CyrusChan wrote:did anyone precall any of the Albert's? Camus for 2k was an easy one, IMO
I got a bit of a break when I threw out Albert Schweitzer on the 1,200 clue, which had something to do with a vaccine, even though I was fairly certain it was wrong. Then when the DD came up in the $1,600 box, I was nearly certain that it was Schweitzer as soon as I saw the clue.
I'm sorry to say this econgator, but I think your argument in this case is really, really misguided. You keep saying that if the leaders have more than double third place's score, then that means they have a lock, but I don't see how you can fail to appreciate the fact that if you're tied with another player, then you don't have a lock over them. goforthetie's other example of scores was pointing out that you have to have a lock over both other players, not just one, and in this case neither Cathy nor Greg had a lock over each other, and since they aren't playing as a team, neither has a guaranteed lock over Melanie either. If you want to bet $0 in that case, then that is perfectly okay, but I think I agree with goforthetie's assessment that the $0 bet may lead to a loss more often than it would lead to a win, and since betting everything does give the added bonus of twice as much money in your pocket if you win, I don't quite see how you can make the argument that no contestant should ever bet more than $0 in that position. I can see making the argument that $0 is preferable to the $1,000 bet that Cathy made, and I would probably tend to agree with you, but I have no issues with Greg betting it all.
If I could control all 3 players (like a puppet master), I would just have the leaders bet $1,200 and Melanie bet it all, just so we could have the possibility of a 3-way tie. I don't know why I find the possibility of tie scores so intriguing, but as soon as Greg missed that Daily Double I noted that the leaders were only $400 apart, so I was begging for them to end up tied. I had very little hope that Greg would get the final ballet clue to knot them, then was pleasant surprised (I suspect he was as well) that he pulled it out.
Congratulations to both Cathy and Melanie on both becoming Jeopardy! champions.