If I see one more person screw up a Jeopardy! bet...

[bouv]

@Maserschmidt

But going back to last week, in general if there are 3 close scores, and you’re in 3rd, you should sit tight and bet nothing…which someone failed to do last week, and it cost her the game (admittedly if the category is Famous Generals and you’re a West Point instructor you might change that strategy, but hopefully you get the general idea).

But on the other hand, in the game the OP is talking about, the 3rd place person won because of his large bet…had he bet nothing, he would have stayed in third place.

[Labdad]

@Zsofia

Look, it is A LOT DIFFERENT when you’re up there in person. I’d practiced and practiced betting and still found it much harder than you’d think when you’re up there at the podium with some scratch paper.

ETA - I didn’t see this particular show.

As one who made one of those “stupid” Final Jeopardy bets, let me echo Zsofia: it’s A LOT DIFFERENT when you’re up there!

And yes, I still kick myself when I realize I could have won if I had bet differently! :smack:

[Zsofia]

@Chronos

And I already know from experience that nerves don’t hit me that way. When I’m onstage or in a competition, I’m at my sharpest (and yes, I have been on a televised quiz show, though not Jeopardy). Oddly, immediately after a competition, when it doesn’t matter any more, I’m a total nervous wreck.

See, I thought I knew how I’d react, too. And I was right for some of it and wrong for some of it. After my episode airs I’ll come back and explain exactly how I was wrong about my brain.

[FlightlessBird]

@etv78

How was she able to discern his strenghts/weaknesses in 22 minutes?

I assumed they had a conversation. Do they not let you talk to each other before the show starts? If not, then maybe it was some deduction from answers he gave throughout the show.

[Chronos]

Oh yeah? drumroll
This well-known contemporary musician has a Ph.D. in astrophysics.
(tick… tick… tick…)

Note that I said I had very little chance with contemporary musicians, not no chance. It’s hard to not know about someone as kick-ass as Brian May

Although I would have been kicking myself if the category were “contemporary musicians”, and I bet zero and it was that.

[John_Mace]

The funny thing is, the military guy was so good at other pop culture question, how could have missed a reference to I Dream Of Jeannie? I was floored that he missed it.

[Voyager]

I practiced with the computer game before I was on, and found it mostly useful in working on betting strategies. (Button pushing practice would have been a lot more helpful.) When the show came, the third contestant was negative so she was gone in FJ, and I had it easy. We both got the (very dumb) question wrong. I would have won if I had gotten it and he didn’t, and I finished with $5, but when I was on you just got the prize no matter how much money you had in second place, so I was as good as if I had $1,000.

[Maserschmidt]

@bouv

But on the other hand, in the game the OP is talking about, the 3rd place person won because of his large bet…had he bet nothing, he would have stayed in third place.

It’s a rare, rare occurrence that the person in 2nd doesn’t bet enough to cover 3rd.

[K364]

@bouv

But on the other hand, in the game the OP is talking about, the 3rd place person won because of his large bet…had he bet nothing, he would have stayed in third place.

@Maserschmidt

It was that $10,000 bet that flipped me out. All I could think was math error, but that’s a really basic one…though I think the guess that she meant $11,000 might be right.

I’ll admit there are some pretty complex scenarios around betting, which were lovingly detailed on the old Jeopardy! site. But going back to last week, in general if there are 3 close scores, and you’re in 3rd, you should sit tight and bet nothing…which someone failed to do last week, and it cost her the game (admittedly if the category is Famous Generals and you’re a West Point instructor you might change that strategy, but hopefully you get the general idea).

Maserschmidt said “3 close scores”. In the game the OP is talking about, 3rd was a distant 3rd and had to bet big to have any chance.

[Maserschmidt]

@K364

Maserschmidt said “3 close scores”. In the game the OP is talking about, 3rd was a distant 3rd and had to bet big to have any chance.

Exactly. When I talk about 3 close scores, I’m harking back to this game that I described in the 3rd post as being “last week” when it was actually the Friday before that, where Lynn’s best chance was to bet zero and hope the leaders would miss it (which they did):

J! Archive - Show #6295, aired 2012-01-20