The contestants for any particular show are picked only minutes before the taping, by the draw of playing cards in the green room. And a contestant coordinator is with the contestants in the green room before the taping.
What?
Contestant Scott Weiss, introduced on Wednesday, does not have fully formed hands, but he seems to have done well with the buzzer nonetheless.
He beat the other two by a good margin.Maybe he wanted to play the same folks again cause he thinks he can beat them easily.
Well, no, he had a margin of about $5,000. Not a commanding lead.
And if that was his strategy, it was a pretty bad idea. Ability to do well at Jeopardy! is largely a matter of luck: getting clues in subject areas you know. There’s no reason to assume that because you won against a couple of other players that you can beat them again. IIRC, he was in third place going into DJ.
All other things being equal (and the rules and procedures are all designed to make sure that they will be), you’re always better off going up against new players. I think that’s a large part of the secret of Ken Jennings’ success.
What? When I was on in 2000, there was no card-draw; the coordinator just called out the names of the next set of contestants waiting in the green room.
So there was no way collusion would necessarily work, because you never knew when you would be called. It would also not have worked for a “last set” of contestants from the pool either because they always had more than they needed for each set of tapings (Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week).
Also, a representative of the show accompanied the pool of contestants everywhere – from the time they entered the studio lot, to the green room, lunch room and even makeup.
Now what they would have said if they heard contestants talking about collusion, I don’t know.
I was going by my experience as a contestant in 1996, when we drew cards in the green room to determine who would be on which show.
Yes, of course. They may still have been drawing cards (or some similar lottery method), we perhaps just didn’t see them.
How’d you do?
One-day champion, $8,200 in cash and prizes (this was before the dollar amounts were doubled).
In 1991, there was no card draw that I saw: Suzanne Thurber just announced the next three players, presumably drawn at random. However, I was not called during my first day of taping. So I mentioned to her at the start of the second day that if I started after the first game of the day, and if I happened to become a five-time champ, she’d have to pay to change my airfare. She said that if that happened, she’d take care of my flight. But then I was called for the first show. So the selection may not always have been totally random.
5-4-Fighting: You haven’t mentioned being a Jeopardy! alum before. I need to add you to The List. When were you on, how many games did you win (if none, in what place did you finish), and how much did you win?
Welcome to one of the most exclusive clubs in the world: Dopers on Jeopardy!.
Last year, when I was on, they literally drew our names from a hat. The first two names were drawn in the green room. The rest of us were then sequestered in the studio, away from the rest of the audience as taping ensued. The contestant coordinator would then draw two more names at the end of each taping session, and those two would proceed to the stage to play the returning champion.
I crapped out before Final Jeopardy.
Commasense, I had mentioned it somewhere here on the Dope (a couple of times, probably in another hijack like this one). The one show I was on aired in April 2000; like I said above, I crapped out before Final Jeopardy (so 3rd place).
I received a gift certificate for $800 to some events website that sold really expensive, but not necessarily hard-to-get concerts and sporting events.
Although I had some issues with my appearance and what I learned about the behind the scenes stuff and the “rules”, I will always hold this event in my life up with the highest of them.
Thanks. You’re on the list now.
Thank you. Being included on this list (which I didn’t know about) actually enhancing the experience ever more.
Regarding the “tie vs. tie+$1” decision: I don’t think he did it out of any particular strategy; rather, he did it to ensure his place in Jeopardy history. Being the guy who caused the first 3-way tie will be more memorable than simply winning one more game. At least that’s why I would have done it.
What panache said.
If you’re just trying to maximise your winnings, & the other two are going all in, it makes more sense to wager everything but $1.
He made a 3-way tie 'cos it was cool.
So… no Sean Connery, then?
I missed it. So, the first show back after the three-way tie, did Trebeck have anything to say about the unique situation? Did he ask the guys why they wagered as they did?
Yes. He said that a little kid asked him if there had ever been a three-way tie on the show. Trebek said, “No. We’ve had a two-way tie, but never a three-way tie.” The one contestant overheard that remark, and so he decided to carve out his spot in Jeopardy history.