$1 after Final Jeopardy

[Gus]

Has anyone ever won with just $1?

[Boron Elgar]

Post by Gus
Has anyone ever won with just $1?

January 19, 1993, Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Scott won the game with
only $1.

There are all sorts of weird Final Jeopardy results, but they are
easily googled, depending on the variables you seek.

Boron

[Howard Hale]

Post by Boron Elgar

Post by Gus
Has anyone ever won with just $1?

January 19, 1993, Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Scott won the game with
only $1.
There are all sorts of weird Final Jeopardy results, but they are
easily googled, depending on the variables you seek.

The Teen Jeopardy Tournament had one of the finalists, Leonard Cooper,
get in despite coming in second in his semifinal round -- all of the
contestants in one of the other rounds ended up with $0, so they all were
disqualified and Cooper went instead.

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/02/jeopardy-teen-tournament/

http://tinyurl.com/Leonardy1

He then won the tournament despite giving a Cliff Claven type Final
Jeopardy answer:

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/02/teen-tournament-champion-leonard-had-
the-best-final-jeopardy-answer-ever/

http://tinyurl.com/Leonardy2

[Gus]

Post by Howard Hale

Post by Boron Elgar

Post by Gus
Has anyone ever won with just $1?

January 19, 1993, Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Scott won the game with
only $1.
There are all sorts of weird Final Jeopardy results, but they are
easily googled, depending on the variables you seek.

The Teen Jeopardy Tournament had one of the finalists, Leonard Cooper,
get in despite coming in second in his semifinal round -- all of the
contestants in one of the other rounds ended up with $0, so they all were
disqualified and Cooper went instead.
http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/02/jeopardy-teen-tournament/
http://tinyurl.com/Leonardy1
He then won the tournament despite giving a Cliff Claven type Final
http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/02/teen-tournament-champion-leonard-had-
the-best-final-jeopardy-answer-ever/
http://tinyurl.com/Leonardy2

That is hilarious. And amazing. He bet $18,000 on a daily double! That
must be one of the most amounts ever. But then $0 in Final Jeopardy
(basically a daily double). But 2 and 3 could not catch him and $75,000 was
at stake, so that was a smart bet. I remember seeing Leonard but didn't see
the TOC show.

I can't believe those kids all ended with 0. Also amazing. The leader did
not have to bet everything, just enough to cover #2 not ending with more if
they bet all. They look depressed and sad. So did no one get 2nd and 3rd
place prizes, and they all just went home with nothing?

Hmmm, the guy that won with $1. Does that mean that night, #2 and #3
actually went away with more money?

[Mark Brader]

I can't believe those kids all ended with 0...
So did no one get 2nd and 3rd place prizes, and they all just went
home with nothing?

You can win a 3rd-place prize with 0 -- well, maybe *you* can't, but
the players can -- and I believe you can win 2nd place (if you had
the highest score before Final Jeopardy! among multiple players who
finished with 0). But this was a tournament game and 2nd and 3rd
place prizes don't apply until the final round. They all won $10,000
for making the semifinals. If the kid who overbet hadn't done it and
had made the finals, he would have been guaranteed to win more.

Hmmm, the guy that won with $1. Does that mean that night, #2 and #3
actually went away with more money?

No, it's not paid until after the show is broadcast. If you mean earned
more money, then obviously it's yes. But the winner gets to play again
and even if he wins $0 the next time he'll get at least a 3rd-place prize.

[Snidely]

Post by Mark Brader

I can't believe those kids all ended with 0...
So did no one get 2nd and 3rd place prizes, and they all just went
home with nothing?

You can win a 3rd-place prize with 0 -- well, maybe *you* can't, but
the players can -- and I believe you can win 2nd place (if you had
the highest score before Final Jeopardy! among multiple players who
finished with 0). But this was a tournament game and 2nd and 3rd
place prizes don't apply until the final round. They all won $10,000
for making the semifinals. If the kid who overbet hadn't done it and
had made the finals, he would have been guaranteed to win more.

Hmmm, the guy that won with $1. Does that mean that night, #2 and #3
actually went away with more money?

No, it's not paid until after the show is broadcast. If you mean earned
more money, then obviously it's yes. But the winner gets to play again
and even if he wins $0 the next time he'll get at least a 3rd-place prize.

By the way, Mark, thanks again for the great post last year:

<https://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.cecil-adams/msg/2a69c8a862d92999>

(And Opus had a pretty response, too.)

/dps

[Gus]

Post by Snidely
<https://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.cecil-adams/msg/2a69c8a862d92999>
(And Opus had a pretty response, too.)
/dps
At the end of Double Jeopardy!, Heather was at minus $6,200 and
eliminated; but Dan and Martin were almost tied at $15,000 and $14,800
respectively, so they both bet almost everything on Final Jeopardy!. The
category was US Presidents: "When this president & his wife didn't want to
be understood by others, they spoke to each other in Chinese".
Martin guessed Wilson, Dan guessed G.H.W. Bush, and both were wrong. It
seems that Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer and worked in China for a
few years.
Final score: Dan $200, Martin $2.

Sigh. Ever since I started paying attention to wagering strategy, I've
been appalled by how poorly most players assess their situation. What
was Martin thinking?
--
Opus the Penguin
The best darn penguin in all of Usenet
-----


This made me wonder: did Dan bet what he did so that if Martin ($200
behind) bet all, and they both got it right, they would be tied? I wonder
how often that happens. I suppose if you find your competitor likeable it
is good sportsmanship and a friendly thing to do. I don't get to watch a
lot of shows but have seen quite few and don't remember ever seeing the
players tie at the end. I get the impression it does not happen often. If
Dan wanted to win outright, he had the money to bet $1 more and be the
winner if he got the question right, no matter how Martin did. I assume he
made his bet the way he did on purpose. Or, maybe he was just bad at math?

[Mark Brader]

Post by Gus

Post by Snidely
At the end of Double Jeopardy!, Heather was at minus $6,200 and
eliminated; but Dan and Martin were almost tied at $15,000 and $14,800
respectively, so they both bet almost everything on Final Jeopardy!. The
category was US Presidents: "When this president & his wife didn't want to
be understood by others, they spoke to each other in Chinese".
Martin guessed Wilson, Dan guessed G.H.W. Bush, and both were wrong. It
seems that Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer and worked in China for a
few years.
Final score: Dan $200, Martin $2.

This made me wonder: did Dan bet what he did so that if Martin ($200
behind) bet all, and they both got it right, they would be tied?

Obviously not.

Post by Gus
I wonder how often that happens.

Not often.

Post by Gus
I suppose if you find your competitor likeable it is good sportsmanship
and a friendly thing to do.

The game is about money, not sportsmanship.

Post by Gus
I... don't remember ever seeing the players tie at the end. I get the
impression it does not happen often.

True. It happened once this year, but I don't know when the last time
before that was.

[Xho Jingleheimerschmidt]

Post by Mark Brader

Post by Gus

Post by Snidely
At the end of Double Jeopardy!, Heather was at minus $6,200 and
eliminated; but Dan and Martin were almost tied at $15,000 and $14,800
respectively, so they both bet almost everything on Final Jeopardy!. The
category was US Presidents: "When this president & his wife didn't want to
be understood by others, they spoke to each other in Chinese".
Martin guessed Wilson, Dan guessed G.H.W. Bush, and both were wrong. It
seems that Herbert Hoover was a mining engineer and worked in China for a
few years.
Final score: Dan $200, Martin $2.

This made me wonder: did Dan bet what he did so that if Martin ($200
behind) bet all, and they both got it right, they would be tied?

Obviously not.

Post by Gus
I wonder how often that happens.

Not often.

Post by Gus
I suppose if you find your competitor likeable it is good sportsmanship
and a friendly thing to do.

The game is about money, not sportsmanship.

Different people have different motivations. The fans, certainly, are
not just in it for the money. I doubt most of the contestants are either.

I think that from a game-theory perspective, #1 betting to tie is better
than betting to win, but only if the #2 person expects that you will do so.

Xho