Wednesday, December 23, 2015

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We had a high-scoring game last night; here’s hoping we can keep the ball rolling!

Indeed, we do – in part thanks to some big Daily Double wagers.

Programming note: I’ll be back with a video tomorrow.

Theresa Tejada	Joe Quackenbush	Chandreyi Ghosh
5,600	17,200	25,200

Joe left $2,400 on the table on his late Daily Double wager; had he gone for broke, he’d be in a much better strategic position – not to mention we’d have a wager-to-tie situation (first = second + third).

There’s nothing wrong with missing out on Final as long as you play the rest of the game right.

Tonight’s Final Jeopardy! category is:

BABY GIRL NAMES

Now, on to the analysis.

First-order calculations

If Chandreyi goes for the lockout and misses, Joe can win by staying small.

Theresa		Joe		Chandreyi
5,600		17,200		25,200
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
			1,200	9,200	14,000

Second-order calculations

On the other hand, we have the potential for some mind games.

Theresa		Joe		Chandreyi
5,600		17,200		25,200
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
			1,200	9,200	14,000
		14,800*			6,800

What actually happened

Theresa		Joe		Chandreyi
5,600		17,200		25,200
5,600		10,000		9,201
11,200		7,200		34,401
		min	max	min	max
			1,199	9,201	13,999
		17,200			6,799

Given Joe’s Daily Double wager, I’m unsurprised by his play here: there’s no circumstance in which this works better than either of his ‘proper’ ranges.

Had I written this Final Jeopardy! clue, I would have either (1) omitted the part about an animated movie, or (2) saved it for Kids Week.

Great game by Chandreyi – her funny interview story was icing on the cake! We’ll see if she can do it again tomorrow.

The Final Jeopardy! clue

BABY GIRL NAMES

IN 2014 IT WAS NO. 1 IN SWEDEN AND, THANKS TO AN ANIMATED MOVIE, IN THE TOP 300 FOR U.S. BABY GIRLS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES

[spoiler]What is Elsa? (from Frozen)[/spoiler]

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