Daily analysis, October 30 – when you might as well go for broke

Happy Hump Day! Will Alex offer us an expedition to the Sahara?

Champ Sean is trailing going into Final. How will our players feel about the category?

Sean Kram: 7,600
Jennifer Spirko: 13,400
Neal Shah: 10,000

All three players are still alive.

Jennifer should wager 6,600 to cover Neal.

Neal‘s best wager is at least 5,200 to cover Sean. If he does that, though, he won’t win if he gets it wrong, so he might as well wager everything. Alternatively, he can wager up to 1,600 to stay above a “small” wager by Sean.

Sean should wager no more than 800, which will probably lead to a victory if all three players miss. If he feels confident, though, he might wager at least 5,800 (to cover a zero by Jennifer), preferably everything.

The Final Jeopardy! clue for October 30, 2013:

INTERNET FIRSTS
A BROKEN LASER POINTER FOR $14.83 IN 1995 HOLDS THIS DISTINCTION

Correct response: What is the first item sold on eBay?