Jeopardy champ using different theory

[JustRalph]

http://www.businessinsider.com/jeopardys-controversial-new-champion-is-using-game-theory-to-win-big-2014-2

Since we have some serious Jeopardy players here........

What do you think? He's proving that taking the daily double away from your opponent is very valuable

[johnhannibalsmith]

There was a guy that went on a good run for a while last year I think that employed a similar, but less aggressive approach. He always started at the mid point of the category and worked up (dollar wise, not vertically), presumably for the same reason, but he wasn't nearly as frenetic as this guy and the game itself wasn't as scattered.

I think it's a great strategy. Regardless of whether or not he gets the daily doubles or answers them correctly, it really is difficult (I assume) to get into a good relaxed rhythm and stacks a layer of stress on the proceedings.

Plus dude has a killer hairdo.

[Overlay]

I can understand the strategy as far as clearing out the highest-value questions first (provided that you think you have a reasonable chance of both beating your opponents to the buzzer and answering the questions correctly, since, if you miss the questions, you'll be digging yourself into a hole that will be harder to get out of), as well as wanting to take the Daily Doubles out of the hands of either opponent, but I don't think that the Daily Doubles are quite as consistently placed in the highest-value questions in each category (particularly the two in Double Jeopardy, by which time the contestants will have had an opportunity to accrue some significant wagering capital).

Also, I'm not sure that I would be as charitable as he in Final Jeopardy by allowing the possibility that the closest opponent can end up in a tie. If the opponent was close enough to be in striking range on Final Jeopardy, I would rather make sure that he/she didn't carry over to the next show, and take my chances with getting a new, possibly weaker, opponent in the next game.

In fact, if you're going to wager just enough to beat your opponent by a dollar if you're both right, but you're going to lose if you're wrong, I think that a more optimum "long-run" strategy (from a cash-accrual standpoint) would be to bet everything in Final Jeopardy (not just enough to win by $1.00), although you may end up losing a game that you might otherwise have won by doing so if you and your opponent both miss the question. (As it turned out, if I had wagered nothing on Final Jeopardy in the game that I lost, I would have won, since my closest opponent did not follow the bet-it-all-except-$1.00 strategy that I was expecting. However, we both missed the question, and she ended up with more money because she had risked less than I had.)

[dylbert]

I caught Tuesday & Thursday wins. Thursday is seemed as though when he had insurmountable lead he stopped answering. Another brilliant move! Don't bring yourself back to field. Same phenomenon as when both your opponents answer incorrectly. It is same result as if you had responded correctly.

Future Tournament of Champions participants should study some of his strategies.

[JustRalph]

Overlay, a question probably only you can answer.

Do the upcoming opponents see the games just prior to theirs?

Are the next contestants aware of this guys tactics when they come on?

Or are they sequestered?

[menifee]

Also, I'm not sure that I would be as charitable as he in Final Jeopardy by allowing the possibility that the closest opponent can end up in a tie. If the opponent was close enough to be in striking range on Final Jeopardy, I would rather make sure that he/she didn't carry over to the next show, and take my chances with getting a new, possibly weaker, opponent in the next game.



If you beat somebody on day 1 of a game, but let them intentionally tie you and stay in the game, the odds are much higher that you will beat them on day 2 of a game rather than facing a strange player you do not know.

[Overlay]

Overlay, a question probably only you can answer.

Do the upcoming opponents see the games just prior to theirs?

Are the next contestants aware of this guys tactics when they come on?

Or are they sequestered?

When I was on, the taping was done two days a week (Tuesday and Wednesday), five shows a day, and months ahead of time. My first game was the first one that was taped on Tuesday, so I can't say for sure whether contestants "waiting in the wings" can see a game already in progress or not (since I was never in that position), nor would I have had any way of having already seen the carryover champion from the previous week's taping in action.

[Stillriledup]

Deceive the heavens to cross the ocean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Six_Stratagems

I love this guy's approach, just get in the 'heads' of your opponents.