I don't normally do the wagering math, but when Alex says something like he said today, about both challengers being well-positioned, I always have to pause and figure it out. Usually he's completely wrong, and third place has no chance, so I was surprised it was such an interesting situation today. And that's all I'll say about it.
I thought the "What is a spider?" "No." "What is a tarantula?" thing was kind of funny.
For FJ, I thought Treasure Island was written about 100 years earlier than that, but I didn't have a better answer, so I stuck with it. Robinson Crusoe was about 160 years earlier, so maybe I was thinking of that.
BigDaddyMatty wrote:
I think betting the extra dollar is the right move. So far this season, there have been 38 instances in which the leader and second place both got FJ! right. Assuming 50-50 odds on the tiebreaker, that's 19 losses. Compare that with only 12 RRW games. Given that this has been a particularly bad FJ! season for the second-place position (only 43.1% correct), the numbers are probably more skewed over the long run.
In spite of all the statistics about who gets it correct and who doesn't, in tonight's scenario, I think it's more likely that second place bets to stay above all-in third place on a TS (holds back a dollar or 2). As opposed to recognizing the potential for first place risking a tie-breaker on the top end. That is, I think there would be substantial doubt that first place is going to take that risk, so why sweat going all in? Daniel did good to cover a zero wager from Lynn but I don't think he was aware of the double tie-breaker quandry that Lynn could opt for.
Last edited by Category 13 on Sat Mar 24, 2018 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Another 5/5 FJ week! I usually don’t keep track of which categories I ran but I might start. The guy on the end was strangling his buzzer which got him into 2nd place before FJ. Lots of one & dones lately...
BigDaddyMatty wrote: ↑Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:03 pm
Not so. Three of the five attractions/areas mentioned are also at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom park. Intuiting which Disney movie became the theme of an underwater ride in 2005 requires no knowledge of the park. The only response that required Disneyland-specific knowledge was New Orleans Square. (Magic Kingdom has the Haunted Mansion, but it is in Liberty Square.)
I'll see your not so and raise you a not quite.
Hyperspace Mountain is a Disneyland thing. That never happened at the Magic Kingdom.
very rough category in my opinion. I only vaguely knew the GE one.
Just in case anyone is interested: this was the last game taped before Alex's surgery. This week had been taped on December 13. Next week's games were taped on January 16.
Once again Thursday and Friday games preempted for NCAA basketball tournament games. Glad that's over for another year, since the Final Four don't have that side effect.
Didn't remember enough details about Treasure Island to recall any of the specifics of this clue, but figured the pirate theme and the date couldn't lead to much else, so got that handily.
Leader was in a most interesting wager dilemma, and got bit by it. Shame, that....
John Boy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 24, 2018 11:16 am
Leader was in a most interesting wager dilemma, and got bit by it. Shame, that....
She got bit for missing Final Jeopardy. Exclamation point, end of sentence. She won the day before from last place and the worst Coryat, and without a solve and got beat by almost the same script. Crazy game, this, but not a shame. (edit courtesy of Sg - she got beat by the same script as she had the solve and perfect bet from third, albeit it a null bet vs all in).
IMHO, I still think they were generous to a fault to let Rebecca back unless she had verifiable knowledge about that silly internet movie.
p.s., the post isn't meant to be as negative as it sounds, but it's shorter this way .
Last edited by twelvefootboy on Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.
Elijah Baley wrote: ↑Fri Mar 23, 2018 9:03 pm
Kids Week FJ - literally. I can't believe it was a single get.
Edited to add, for someone who has been going to Disneyland since 1961, some of those Disneyland clues were really obscure/ill-phrased. Because I'm old, however, I did know that GE sponsored the Carousel of Progress.
Not only that, but I can still sing the theme song right along with Rex Allen.....
I'm not the defending Jeopardy! champion. But I have played one on TV.
BigDaddyMatty wrote: ↑Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:03 pm
Intuiting which Disney movie became the theme of an underwater ride in 2005 requires no knowledge of the park.
Unlike my previous post just above, this was one where "being old" didn't help. I had been on both the original "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" version of the submarine ride at Disneyland and on the "1950s nuclear Nautilus" version at Disney World, but didn't know it had been re-themed. The only underwater Disney connection I could make was "The Little Mermaid."
I'm not the defending Jeopardy! champion. But I have played one on TV.
BigDaddyMatty wrote: ↑Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:03 pm
Intuiting which Disney movie became the theme of an underwater ride in 2005 requires no knowledge of the park.
Unlike my previous post just above, this was one where "being old" didn't help. I had been on both the original "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" version of the submarine ride at Disneyland and on the "1950s nuclear Nautilus" version at Disney World, but didn't know it had been re-themed. The only underwater Disney connection I could make was "The Little Mermaid."
I drew a blank because I have this odd tendency to forget that Pixar even exists. Most of their stuff just seems too cutesy and saccharine for my tastes. I did like Inside Out, and I would probably like Ratatouille if I can ever remember that it's one of the 87 trillion titles on my "to-watch" list.
Linear Gnome wrote: ↑Sat Mar 24, 2018 8:39 am
Just in case anyone is interested: this was the last game taped before Alex's surgery. This week had been taped on December 13. Next week's games were taped on January 16.
Is that why there was the pre-game spiel about being anxious to get out of there? (Maybe not for the surgery, but if that surgery hadn’t happened, I’d guess this was the last scheduled taping before the holidays anyways?)
"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
When my kids were young, I took them to Disneyland (this was a long time ago). We would occasionally see someone walk to the front of the line, show some sort of pass and get right on (this was before whatever arrangement they have now). I kind of muttered underneath my breath, half to myself and half out loud, "If I had called my friend at Disney, I'll bet she could have gotten me one of those." The whole rest of the day, whenever we were waiting on line, my kids would say in that mocking tone that only a child can do right, "If you had called your friend at Disney, we wouldn't have to wait on this line!" Every. Single. Ride. The. Rest. Of. The. Day.
Treasure Island was the first non-"kids book" I read with my dad when I was a kid. No way I was missing that one.
I thought the FJ! scoring/wagering situation from this game had a special name in the J! Archive glossary but I don't see it. It was interesting to see Lynn win Thursday's game with a savvy wager only to lose Friday to someone else's. I wonder if her opinion on "bet the extra dollar" vs. "bet to tie and win it in tiebreak" has changed as a result of this game.
It's been a bit sad to see the vitriol that the Twitterverse has been vomiting at Lynn since her first appearance. Call me maybe naïve but it always surprises me that the set of people who would say such things online has any intersection with the set of people who love J!. At least she will have the satisfaction of two well-played games and the title of J! Champion. Thanks and applause to the JBoard commentariat for being a haven from such senseless ad hominem BS, where we just argue endlessly about the One True Wagering Strategy instead.
zerobandwidth wrote: ↑Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:34 am
It's been a bit sad to see the vitriol that the Twitterverse has been vomiting at Lynn since her first appearance. Call me maybe naïve but it always surprises me that the set of people who would say such things online has any intersection with the set of people who love J!. At least she will have the satisfaction of two well-played games and the title of J! Champion. Thanks and applause to the JBoard commentariat for being a haven from such senseless ad hominem BS, where we just argue endlessly about the One True Wagering Strategy instead.
I don't even want to know any other details but I can guess. It's a shame that technology that should bring people closer together has also become used by so many people who use it to try to inflict pain. The irony is that we've had a run of some pretty great/enjoyable/fun contestants and I've found myself thinking that it would be nice if they could all come back. Hopefully, Lynn had a wonderful experience and can just ignore the unfortunate by-product of being in the public eye.
zerobandwidth wrote: ↑Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:34 am
I thought the FJ! scoring/wagering situation from this game had a special name in the J! Archive glossary but I don't see it.
Not in the glossary, but in the wagering calculator: it's called "first equals second plus third" (for obvious reasons).
edit: I'm suddenly remembering this game, in which the the poor sap in third place in a F = S + T situation arbitrarily withheld $2 and had a sole get.
The "first equals second plus third" scenario represents the breakpoint between the player in third having too little to win absent a greedy wager from the leader (less than the difference, aka "weak" in Shore's terminology) and third having a chance but requiring a correct response (more than the difference but less than twice the difference, "intermediate" in SC-speak). (With more than twice the difference third could bet to top the leader's cover bet on a TS, aka a "strong" scenario.)
GoodStrategy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 26, 2018 4:51 pm
The "first equals second plus third" scenario represents the breakpoint between the player in third having too little to win absent a greedy wager from the leader (less than the difference, aka "weak" in Shore's terminology) and third having a chance but requiring a correct response (more than the difference but less than twice the difference, "intermediate" in SC-speak). (With more than twice the difference third could bet to top the leader's cover bet on a TS, aka a "strong" scenario.)
And I think it makes a difference whether or not second place hits the 2/3 threshhold -- there's a big difference between a game with leader having $10,000 with the the other two tied at $5000 each, and leader having $10,000, 2nd place having $9900, and 3rd place having $100. There are a couple of strategy breakpoints between the two scenarios, even though each represents 1=2+3.
I'm not the defending Jeopardy! champion. But I have played one on TV.