Wednesday, March 25, 2015

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We’ve got a Harvard Business School professor at the champ’s podium tonight. Will he have a trick or two up his sleeve?

Well, the Daily Double hunting certainly worked out for him – if only he had wagered more, he’d be in a much more comfortable position.

Gautam Mukunda	Jacqueline Hawkins	Tim Hague
11,600	17,000	10,000

Hey, speaking of Daily Doubles, how about the one in the first round? I did a Fact Primer on the moon missions – if you missed that clue, or want to know more about the Apollo landings, check it out.

I have not done a Fact Primer on tonight’s Final Jeopardy! category:

ACTRESSES

Gautam’s going to have a decision to make.

First-order calculations

Second doubles up

If Gautam doubles his score, he’ll have 23,200.

To cover him, Jacqueline will need to wager 6,200.

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
11,600		6,200
23,200		23,200
min	max	min	max	min	max
		6,200

An incorrect response with that wager will leave Jacqueline with 10,800.

To stay above her total, Gautam can wager up to 800.

Tim must respond correctly to have a shot, so all-in is the way to go.

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
800		6,200		800
10,800		10,800		10,800
min	max	min	max	min	max
	800	6,200		800*

Third doubles up

A successful doubling will put Tim at 20,000.

To cover this, Gautam should wager at least 8,400. At that rate, he might as well go for broke.

Jacqueline would need to wager at least 3,000. We’ll keep that around for now.

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
8,400		3,000		10,000
20,000		20,000		20,000
min	max	min	max	min	max
	800	6,200		800*
8,400*		3,000

Here’s where things stand after the first order:

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
	800	6,200		800*
8,400*		3,000

Second-order calculations

Second’s max vs. first

If Gautam makes the rational maximum wager of 800, Jacqueline will need to wager 4,600 to stay above him.

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
800		4,600
12,400		12,400
min	max	min	max	min	max
	800	6,200		800*
8,400*		3,000	4,600

Normally, I would encourage second to go big here. With this possibility in play, I’m particularly adamant about it.

I’ll throw in Jacqueline’s maximum wager so as to force Tim to get it right. Here are my recommendations:

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
FIRST-ORDER		SECOND-ORDER		COVER ZERO
min	max	min	max	min	max
	800	6,200	7,000	800*
8,400*		3,000	4,600

What actually happened

Gautam		Jacqueline		Tim
11,600		17,000		10,000
5,401		6,300		9,999
17,001		23,300		19,999
min	max	min	max
11,600		6,201	6,999	10,000
	799	3,001	4,599

Gautam took the worst of both worlds here. He doesn’t cover Tim, and he fails to stay above Jacqueline.

If he does win courtesy of a solo get, he also leaves $6,199 in Sony’s pocket.

Jacqueline led in a solid game, and takes the W on the triple green. We’ll see her tomorrow!

P.S. There’s a video treat in the spoiler box below.

The Final Jeopardy! clue

ACTRESSES

FOR PLAYING A LEGAL ASSISTANT IN A 2000 FILM, SHE BECAME THE FIRST ACTRESS TO CRASH THE $20 MILLION SALARY BARRIER

[spoiler]Who is Julia Roberts?

Now I have this song stuck in my head:

[/spoiler]

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