Tuesday, September 17, 2019 Game Recap and Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Cat Hammarskjold]

I thought I was onto something when I saw that francified Germanic first name+not too long after the Franco-Prussian war would lead to this being the national anthem of Belgium. Unfortunately, I didn't know the name of Belgium's national anthem.

[earendel]

I wonder if Helen and Colin are ruing their suboptimal wagers. I got FJ! based on the date.

[heppm01]

No way I was falling for the too-obvious "La Marsellaise" I went with Haiti (or more precisely, "What is the national anthem of HaitI?" because I don't have a clue what it is called). If you had told me that it wasn't Haiti it would have been quite a while before I made my way to Canada, detouring through various former French territories.

[Peter the accountant]

I quickly narrowed down the FJ options to France, Canada, and Haiti. Tossed Haiti as too obscure. Made a guess that the French anthem (which I could not name) would date to the revolution. So 1880 would be approaching a century too late. So went with O Canada.

I completely missed the “Sir” hint. That is a really nice TOM by the writers.

[Linear Gnome]

I ruled out La Marsellaise as predating 1880 because of its use in the 1812 Overture. Although it turns out that the 1812 Overture was composed in 1880 (later than I had realized), it would have had to be a familiar melody by then for it to make sense for Tchaikovsky to use it.

Once I ruled out La Marsellaise, I was left with a choice between "O Canada" and "I have no idea", so I went with the former.

[billiej]

Tricky one. Was tempted to say "La Marsellaise" but thought that would be too easy.

My reasoning as well. Switched to the correct response in the last seconds with little confidence. I'll take it.

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

53 R (Missed Seth MacFarlane(Unfamiliar film title.) and The Mule(Also an unfamiliar film title.).)
DD: 3/3
FJ:
LT: Julius Caesar, Othello

The funny thing is. O Canada was asked as a question on today's episode of the UK Chase.
It was asked as "What national anthem was first sung in Quebec in 1880?"
Is there really such thing as slim odds these days?

[LucarioSnooperVixey]

Said Elba instead of Corsica on the last DD.

The clue said "Hometown Boy". It also said "Paid a visit in 1799 and never came back." Napoleon exiled to Elba in 1814.

[jeff6286]

If he had been ahead of Jason at the end of DJ, he would have won the game, even with it being a triple stumper.

Citation needed.

[BigDaddyMatty]

DD: 2/3
FJ:

Mixed up the Napoleon islands, but noticed St. Jean Baptiste Day

Upon closer inspection, Jason's bet probably wasn't optimal either. Wagering 100 less would have prevented Helen from overtaking him on a triple stumper and guaranteed no less than a tiebreaker if he got it right.
This was actually a more interesting scenario than it seemed at first glance.

Jason's final wagers have been suspect through most of his run.
Like you say, he might have been smart to wager $1 short, and allow Helen a shot at a tie-breaker, but he overbets by $99.
This, after leaving $50,000+ on the table in lock games.

I disagree. A strong champion like Jason has a much better than 50% chance of getting FJ! right, so it seems like a better play to wager to win outright rather than risking a one-clue buzzer race with either Colin or Helen. Besides that, there was a decent chance Colin would wager reasonably, leaving Jason dead in the water if he missed FJ!.

As for underwagering on the lock FJ!s, while it's the right strategy in the long run to maximize one's wager if one has a >50% chance of getting FJ! right, it's not the only rational strategy given that one does not get infinite bites at the apple.

[MollyQMurphy]

DD: 2/3
FJ:

Mixed up the Napoleon islands, but noticed St. Jean Baptiste Day

Upon closer inspection, Jason's bet probably wasn't optimal either. Wagering 100 less would have prevented Helen from overtaking him on a triple stumper and guaranteed no less than a tiebreaker if he got it right.
This was actually a more interesting scenario than it seemed at first glance.

Jason's final wagers have been suspect through most of his run.
Like you say, he might have been smart to wager $1 short, and allow Helen a shot at a tie-breaker, but he overbets by $99.
This, after leaving $50,000+ on the table in lock games.

I disagree. A strong champion like Jason has a much better than 50% chance of getting FJ! right, so it seems like a better play to wager to win outright rather than risking a one-clue buzzer race with either Colin or Helen. Besides that, there was a decent chance Colin would wager reasonably, leaving Jason dead in the water if he missed FJ!.

As for underwagering on the lock FJ!s, while it's the right strategy in the long run to maximize one's wager if one has a >50% chance of getting FJ! right, it's not the only rational strategy given that one does not get infinite bites at the apple.

"...given that one does not get infinite bites at the apple."

That's the hardest hardest part. Win, or one and done. No way to fix it. Well said. Thanks. That really resonates.