Daily analysis, Tuesday, December 31

It’s the last game of the year! Maybe we’ll have a close match this time, for once.

Jerry’s not untouchable this go-around, thanks to a sufficiently large Daily Double wager by Alyson. With proper wagering by her, he’ll lose if he gets it wrong. Oh, the pressure!

Jerry Slowik: 16,400
Alyson Murray: 13,400
Reggie Austin: 2,800

Reggie is, for all intents and purposes, eliminated, as his score is smaller than the difference between Jerry and Alyson. We’ll really just focus on those two.

Jerry should wager 10,400 to cover a double-up by Alyson.

Alyson, from Rule #2, can’t fall below 6,000 – Jerry’s maximum score if he is wrong and wagers correctly. That limits her wager to a maximum of 7,400.

If we look at Rule #3, we see that she should cover a zero wager from Jerry by putting up at least 3,000. Then we go to the continuation of that, which doubles that minimum.

Alyson actually has a tight “optimal” range, between 6,000 and 7,400 – and she nails it! (Too bad for her that Jerry got it right.)

The Final Jeopardy! clue for December 31, 2013:

The Final Jeopardy! category: 19th CENTURY VICE PRESIDENTS
WOODROW WILSON SAID THIS MAN HAD ENOUGH GENIUS TO BE IMMORTAL & “UNSCHOOLED PASSION ENOUGH TO HAVE MADE HIM INFAMOUS”

Correct response: Who was Aaron Burr?