Monday, July 27, 2015

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Scott Lord is looking to break our I-swept-the-previous-week-but-lost-the-following-Monday streak, which stands at four.

For the third time in his six games, he’s going to need some help.

Scott Lord	Suzanne Vito	Luke McQuage
8,000	12,800	4,000

Maybe this category is to his liking:

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Fairly straightforward here. (Suzanne nabbing that $1,200 at the end of Double Jeopardy! is going to keep Luke out of contention.)

First-order calculations

Second doubles up

If Scott doubles his score, he’ll have 16,000.

To cover this all-in wager, Suzanne will need to wager 3,200.

Scott		Suzanne		Luke
8,000		12,800		4,000
8,000		3,200
16,000		16,000
min	max	min	max	min	max
		3,200

An incorrect response with that wager will leave Suzanne with 9,600.

To get above her total, Scott must wager at least 1,600. All in, baby! (He knows what to do.)

Scott		Suzanne		Luke
8,000		12,800		4,000
1,600		3,200
9,600		9,600
min	max	min	max	min	max
1,600*		3,200

A successful doubling will put Luke at 8,000. Suzanne could wager at most 4,800.

Scott		Suzanne		Luke
8,000		12,800		4,000
0		4,800		4,000
8,000		8,000		8,000
min	max	min	max	min	max
1,600		3,200	4,800

 

That’s all!

What actually happened

Scott		Suzanne		Luke
8,000		12,800		4,000
8,000		3,300		3,900
0		9,500		7,900
		min	max
8,000		3,201	4,799

Poor Scott! He almost had the right response. Alas, five victories and over $100k will have to do… until the next TOC rolls around, anyway.

As for me, whenever there’s a question about this particular character, the first line of a particular song pops into my head…

The Final Jeopardy! clue

CLASSICAL MUSIC

THE FIRST MOVEMENT OF THE 1888 SUITE NAMED FOR HER IS TITLED “THE SEA AND SINDBAD’S SHIP”

[spoiler]Who was Scheherazade?[/spoiler]

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