Daily analysis, Thursday, July 10
I got around to this one a little late – I was traveling home to Vermont, where I would eventually break into my high school to film a video.
On Campbell’s third try, a tight game – and another case of triple-five-digits. Campbell once again holds the lead.
Campbell Warner: 15,400
Pete Gittens: 13,600
Jen Fiero: 10,600
The Final Jeopardy! category: IN THE DICTIONARY
The video will be helpful in taking this apart.
Basic strategy – first vs. second
Campbell should wager 11,800 to cover Pete.
He’ll have at most 3,600 if he’s wrong, so Pete should cap his wager at 10,000; Jen, at 7,000.
Basic strategy – second vs. third
Pete should wager at least 7,600 to cover Jen.
He’ll have no more than 6,000 if wrong, so Jen should cap her wager at 4,600.
Basic strategy – Rule #3
Jen can wager 3,000 to cover a zero wager by Pete, and 6,000 to cover a potential “unsafe” wager.
Mind games
For mind games, I’m going to try things a bit differently: working through the “regular” order.
Mind games – first vs. second
Assuming Pete wagers 10,000, he’ll have 23,600. Campbell could wager 8,200 to cover this.
If he’s wrong, he’ll have 7,200, so Pete should cap his wager at 6,400, and Jen, at 3,400.
Mind games – second vs. third
Jen had two basic-strategy options.
If she picks 7,000, Pete could cover her with a wager of 4,000.
If she picks 4,000, Pete could cover her with a wager of 1,000.
Mind games – Rule #3
Pete trails Campbell by 1,800, so that should be his minimum alternative wager.
He also leads Jen by 3,000, so that should be his maximum on the smallest side.
He should cap his larger alternative wager at 6,000, in case she goes for 3,000 and misses.
And perhaps he could consider capping his preferred range at 9,000, just in case she goes to cover the “unsafe” wager, although I’m less concerned about that.
What actually happened
You’ll notice that had Jen missed, we’d have a three-way tie at 3,600. This is wagering at its finest.
The Final Jeopardy! clue for July 10, 2014 (IN THE DICTIONARY):
THIS ADJECTIVE CAN MEAN “DELICATE”, “HEAVENLY” OR, IN CHEMISTRY, “RELATED TO C4H10O”
[spoiler]What is ethereal?[/spoiler]
Keith, seeing that picture of your Volvo reminded me of another “honor” I believe you hold in Jeopardy! history: You hold the last non-cash prize awarded on the show, given the change to cash for the runners-up in May 2002, the end of cars for 5-time champions with sky’s-the-limit in September 2003, and no cars or other non-cash prizes being awarded to tournament winners since yours in November 2003.
I was wrong – there have been times when Classroom Jeopardy! systems has been awarded since then (but no prizes for the players to personally benefit from themselves unless they’re a teacher with the system).