# Holy Moly, what a dumb Jeopardy contestant... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 9, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815 "2011-06-09T02:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/1 "2011-06-09T02:31:06Z")
So the lady today (Weds., June 8) got the last two clues all to herself, as daily doubles. Instead of going for the throat on the last clue, making it a runaway, she bet only $1000. Even if wrong, a runaway bet would STILL have had her in first going into final. She got it right, but the puss-out bid left the door open, and she blew an EASY final question to lose… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/2 "2011-06-09T02:54:15Z")
What were the players’ totals at each of those points? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/3 "2011-06-09T03:25:22Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > What were the players’ totals at each of those points? IIRC, the lady in the lead could have bet $4201. Right, and It’d be a runaway going into final. Wrong, she’d still be in first going into final. Instead, she bet a grand, and answered correctly, which helped her exactly zero. Then she blew the final question to lose. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/4 "2011-06-09T03:42:33Z")
$3200 is still real money. Might not have been a strong category for her, and $1000 itself was a gamble. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/5 "2011-06-09T03:53:51Z")
Perhaps. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/6 "2011-06-09T15:51:12Z")
What was the category that she wagered only $1k on, and what was the clue? Ditto for Final Jeopardy!. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/7 "2011-06-09T16:35:32Z")
**THEY GIVE US GAS** (all about gas companies) The “Our History” section of this gas giant’s site shows its path from an “Anglo-Persian oil company to global energy group” BP Just before that she got this Daily Double in **AROUND THE BODY** When an injury like a cut is sustained, these blood cells change shape, become sticky, build up on the wound and form a plug platelets Maybe I was just having a good day playing along, but I found both of these (and Final Jeopardy) really easy. I was shocked at her wagers too. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/8 "2011-06-09T16:45:16Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > $3200 is still real money. Might not have been a strong category for her, and $1000 itself was a gamble. > [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > What was the category that she wagered only $1k on, and what was the clue? > Ditto for Final Jeopardy!. Neither should matter. You only get money if you win the game with the highest total. You aren’t losing $3200 when you get a question wrong, you’re losing 3200 points that are valueless until you win Final Jeopardy. If you have a Daily Double with the last question you have 2 goals, ensure that you go into Final Jeopardy with the most money and to try and make it a runaway so Final Jeopardy is moot, in that order. It doesn’t matter if you go into Final Jeopardy with a 1 point lead, you still have the leverage. Most Final Jeopardy questions are gotten by either everyone or no one. Daily Double questions are almost always easier than Final Jeopardy questions and they provide far more context for the answer, if you can bet all your money on a Daily Double heading into Final Jeopardy you’re probably standing a better chance of getting that one right than the Final. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/9 "2011-06-09T16:50:06Z")
Grrrr. Platelets aren’t true cells. They’re cell fragments, derived from a precursor cell. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/10 "2011-06-09T16:57:11Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > **THEY GIVE US GAS** (all about gas companies) > The “Our History” section of this gas giant’s site shows its path from an “Anglo-Persian oil company to global energy group” > > BP > > Just before that she got this Daily Double in **AROUND THE BODY** > When an injury like a cut is sustained, these blood cells change shape, become sticky, build up on the wound and form a plug > > platelets > > Maybe I was just having a good day playing along, but I found both of these (and Final Jeopardy) really easy. I was shocked at her wagers too. Of course for Daily Double they don’t know the question, just the category before their wager. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/11 "2011-06-09T17:04:45Z")
I thought **jsgoddess** was going to choke me because I gave the exact same rant, emphatically, when the contestant made that bet, and I said I’d laugh at her if she ended up losing because of it. In the end, though, I just felt really badly for her. And during the closing credits, when the contestants were all talking to Alex, she made a “gun to the head” gesture at herself that I can only assume was in reference to her belated realization of her mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/12 "2011-06-09T18:15:52Z")
I notice that bad betting seems to be a pretty frequent occurrence on Jeopardy. Are the scores easily visible to the contestants? The reason I ask is that if I was deciding on what to bet for a Daily Double, my eyes would be focused on the scores quickly doing math. It doesn’t seem like the contestants do that. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/13 "2011-06-09T18:23:50Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Of course for Daily Double they don’t know the question, just the category before their wager. Right, but for the gas one it was well established that all the questions related to oil/gas companies. And the questions made the answers really obvious. It’s possible the Daily Double would be a bit harder, but not necessarily. And it wasn’t. The “anglo” wording in the clue pointed directly at BP. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/14 "2011-06-09T18:40:50Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I notice that bad betting seems to be a pretty frequent occurrence on Jeopardy. Are the scores easily visible to the contestants? The reason I ask is that if I was deciding on what to bet for a Daily Double, my eyes would be focused on the scores quickly doing math. It doesn’t seem like the contestants do that. I seem to recall that off to the side of the board, tech crew keeps a display with everybody’s scores on it. And yes, they are doing the math that fast. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/15 "2011-06-09T18:51:42Z")
It’s very easy to criticize from your couch. They don’t give you a lot of time to make your bet - you are on the spot there. You have tons of time to figure out a Final Jeopardy bet, down to the nearest buck. But that’s it. I got a taste of this when I was on the show in 2000. I played one game, lost, and took my consolation prize. And I got further than anyone I have ever met, apart from the other people I met that day. It isn’t easy. So the only contestant I ever call dumb is me - that’s the only one I have evidence for. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/16 "2011-06-09T20:44:55Z")
My answers to those questions would have been “British Petroleum” and “red blood cells”, which makes me wonder if I’d’ve been judged wrong. Or maybe I’d first get one of those silent two-second pauses from Alex while he waited for me to become more specific. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/17 "2011-06-10T01:34:06Z")
Man, she must have felt sooooo bad. That’s the feeling I take away from watching all these epic screwups. Every time she watches a game show now, she will feel the burning shame of blunderdom. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/18 "2011-06-10T02:20:20Z")
What was her name? Because now we can just associate her name with making such a blunder. “Man, I really pulled a Sally!” they’ll say… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/19 "2011-06-10T02:27:51Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > My answers to those questions would have been “British Petroleum” and “red blood cells”, which makes me wonder if I’d’ve been judged wrong. > > Or maybe I’d first get one of those silent two-second pauses from Alex while he waited for me to become more specific. Platelets are not red blood cells. And British Petroleum is no longer the name of the company. I am almost certain that that these would be counted wrong. But, then again, the BP question is historical in nature, so maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815/20 "2011-06-27T16:15:03Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Neither should matter. Oh sure, it’s easy to lecture people about the rules when you’re **Omniscient**. Sheesh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-moly-what-a-dumb-jeopardy-contestant/584815.md?page=2)