17 May 08
Did ya ever notice how bad the contestants are at strategy on the game show Jeopardy!" ?
First, you know when one of them has a lead, they almost always bet on Final Jeopardy just enough to beat the second-place person by one dollar ? Why not do the smart thing and play for the tie? That way, they KNOW one of their next opponents is someone they can defeat.
Then there's the last place guy, in a game that's not a runaway? He knows he can't catch the other 2, so his only hope is that they slug it out and both miss the Final and lose a bundle. So he should sit on what he has and bet nothing. But noooo--most of 'em bet it all, or all but a buck.
18 May 08
1 edit
Originally posted by PinkFloydThe tie factor doesn't always work. I remember just recently, I believe, someone bet enough to tie even though he could have bet more, and ended up losing to the guy the next day. Also, in the only 3-way tie ever on Jeopardy, the returning champ of multiple days lost to someone he could have beaten the day before. Categories change daily so there's no telling when you'll be able to win, so you might as well go for it.
Did ya ever notice how bad the contestants are at strategy on the game show Jeopardy!" ?
First, you know when one of them has a lead, they almost always bet on Final Jeopardy just enough to beat the second-place person by one dollar ? Why not do the smart thing and play for the tie? That way, they KNOW one of their next opponents is someone they can d sit on what he has and bet nothing. But noooo--most of 'em bet it all, or all but a buck.
The fact is, if you're going to bet enough to win, then the other person still has to be correct and bet enough to catch him, so there's no way he can lose, assuming he gets the correct answer anyway, which is all that really matters at the end of the game. So there's no point in going for a tie, since you're either going to win or lose based on your bet on your own knowledge.
