Daily analysis, Friday, April 18

We’re looking for a correct Final! Anyone want to step up to the plate?

E.A. had a Penultimate Wager opportunity, but botched it. We’ll talk about that in a second.

Frédérique Delaprée: 12,600
Jake Bryant: 7,000
E.A. Srere: 18,600

The Final Jeopardy! category: CHARACTERS IN NOVELS

Pretty straightforward here.

Basic strategy

E.A. should wager 6,600 to cover Frédérique.

Frédérique can wager at most 600 to stay above E.A., but needs to wager at least 1,400 to cover Jake. If she chooses this latter route, she might as well just wager everything.

Jake should wager everything, but at least 6,200 (to cover that 600 wager out of Frédérique).

E.A. wagered for the tie! Does she read The Final Wager?

If so, she must have missed the section on The Penultimate Wager, because her play left a lot to be desired.

The Penultimate Wager

Here was the situation with one clue to play, and the Daily Double in E.A.’s possession.

Frédérique: 12,600
Jake: 7,000
E.A.: 20,600 (Daily Double)

E.A. has two main plays: go for the win right now, or keep Jake locked out.

Go for the win: Frédérique can have at most 25,200, so E.A. should wager 4,600. She could wager more if there were an obvious wager-to-tie situation on the downside, but neither of the two I suggest you memorize keeps her in first place.

Keep Jake locked out: Jake has 7,000; if E.A. has at least this big of a lead over Frédérique, she’ll keep Jake out of contention. This means she could wager at most 1,000.

So, E.A. should wager either (1) at least 4,600, or (2) no more than 1,000. Her 2,000 wager does far more harm than good.

The Final Jeopardy! clue

CHARACTERS IN NOVELS

ONE OF THIS MAN’S “MOST PRICELESS MEMORIES” IS OF “A DELICATELY NURTURED SOUTHERN BELLE WITH HER IRISH UP”

Correct response: Who was Rhett Butler?