Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Archivists]

Placeholder for J! Round

[Archivists]

Placeholder for DJ! Round

[StevenH]

About a week and a half ago I decided that I couldn't wait to see the final ToC field, so I Googled around to see if I could find it and stumbled upon this article:

Warning: if you haven't seen tonight's game then this will be a spoiler

Spoiler

http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/m ... champions/

[Golf]

The champ is definitely in the kitchen of all challengers during FJ wagering from now on.

If you know what a anemometer is, FJ was cake. Otherwise it's a crapshoot.

Doubt I'll be watching the next two weeks, just not the same. Nothing against the extremely bright kids who will be competing though. By the way, why have they been starting these tournaments on Wednesdays as opposed to Mondays?

[econgator]

The champ is definitely in the kitchen of all challengers during FJ wagering from now on.

If you know what a anemometer is, FJ was cake. Otherwise it's a crapshoot.

Doubt I'll be watching the next two weeks, just not the same. Nothing against the extremely bright kids who will be competing though. By the way, why have they been starting these tournaments on Wednesdays as opposed to Mondays?

Ratings (see many other posts about this).

[Bamaman]

If you know what a anemometer is, FJ was cake. Otherwise it's a crapshoot.

She knew what it is and still got it wrong. But she still would have lost even with a correct answer.

[lisa0012]

If you know what a anemometer is, FJ was cake. Otherwise it's a crapshoot.

Not necessarily. I couldn't remember for sure what one was, but what else is only reported during the winter? I thought of it instantly and had no reason to abandon it.

Very fun game to watch, good job by Joshua but wish he had bet more on his DD.

Robert's response to the Fifty Shades clue was perfect.

[jeff6286]

Meteorological Terms
In the 1940s an anemometer aided Antarctic experiments that 1st determined this measurement heard in weather reports.

Spoiler

What is wind chill? Robert said 50 below; Allison said wind currents.

Allison Swanberg: $20,800-$3,500=$17,300
Joshua Brakhage: $16,800+$16,794=$33,594...now a 5-day champion with $103,205
Robert Chodola: $8,000-$7,500=$500

[NYCScribbler]

Mint Marks: 5/5
Recent Books: 5/5
American Knights: 2/5 (clammed $200, $1000, negged $800)
The Race Is On: 3/5 (clammed $800, $1000)
Nature: 5/5
We're Pulling 3 Gs: 5/5

Mint Marks: 4/5 (clammed $1600)
The Artist: 1/5 (clammed $800, $1200, $1600, $2000)
Foreign Words & Phrases: 5/5
The 1940s: 3/5 (clammed $800, $2000)
Honorary Academy Awards: 2/5 (negged $400, $1600, clammed $2000)
"E"-Ography: 2/5 (clammed $1200, $1600, $2000)

FJ! Meteorological Terms:

[econgator]

Surprised that wasn't a triple-get.

Also surprised that none of them knew Entebbe or Hobart.

[TenPoundHammer]

Lots of 0/5s for me today: Recent Books, American Knights, 1940s, and Honorary Academy Awards. On Knights for $200, I saw no way to get to Billy Graham.

Thought Mints in DJ! would be an easy run, but I've NHO After Eight and blanked on Ice Breakers. My only other gets were $400 in Artist and "E"ography, plus $800 in Foreign Words. I've never heard "l'chaim".

Blah blah blah, I don't even know what the hell an anemometer is, but cold + in weather reports a lot = wind chill. I thought this was ridiculously easy, and am amazed that it was only 1/3.

[xxaaaxx]

Is it possible that she saw his wager yesterday? She still bet too much (he could've wagered 799 safely, IIRC) but seeing the same type of wager from two different people two days in a row would be one hell of a coincidence.

Instaget FJ, forgot what an anemometer is, but the answer was obviously winter/cold weather related.

[skullturf]

Add me to the list of people who aren't exactly sure what an anemometer is, but got FJ anyway.

By the way, the very first thing that entered my mind for FJ, for a brief second, when I saw words like "Antarctic" and "...first determined this..."
was the hole in the ozone layer.

But then, "heard in weather reports" + an expression first used in a cold place + an expression originating in the mid-20th century = correct answer.

Econgator, I also shouted both "Hobart" and "Entebbe" at the TV.

[Paucle]

I've never heard "l'chaim".

[Bamaman]

I also first thought of ozone hole before fully reading the answer. Wind speed device plus really cold place led me to wind chill. Oddly, that FJ could have been used during regular game play in the 1940s category.

[jeff6286]

Is it possible that she saw his wager yesterday? She still bet too much (he could've wagered 799 safely, IIRC) but seeing the same type of wager from two different people two days in a row would be one hell of a coincidence.

She definitely would have seen his wager in yesterday's game, so it does seem highly possible that she was going for a similar strategy. She may have thought that the category was weak for her, and wanted to leave herself a chance to win on a triple stumper. Even if he had not made that wager yesterday, there is definitely an argument to be made for the leader not making the shutout bet in her position, though you are correct that she would have been better off betting $3200, rather than $3500. It is reasonable to assume that 2nd might bet less than $800 in order to keep 3rd locked out, so from her spot it is not a horrible play to bet small. If 2nd does indeed bet less than $800, and you bet less than $3200, then you win no matter what. Another popular move from 2nd in that spot is to bet to cover the leader by a dollar, and even if he covers 1st by $3000 or so, you can still win with a correct response.

Did anyone notice that if Allison had made the MSB, Robert could have bet $0 and possibly won on a triple stumper. He would have needed Joshua to bet big, which he did, but Robert chose to bet big as well, meaning that if Allison had made the shutout bet, she still would have won by a mile on a triple stumper.

Since she didn't get FJ right anyway, at least Allison doesn't have to have any regrets about not making the cover wager, which could have possibly cost her a $33K+ payday. She made a very impressive comeback during the DJ round, aided by Joshua making two miniscule wagers on what turned out to be pretty gettable Daily Doubles.

Assuming he loses in one of the first 3 games after the TOC, which were presumably all taped on the same day as this one, Joshua will have a long time to prepare himself for the next TOC. I'm assuming that would probably fall in May 2014, with taping in March or April, and tonight's game was probably taped around October or so, I'm guessing. So he may have a full 18 months between taping appearances.

[Austin Powers]

The champ is a lucky fellow.

- Game one: Rolls. Pretty impressive.
- Game two: Trailing by $6000 going into FJ. Leader misses a very gettable FJ on the Olympics, as she this is something she was very much alive for.
- Game three: Leading, but both opponents within striking distance. Everyone misses FJ.
- Game four: Leading by $2000. He bets very conservatively on FJ, but so does his closest opponent, and everyone misses it.
- Game five: Trailing going into FJ, his opponent figures out "wind," the hardest part of the question, but still manages to miss it. Brakhage gets it, and he'll be in next year's TOC.

Any time he's absolutely needed an opponent to miss FJ, it's happened.

And a good thing, too, because he's had flashes of brilliance, but I would not given him much chance against this year's field. He'll need the 18 months to study.

[jeff6286]

The champ is a lucky fellow.

...
- Game five: Trailing going into FJ, his opponent figures out "wind," the hardest part of the question, but still manages to miss it. Brakhage gets it, and he'll be in next year's TOC.

Any time he's absolutely needed an opponent to miss FJ, it's happened.

And a good thing, too, because he's had flashes of brilliance, but I would not given him much chance against this year's field. He'll need the 18 months to study.

I'm sure you know this, but he didn't need his opponent to miss tonight's FJ, since she made the small wager anyway. I guess after he made that hefty wager, in addition to getting FJ right, he needed her to do one of two things, either bet small or miss it, and she did both.

[Austin Powers]

The champ is a lucky fellow.

...
- Game five: Trailing going into FJ, his opponent figures out "wind," the hardest part of the question, but still manages to miss it. Brakhage gets it, and he'll be in next year's TOC.

Any time he's absolutely needed an opponent to miss FJ, it's happened.

And a good thing, too, because he's had flashes of brilliance, but I would not given him much chance against this year's field. He'll need the 18 months to study.

I'm sure you know this, but he didn't need his opponent to miss tonight's FJ, since she made the small wager anyway. I guess after he made that hefty wager, in addition to getting FJ right, he needed her to do one of two things, either bet small or miss it, and she did both.

True enough.

One definition of a "bad bet" is that (given that you are in a competitive situation), you bet in a way where what your actual answer does not matter. Really the only thing Brakhage could do was bet a bunch, since third was within striking distance of him. The leader could have made her bet, wrote down "what is poop?" before the FJ is revealed, and thought happy thoughts for thirty seconds. Once her bet was made, it became entirely a matter of whether or not the champ got it.

"By Brakhage," BTW, is a terrific little set of films, available from Criterion.

[marpocky]

Assuming he loses in one of the first 3 games after the TOC, which were presumably all taped on the same day as this one, Joshua will have a long time to prepare himself for the next TOC. I'm assuming that would probably fall in May 2014, with taping in March or April, and tonight's game was probably taped around October or so, I'm guessing. So he may have a full 18 months between taping appearances.

Don't they usually alternate fall/spring? I'm expecting the next one in October or so of 2014.

EDIT: Nope, seems to be more of a May/Nov/Feb kind of cycle. Following the sweeps months, I guess. So you're right. Still a long time.