# Jeopardy! - Why not tie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2001, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058 "2001-12-05T17:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/1 "2001-12-05T17:10:47Z")
In Jeopardy, if two players tie they both get the money and come back the next day, right? Let’s say we have this situation when it comes time to place bets for final jeopardy: Big Winner So Far - $6000 Competent But Not Awe Inspiring - $4000 Loser - $1000 Most of the time, BWSF will wager 2001, just enough to beat CBNAI by a dollar if they both get the question right. (I know, I know, it’s more complicated than that, depends on the category, etc… but that’s what usually happens.) My question is, if BWSF chooses to bet big, why not consider producing a tie? CBNAI would be one of their opponents the next day rather than some Jeopardy Death Star (JDS). It depends on how you judge CBNAI, of course. In other words, it’s the devil you know, and that devil ain’t so bad. Plus it’s a _nice_ thing to do! ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/2 "2001-12-05T17:39:33Z")
If somebody’s close enough to your abilities to tie you, they’re close enough to beat you next time. Get them out of the way and hope that the next two aren’t even better. (Which they often aren’t; my anecdotal observations indicate that most Jeopardy champs repeat at least once.) Of course, if I were in that situation and had the opportunity to either tie or put away someone who’d already won four games, I’d go for the tie. After five wins, he goes home anyway. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/3 "2001-12-05T17:41:30Z")
Actually, I’d think the best option for CBNAI would be to bet **zero** in Final Jeopardy. BWSF _will_ wager $2001, to secure his win if he gets the question right. But if BWSF is wrong, he will end up with $3999. So, if CBNAI wagers zero, he can be either right or wrong and win outright so long as BWSF is wrong. The only way CBNAI can win is for BWSF to not get the question right – so in this way, CBNAI has hedged his bets and will win as long as BWSF is wrong. If CBNAI wagers more than zero, he stands a chance of losing if he also gets the question wrong. Did that make any sense? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/4 "2001-12-05T17:44:08Z")
Probably it doesn’t occur to most people. However, I think the biggest advantage you have in being the champion is that you know the timning on those buzzers - supposedly that’s a big part of the game. Even though you’ve amassed more money today than your next closest challenger, you’re better off facing someone new who hasn’t stood on that stage and held that exact buzzer system the next day. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/5 "2001-12-05T19:46:11Z")
Many years ago when my brother was on the show, he won a game on the basis of a tie. The guy in front of him was nice to him. It was his fourth win in a row. In the next game, my brother got his assed kicked. But politely. My brother said that the returning champ’s experience on the buzzers was hard to get past. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/6 "2001-12-05T23:26:23Z")
I’ve seen two contests which ended in ties. In the first, one of the contestants had been a four-game winner, so they said he would retire as an undefeated champion, and the other contestant would return. (I think the four-game winner, who was leading when they went into Final Jeopardy, knew this would be the outcome, so he bid an amount that would result in a tie if he was wrong and the second-place contestant bet all her money and also was right, which is what in fact happened). In the second case, I think the leader miscalculated how much it would take to win, and accidentally tied at the end. In that case, they were immediatedly ready with a one-question tie-breaker answer, and only the winner of this got to go on. (This was part of a tournament, so it is possible it was resolved differently than a normal game.) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/7 "2001-12-06T16:00:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whitetho \* > \*\*In the second case, I think the leader miscalculated how much it would take to win, and accidentally tied at the end. In that case, they were immediatedly ready with a one-question tie-breaker answer, and only the winner of this got to go on. (This was part of a tournament, so it is possible it was resolved differently than a normal game.) \*\* I’ve seen two-person ties on the show several times, and typically both players get to come back the next day. I don’t watch very frequently anymore, but the OP implies that the same rule still exists. I did once see a three-person tie; in that case _nobody_ got to come back. (I believe they all tied at zero, though, so maybe if it were a positive number it would be different.) –Cliffy –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/8 "2001-12-06T16:05:28Z")
According to this site, too, ties create co-champions. [http://www.fiendation.com/jeopardy/rules.html](http://www.fiendation.com/jeopardy/rules.html) ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/9 "2001-12-06T18:09:18Z")
I don’t think you can with $0. But I have seen people win with $5 and $1. It would really suck if that’s what you ended up with. I doubt you would clear much after taxes on that. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-why-not-tie/97058/10 "2001-12-06T20:06:47Z")
SUre, but you’d get to come back and maybe the next day you’d do a little better. Also, you get the parting gifts. –Cliffy