# How does Jeopardy handle ties... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 13, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389 "2014-05-13T23:53:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [May 13, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/1 "2014-05-13T23:53:45Z")
…in tournaments? When there are no empty spaces to fill, is there a tie-breaker? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/2 "2014-05-14T02:45:12Z")
There’s a tiebreaker question. I guess if they both got it wrong they’d keep asking questions. It has happened. Both the 1996 and 2012 Teen Tournaments had tiebreakers. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/3 "2014-05-14T02:50:39Z")
This intrigued me so I looked it up on youtube. The tie breaker question is like a regular Jeopardy question where you have to ring in. The first person to ring in and give a correct answer wins. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsvrtKHBKW) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/4 "2014-05-14T05:27:01Z")
I thought the OP was asking what if, in a tournament with wild cards, two contestants ended up with the same dollar amount and were placed such that only one could advance. It’s an interesting question. I’m not exactly sure. Maybe I’ll ask on the fan message board. 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 14, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/5 "2014-05-14T13:46:32Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I thought the OP was asking what if, in a tournament with wild cards, two contestants ended up with the same dollar amount and were placed such that only one could advance. > > It’s an interesting question. I’m not exactly sure. Maybe I’ll ask on the fan message board. 🙂 I think that **RickJay** answered it. Unfortunately, the youtube link that **hajario** provided doesn’t work for me. I wonder how they accommodate the additional time required for a sudden death question into the telecast. Do they strip out a commercial or two? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/6 "2014-05-14T14:04:08Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I think that **RickJay** answered it. Unfortunately, the youtube link that **hajario** provided doesn’t work for me. I wonder how they accommodate the additional time required for a sudden death question into the telecast. Do they strip out a commercial or two? Leaper’s question is about earlier rounds of the tournament. They have the winner of a given match movng on to the next round but also a couple of people who didn’t win who scored the highest (wild card). What happens if there is a tie there? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/7 "2014-05-14T14:28:31Z")
> [@](#): > > I wonder how they accommodate the additional time required for a sudden death question into the telecast. Do they strip out a commercial or two? They probably strip out some of the filler, like Trebek expounded more detail on one of the answers, or the mini-interviews with the contestants. Commercials are the reason for a TV show’s existence; I highly doubt they’d strip any of them. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/8 "2014-05-14T14:36:10Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Leaper’s question is about earlier rounds of the tournament. They have the winner of a given match movng on to the next round but also a couple of people who didn’t win who scored the highest (wild card). What happens if there is a tie there? Ah, got it. Good question. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/9 "2014-05-14T14:48:35Z")
On my phone so can’t link but Wikipedia’s section on the Jeopardy TOC says that the tie breaker is whomever has the highest score after Double Jeopardy. Presumably, the next tie breaker is regular Jeopardy but it could still be tied there too. Maybe a coin toss after that? Other notes, if a game ends in a three way tie at 0, no one from that game advances and there is an additional wild card. If it takes more than one tie breaker question as posed in the OP, only the winning question is aired. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/10 "2014-05-14T15:20:56Z")
Knife fight. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/11 "2014-05-14T16:23:33Z")
Not academic enough. Sabre fencing in a library. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/12 "2014-05-14T17:55:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > They probably strip out some of the filler, like Trebek expounded more detail on one of the answers, or the mini-interviews with the contestants. Or fast-forward through the momentum-killing Clue Crew clues. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-jeopardy-handle-ties/688389/13 "2014-05-14T19:56:46Z")
Or they’re asked to identify a “mystery man” in an old photograph.