lead in DJ. Watch for a shot clock to be added in Season 33.
Last edited by jjwaymee on Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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goforthetie
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by goforthetie »

I will definitely miss the extra strategy that comes from the possibility of co-champions.

To analyze the point that lieph82 brings up:

Two players have $10000 and third place has $9000. Let's posit 50% chance of getting FJ for each player, but of course these chances are not independent. As an estimate, let's say there's a 35% chance both leaders get FJ right, 15% chance that player A gets it but B does not, 15% vice versa, and 35% chance both leaders get FJ wrong? In this scenario, the third place player C bets fairly small. Both leaders are probably still compelled to bet everything. But if they do so, player C has a 35% chance of winning the entire game, whereas players A and B split the remaining 65% chance; in other words, they have just a 32.5% chance each. This is pretty awful.
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jjwaymee
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by jjwaymee »

goforthetie wrote:I will definitely miss the extra strategy that comes from the possibility of co-champions.

To analyze the point that lieph82 brings up:

Two players have $10000 and third place has $9000. Let's posit 50% chance of getting FJ for each player, but of course these chances are not independent. As an estimate, let's say there's a 35% chance both leaders get FJ right, 15% chance that player A gets it but B does not, 15% vice versa, and 35% chance both leaders get FJ wrong? In this scenario, the third place player C bets fairly small. Both leaders are probably still compelled to bet everything. But if they do so, player C has a 35% chance of winning the entire game, whereas players A and B split the remaining 65% chance; in other words, they have just a 32.5% chance each. This is pretty awful.
Your analysis is true for any situation where two players are tied for the lead, whether they are tied at >2X Player 3's total or <2X Player 3's total. Basically, there is no reason for player 3 to risk any money from this point forward (in this scenario).
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StevenH
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by StevenH »

I thought that this thread would be about neckties being banned on the show.
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alietr
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by alietr »

StevenH wrote:I thought that this thread would be about neckties being banned on the show.
... only for Jeff Kirby (he keeps coming up, doesn't he?)
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by Austin Powers »

It was never a rumor. I pretty much told everyone here this was happening.

Anyway, America loves winners, not this candyass backing into a tie crap to maximize your chances of returning.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by TheyCallMeMrKid »

I should do this as a poll, I guess, but I'm just going to throw it out here. If someone else wants to create the poll, feel free.

Do people think that the reason for this change is:

A. The show wants to give away less money
B. The show wants to give more players the opportunity to appear on the show
C. Allowing tied leaders to advance gives the appearance that there might be collusion


So...what are the consequences? Will things be vastly different? Not a lot of people generally wager to tie from the lead, although it did seem to be growing in popularity. (Should we blame Vermonter for the rule change? :shock: )

I guess it makes it less certain what to do in some situations, e.g. in a 50% winners tie scenario, the strategy for both players is should be obvious. With ties not allowed, it becomes more about mind games.

As a math lover, I am sad to see it go.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by Golf »

Classic overreaction to an odd variance of games over a very short term from TPTB.
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Magna
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by Magna »

StevenH wrote:I thought that this thread would be about neckties being banned on the show.
Not only banned - confiscated and shredded. (RIP!)
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goforthetie
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by goforthetie »

jjwaymee wrote:
goforthetie wrote:I will definitely miss the extra strategy that comes from the possibility of co-champions.

To analyze the point that lieph82 brings up:

Two players have $10000 and third place has $9000. Let's posit 50% chance of getting FJ for each player, but of course these chances are not independent. As an estimate, let's say there's a 35% chance both leaders get FJ right, 15% chance that player A gets it but B does not, 15% vice versa, and 35% chance both leaders get FJ wrong? In this scenario, the third place player C bets fairly small. Both leaders are probably still compelled to bet everything. But if they do so, player C has a 35% chance of winning the entire game, whereas players A and B split the remaining 65% chance; in other words, they have just a 32.5% chance each. This is pretty awful.
Your analysis is true for any situation where two players are tied for the lead, whether they are tied at >2X Player 3's total or <2X Player 3's total. Basically, there is no reason for player 3 to risk any money from this point forward (in this scenario).
Maybe, but if player C has $1000 then it's probably better for the leaders to bet small.

I really hate for a victory to come down to a single buzzer race. Too much variance. They should at least have an exception that states that players that are tied for the lead going into FJ and double up will come back as co-champs.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by whatisbishkek »

This would make for an interesting dilemma for the leader in a lock-tie game. Assuming each player has a 50% chance of getting FJ and a 50% chance on a tiebreaker, a $0 wager would mean a 75% chance of winning. A $1 wager means your chance of losing is the chance that you miss FJ and second gets it right. Since there's some correlation in FJ get rates that chance of losing would overall be less than 25%, so the $1 wager would make more sense, but if you didn't like the FJ category and felt more confident about winning a tiebreaker you might bet $0.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by dhkendall »

Bamaman wrote:I'm not a fan of this move.
I figured at the least as a fellow ATB (yet to get The Call) you'd be happy! (Now gfft, despite being another ATB, doesn't surprise me, given the nick. :))
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by dhkendall »

Magna wrote:
StevenH wrote:I thought that this thread would be about neckties being banned on the show.
Not only banned - confiscated and shredded. (RIP!)
Good thing my tuxedo (what I hope to wear for my first game because I look damn sharp in it) has a bow tie!
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GoodStrategy
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by GoodStrategy »

TheyCallMeMrKid wrote:I guess it makes it less certain what to do in some situations, e.g. in a 50% winners tie scenario, the strategy for both players is should be obvious. With ties not allowed, it becomes more about mind games.
It's still straightforward for the player in second - bet it all.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by TheyCallMeMrKid »

GoodStrategy wrote:
TheyCallMeMrKid wrote:I guess it makes it less certain what to do in some situations, e.g. in a 50% winners tie scenario, the strategy for both players is should be obvious. With ties not allowed, it becomes more about mind games.
It's still straightforward for the player in second - bet it all.
And I guess the player in first would weigh his/her confidence in the FJ category and decide whether they want to wager, or take their chances on a buzz-in tiebreaker, which in most cases I'd think you'd rather risk it on the FJ. But if you're in first place, since you are betting, do you go ahead and bet big?

EDIT: "Bet big" meaning, if leader has $10k, 2nd place has $5k, should leader wager $4999? This still guarantees a win when either 1st is correct or 2nd is incorrect.
Last edited by TheyCallMeMrKid on Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by econgator »

Golf wrote:Classic overreaction to an odd variance of games over a very short term from TPTB.
That.
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Re: Ties on Jeopardy! RIP

Post by seaborgium »

What would be interesting is if the players knew the tiebreaker category in advance of making their FJ wagers. (Of course, that would necessitate having multiple clues ready in the same category for the event of a double -- or triple -- stumper.)
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