Tuesday, December 22, 2015

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Too bad I shaved last night; those mutton chops would have been perfect for the category on Martin Van Buren!

I had a lot of notes on tonight’s game, most of which I mention toward the end of tonight’s video. On my sheet were:

• opening Trebek wisdom
• 3 “ING”s stupidity
• Ivanhoe
• Broccoli Man
• Gilgamesh worth 2k?
• “North” Korea?

Also, I’m going to add this gem (click through to check it out):

But more importantly, we’ve got a really good game on hand, and a very thorny wagering situation.

Liz Quesnelle	Theresa Tejada	Ted Johnson
14,000	17,800	12,200

My main wish is that our players had been more aggressive with those Daily Doubles; the totals could be even higher!

We’re dealing with this category for Final Jeopardy!:

THE ANCIENT WORLD

Before we look at the math, here’s a video of Broccoli Man, of whom I was reminded by Theresa’s interview:

First-order calculations

Liz is in Stratton’s Dilemma; she can’t cover Ted while staying above Theresa should they both miss.

Liz		Theresa		Ted
14,000		17,800		12,200
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
10,400*		10,200			4,600
	6,400
		6,600			1,000

Second-order calculations

Lots of mind games to play with here.

Liz		Theresa		Ted
14,000		17,800		12,200
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
10,400*		10,200		3,000	4,600
2,800	6,400	2,600		6,600*
1,200		6,600			1,000

Zero wagers

Score differences:
Theresa and Liz: 3,800
Theresa and Ted: 5,600
Liz and Ted: 1,800

Liz		Theresa		Ted
14,000		17,800		12,200
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
10,400*		10,200		3,600	4,600
2,800	3,600	2,600	3,800	6,600*
1,200	1,800	6,600	7,600		1,000
3,800	6,400

Then we add a dollar to the minimum wagers, and subtract a dollar from the maximum wagers.

What actually happened

Liz		Theresa		Ted
14,000		17,800		12,200
14,000		3,799		12,200
0		21,599		0
min	max	min	max	min	max
14,000		10,201		3,601	4,599
2,801	3,599	2,601	3,799	12,200
1,201	1,799	6,601	7,599		999
3,801	6,399

It’s always funny when the player least confident in the category is the only one who gets it right. Clearly, Theresa studied some wagering theory before coming on the show! We’ll see her tomorrow.

The Final Jeopardy! clue

THE ANCIENT WORLD

DEDICATED TO A FEMALE, IT’S AMONG THE FEW OF THE 7 ANCIENT WONDERS WHOSE RUINS YOU CAN VISIT

[spoiler]What is the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus?[/spoiler]

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