# What's the best way to prepare to audition for/compete on Jeopardy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857 "2008-08-04T23:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/1 "2008-08-04T23:48:17Z")
Well, I thought I sucked all over that online try-out, but evidently they want me to audition in Savannah a month from now. So now I’m kinda freaked out. It’d be fun to get on, but crap, I don’t know all the stuff I used to know! In college I could sweep the board almost every time (unless it was, like, 1960’s Government or Super Bowl Football or something.) A lot of that has fallen out of my head. I got to the final audition for the college special _Who Wants to Be a Millionaire_, but of course that was back when this was all in my head. I suspect it’s similar - timed pressure questions and a taped interview. So how do I improve my chances in a month, and how do I study? I’ve noticed that the Jeopardy questions aren’t really “trivia” and that they often have hidden hints in the question. Is there a standard way to go at this with the maximum benefit? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/2 "2008-08-04T23:53:59Z")
Have you read Bob Harris’s _Prisoner of Trebekistan_? I haven’t, but I understand\* he goes into some detail in describing his preparations, which included turning down the AC in his house, rearranging his living room furniture, and changing his mealtimes to coincide with when contestants eat. Granted, I think those were all his prep for actually _being on the show_ … \*from [his appearance on _This American Life_](http://thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1172) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/3 "2008-08-05T00:14:25Z")
Okay, that might be overkill. 🙂 I figure if they do call me on the show I’ll get Himself to prep me by playing along with his studio lights and his pro cameras and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/4 "2008-08-05T13:11:48Z")
Well, I came to recommend the book too. It was a very enjoyable book to read even if you don’t go on the show. There were also some good tips in there on memorization techniques. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/5 "2008-08-05T13:48:30Z")
Picked it up from the library. I figure the areas to concentrate on reviewing are geography, history (I’m good on European and most American but shaky on more modern stuff and non-Western), literature (shaky on modern), music (uh, shaky on modern), art (crap, could we rewind this modern thing?), world leaders, stuff like that that always comes up. State, province, and world capitals too. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/6 "2008-08-05T14:13:01Z")
Do the contestants have any idea of the categories before they go on? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/7 "2008-08-05T14:49:45Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Do the contestants have any idea of the categories before they go on? [/QUOTE] No. That would be cheating, wouldn’t it? (I’ve never been on the show, but I went to a tryout once, and finished somewhere in the number 4..150 category; the first 3 went on to the next phase.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/8 "2008-08-05T15:38:26Z")
I breezed through the quiz on the audition. I didn’t study for it at all, but I’d been preparing all my life. What I do is to read a lot of reviews. You can get most of what you need to answer questions from book and movie reviews without spending the time to read the book or see the movie. Good crossword puzzles, like the Times, have lots of trivia embedded. I naturally have a good memory for this stuff - I usually win Trivial Pursuit. One thing no one has mentioned is that after the quiz you stand up and play a round. (Those who pass.) Have a clever bit of background that Alex could ask if you get on the show. I suspect they look for stage presence. When I auditioned, there was one guy who said he got high scores a couple of times but never got picked - but he stuttered. Before the show I played the computer game, which was too easy but at least gave practice on how much to bet. I reviewed state capitols and the like, but when I was on they just had changed to a more current culture format. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/9 "2008-08-06T07:14:48Z")
A lot of the _Prisoner of Trebekistan_ (fun book, btw) stuff is about controlling the state he was in when the material was learned in order to maximise the chances of being able to retrieve it under pressure. And Bob Harris describes many instances where his or an opponent’s ability to hit the buzzer (using the pen-type activator) made all the difference, so I think practicing that would be pretty important. Reading something like _Harry Lorayne’s Page A Minute Memory Book_ would also be quite helpful in bolstering up your recall. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/10 "2008-08-06T17:54:51Z")
I think I’m still the most recent Doper to appear on Jeopardy, so I’ll repost my reply to **Jayjay** when this question was asked last year: > [@](#): > > Here’s what I can offer. > > I’m not sure how the tryout process has changed with the advent of the online test. In 2005, when I qualified, the test was given at the hotel conference room, and those who passed the test went on to the “audition” right there. Thos who didn’t pass the test were sent home. > > Assuming your performance on the online test is all that was needed, and that you don’t have to take another test when you go to the audition, I’ll share what happened with me. > > There were six of us who passed the test. We were divided into two groups of three, and were then told each group would play a mock game of Jeopardy. The mock game and subsequent interview were videotaped. > > They had the big game board and three podiums with buzzers. We were told in advance they would not be keeping score. They wanted to see if we could navigate the board and keep the game going. They wanted us to demonstrate that we could select categories and dollar amounts quickly, speak up when we had to answer, etc. > > One of the categories was “Jack Nicholson.” The answer was something like “Nicholson parodied this introduction from ‘The Tonight Show’ in ‘The Shining.’” I buzzed in and answered “What is, 'Heeeeerrrre’s Johhhhnnneee!” The contestant coordinator looked up and said “Good!” Now then, “Here’s Johnny” would have been equally correct, but the fact that I imitated Ed McMahon when I answered I’m sure had something to do with my being ultimately selected for the show. Know what I mean? > > Prior to playing the mock game, they told us we would play the game for about 15 minutes, the we would be interviewed. They told us they wanted us to tell them our name, where we were from, what we did for a living, something interesting about ourselves, and what we would do with it if we won a pile of money on Jeopardy. I told the I was a “reformed lawyer” who now does University fund raising. The interesting thing about me was that I served on the board of the Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival held each year in Champaign, Illinois. ([http://www.ebertfest.com/board.html](http://www.ebertfest.com/board.html)) And that I’d probably spend all the money I won on Jeopardy on my garden. This wasn’t done in recitation, it was part of a Q&A they were conducting with me. I think the key is to be engaging, and have some answers that aren’t the same as the 300 other people they’ve interviewed this week! > > If you haven’t already done so, they will ask you to fill out a card and tell you some interesting things about yourself. I think this is critical. Here are some of the things I put down about myself in answer to some of the questions they asked: > > 1. I attend a guitar camp in southeastern Ohio every year with former Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen. It’s a beautiful rural setting near the banks of the Ohio River. A session lasts from Friday through Monday, and you get personalized instruction from some of the finest guitarists in the world. In fact, I had to reschedule my trip to guitar camp to be on Jeopardy! > > 2. I serve on the advisory board of Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival, held every April in Champaign, Illinois. I got involved when I lived in Champaign, but my wife and I now go back every year for the festival. > > 3. I’ve been an avid Atlanta Braves fan ever since they came to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1966. I was at the game on April 8, 1974 when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, eclipsing Babe Ruth’s all-time record. > > 4. I love to cook - especially southwestern dishes. I have an extensive pantry of ingredients we picked up in Santa Fe, NM when we vacationed there. My wife says when we run out of something, we’ll have to go back. (No phone orders allowed!) > > 5. I spent my first 37 years in the South, so when I moved to Illinois in 1988, I wasn’t that familiar with bitter cold weather. The first time it got below zero, I figured no one went to work in that kind of weather and stayed home. I quickly learned I was mistaken! > > LEADING QUESTIONS > > My most valued possession? A baseball given to me by my grandfather when I was about 12. It is autographed “To Louis, Best Wishes, Lou Gehrig” > > I subsequently had it autographed by Hank Aaron and Joe Torre when the Braves moves to Atlanta. > > The most romantic thing I’ve ever done? Last year I took my wife to Paris for her birthday. Her birthday is in April, and I thought April in Paris would be a nice way to celebrate it. > > The one mistake no one will let me forget? Letting my brown delivery truck roll down a steep hill and crash into an apartment building. (I left the parking brake off) Fortunately, no one was hurt. > > Funniest travel memory/problem with language misunderstanding? I ended up with two full lunches and a full bottle of wine (instead of one lunch and a glass of wine) at a café in Avignon, France. (I ate both meals and my wife and I finished the bottle of wine) > > What is my special talent or quality? How do I use it? I remember useless information. I used it to get on Jeopardy! > I think you get the idea. They’re looking for people who not only have a bunch of knowledge, but can also be engaging on TV. If you’ve got the personality, and will come across fine on TV. Just brush up your anecdotes and you’ll be fine. > > Also, they told us if we didn’t get a call within a year, we could try out again. They said they keep about four times as many people in the contestant pool as they need. It was 13 months from the time I passed the test and auditioned until I got the call. So don’t give up. It’s definitely a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” sort of thing. Good luck - I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you! ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/11 "2008-08-07T02:14:22Z")
When I auditioned for _Win Ben Stein’s Money_ (similar, perhaps), I took a written test, then we did a couple of simulated games. They were absolutely looking for good personalities. If you get a chance to practice with the buzzer at the audition, take advantage of it! On _Stein’s_, if you buzzed in before the host was finished reading the question, you were frozen out, which meant you would probably not be able to answer the question. I assume _Jeopardy!_ is the same way. You could practice at home with holding something that you can’t “push” until Trebek has finished speaking. Try to relax and have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/12 "2008-08-08T03:53:08Z")
Well, I’ve been DVRing the show since Tuesday and “playing along”, as the Almighty Internet suggests, by trying to learn NOT to ring in if I don’t know the answer and counting wrong answers against the right ones. I WAS doing okay, considering this week is the Tournament of Champions - scoring as honestly as possible I made 21,400 on Tuesday, 21,000 on Wednesday… and 8,800 today. Christ, you have got to not ring in on those lower Double Jeopardy questions if you’re not absolutely certain! Maybe two of them I felt sure on and was off enough to be wrong, but the rest I should have kept my trigger finger in my pocket. I did, in my defense, have a glass and a half of Potent Potables, however. ETA - that’s counting Daily Doubles as regular questions and trying to answer Final Jeopardy but not counting it into the total - in other words, playing the game without betting strategy. ETAA - my hairdresser says if I get called to the show she’ll do whatever it takes to fit me in. Other people are a _lot_ more impressed than I by this “invited to audition” thing. Whenever I tell anybody about it I have to spend the next five minutes calming them down, reminding them that it’s a game, and that they tell you nothing and that it’s up in the air and that I failed the driving test SIX TIMES at age sixteen because of the pressure, and telling them that I made it three layers into the college edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire without getting the Magic Call. ---
**Author:** ![BethCro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@BethCro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BethCro)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/13 "2008-08-08T04:17:37Z")
After spending ages shopping for something to wear to the audition, remember to pack it. Yup. On unpacking my suitcase in Chicago, I found I didn’t pack my skirt. I had a choice of two tops with me, and no skirt. Cue tears, and a frazzled shopping trip - remarkably hard to find a black skirt whilst freaking out. “OMG, if I can’t even pack properly, how can I be expected to answer any questions!?” I audtioned in Chicago this June. I enjoyed it - once I managed to find a skirt that didn’t break the bank. The contestant coordinators were great, v friendly and put me at ease, as much as could be expected. I was damned nervous. However, most people seemed to be as nervous, if not more, than I. **Labdad** has it covered very well. The only change I noticed is that everyone who takes the test goes on to play in the mock game now, and it doesn’t last anywhere near 15 minutes. If people who passed the test and performed well in the mock test were told that they had made it into the contestant pool, I don’t know. Which shows how badly I performed or perhaps they don’t let you know. That what I keep telling myself at least. 🙂 Most importantly, enjoy yourself! I’d say it is a once in a lifetime experience, but one of the guys in my group was on his 4th or 5th audition. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/14 "2008-08-08T04:47:47Z")
Luckily, the audition is in Savannah, which is close enough that if I ain’t wearing it when I get in the car I ain’t wearing it to the audition. There was a “darn Etrustcans” question tonight and none of the Champions got it. Don’t they know that “darn” in a question that has anything at all to do with even tangentally related Italian peninsular history is always going to be the Etruscans? Am I just old? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-way-to-prepare-to-audition-for-compete-on-jeopardy/458857/15 "2008-08-09T07:08:23Z")
_Jeopardy!_ champion here. Keep in mind that even if you pass the contestant exam, they have a pool of potential contestants that’s about three times bigger than what they can use in a season. Make yourself stand out of the crowd by cultivating an interesting personality, unusual/funny anecdotes about yourself, or a sense of humor. What to study? U.S. presidents, the table of elements, news events of the previous year, recent best sellers, state capitals, world capitals…