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Our fifth and final match-up pits two 6-time champs in Jared Hall and Sandie Baker against the lone 4-timer, Mark Japinga, who dethroned Ben Ingram in regular play. This trio had to sit in the green room all day, waiting for their chance to get some fresh air – and a crack at the signaling devices.

Let’s take a look at their wagering histories.

Jared Hall

6 wins, $181,001

Jared was my first-ever victim subject on The Final Wager; he entered Season 30 as a two-time champ, and won the first four games of the week before succumbing to exhaustion (most likely) on the Friday game.

Jared had locks in Games 1, 4 ($42,000), and 5.

(Complete list on The Final Wager and J! Archive)

Game 2 (July 26, 2013)

Jared	Bruce	Leigh
18,400	4,800	19,200
10,000	4,799	800
28,400	9,599	18,400

This is a risky wager, as it allows third back into the game. However, because this is the Strong Form of Shore’s Conjecture, it’s a great move if he thinks Leigh will go for the “Shoretegic” wager of 8,000. Bruce should really cap his wager at 3,200, which would bring him up to 8,000 if he’s right, giving Jared an advantage of 400 were he to miss.

Game 3 (September 16, 2013)

Jared	Angela	James
18,800	14,400	6,400
10,001	10,000	6,400
28,801	24,400	12,800

Simple lockout move.

Game 6 (September 19, 2013)

Jared	Parth	Hillary
10,000	13,600	4,800
10,000	6,401	2,400
20,000	7,199	7,200

This situation came before I had delved into mind games, so I gave Jared a bad mark here. Of course, he made the right move – Parth was a hard-sciences guy and the Final category was about pop music. Because Jared didn’t have 3/4 of Parth’s score, he couldn’t cover a seemingly likely zero wager, so he went all in.

Game 7 (September 20, 2013)

Jared	Kellie	Matt
2,200	4,400	20,200
2,200	0	4,800
0	4,400	15,400

Jared and Kellie both made the right plays here.

Sandie Baker

6 wins, $140,200

Sandie’s original games were a lot of fun to watch, because she ran ragged over the competition while clearly enjoying the experience. And, counter to most players, she actually got stronger as she continued to play; she had locks in Games 4, 5, and 6, and a solid score in the lead in Game 7.

(Complete list on The Final Wager and J! Archive)

Game 1 (April 9, 2014)

Derrick	Sandie	Ed
6,800	12,400	15,900
6,500	10,000	8,901
300	22,400	6,999

I gave this a pink grade – Sandie won’t win if she’s wrong. 3,500–5,400 was my preferred range.

Game 2 (April 10, 2014)

Sandie	Bruce	Jessica
14,000	8,100	11,200
8,500	8,000	5,001
22,500	16,100	16,201

This is a wager-to-tie situation, since Jessica has exactly 4/5 of Sandie’s score. It’s weak, though, since Bruce forces Jessica to cover him.

Game 3 (April 11, 2014)

Sandie	Rebecca	Monique
13,400	11,800	6,700
10,300	11,800	6,700
23,700	23,600	0

Sandie, apparently, was another “go for the win +100” advocate. Julia Collins was in the audience for Sandie’s last three games, waiting to be called on; perhaps Sandie was her muse.

This situation, by the way, was another what I call “off-menu” wager-to-tie situation: A = 2*C and A-B > B-C. Don’t worry about it.

Game 7 (April 17, 2014)

Sandie	Frédérique	Kristin
15,400	6,200	13,200
11,100	0	13,199
4,300	6,200	1

Frédérique uses some cagey wagering (and an overbet by Kristin) to begin a two-win run – one that almost claimed challenger Julia Collins as a victim.

Mark Japinga

4 wins, $112,600

Mark Japinga (pronounced JAP-ing-uh; everyone screws it up, including Alex) is one of the most fearsome competitors in this year’s TOC. Not only did he unseat eight-timer Ben Ingram in his first game, he averaged over $28,000 in his four wins.

(Complete list on J! Archive)

Game 1 (July 11, 2013)

Ben	Dawn	Mark
14,400	21,000	15,600
3,600	0	15,599
18,000	21,000	31,199

Stratton’s Dilemma; Mark appropriately goes for everything.

Game 2 (July 12, 2013)

Mark	Toby	Ken
20,800	26,400	6,600
7,500	15,400	6,000
28,300	11,000	600

Shore’s Conjecture, Intermediate Form – and Mark throws out a perfect wager.

Game 3 (July 15, 2013)

Mark	Bradley	Deborah
16,700	5,600	8,600
501	5,599	8,101
17,201	11,199	16,701

Looking for the win +$1.

Game 4 (July 16, 2013)

Mark	Jeffrey	Amanda
20,900	17,600	3,600
15,000	14,000	3,600
35,900	31,600	7,200

Another high-scoring game, and another big wager.

Game 5 (July 17, 2013)

Mark	Kerri	John
10,400	15,600	7,200
10,400	5,000	3,201
0	10,600	3,999

Mark has exactly 2/3 of Kerri’s score; why Kerri didn’t add just 200 more to her wager is beyond me.