3-way action on Jeopardy!

[Kramer.]

First-ever three-way tie on Jeopardy!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/televis...ardy-tie_N.htm


Based on this Jeopardy! archive I nominate Scott Weiss as retard of the year for not betting $2601 in final jeopardy

[Yeti]

obviously the guy seemed entertained by the possibility of a 3 way tie

[XXXNoahXXX]

lol. this is hilarious. there should be some way to DQ him for idiocy.

[4_2_it]

He is obviously +EV against those two opponents. Why not go for a rematch? Seems diabolically brilliant.

[The Dude]

I can't watch game shows because of how poor the contestants are at strategy, and I'm sure this is just another instance. However, imagine for a moment, that you're the guy in the lead. You say to yourself "I have a better chance of beating these same two clowns tomorrow than I would another two random opponents. Since I get to keep the money I win even in a 3-way tie, why not leave the chance I'll get to play these same two again?"

Although really, he should be betting all his money here. I have never understood why the guy in the lead wagers only what he has to to win. C'mon man. you get to keep ALL the money you make. (Yeah, yeah, I know there are times when you should be aware of the chance that you'll get it wrong and still win, but it's not very common. Much more EV to just bet it all.)

[Kramer.]

[ QUOTE ]
obviously the guy seemed entertained by the possibility of a 3 way tie

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct

[Kramer.]

[ QUOTE ]
Although really, he should be betting all his money here. I have never understood why the guy in the lead wagers only what he has to to win. C'mon man. you get to keep ALL the money you make. (Yeah, yeah, I know there are times when you should be aware of the chance that you'll get it wrong and still win, but it's not very common. Much more EV to just bet it all.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Jeopardy wagering calculator

[JayDoubleYou]

it was quite clear by the smirk he gave he knew it was a three way tie. I think it was a combination of him knowing he was better. plus him realizing the rare situation that 2nd and 3rd were tied. He gets the money anyways. was a pretty cool thing to do i think.

[The Dude]

[ QUOTE ]
Jeopardy wagering calculator

[/ QUOTE ]
That thing is cool, but here's a scenario I put in:
Player A: $12,000
Player B: $5,000
Player C: $15,000

It says that Player C should wager exactly $9,000 ("but no more; you cannot afford to lose by $1 to a likely $6,000 wager by Player A").

The problem with this is, I think Player C is giving up more than $6k in EV by allowing himself the opportunity to still when if both Player A and Player B get the final Jeopardy answer wrong and Player A wagers at least $5,999.

The isn't simply to win the show. It's to make the most money.

Edit: I guess one more thing to consider is the EV of getting to come back another day. I'd be interested in knowing what that has turned out to be in recent years (since they started letting you come back for more than a fifth show).

[disjunction]

[ QUOTE ]
The show contacted a mathematician who calculated the odds of such a three-way tie happening — one in 25 million.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, there can't have been more than a few thousand episodes! Amazing! Think of the odds!