Min and max winnings at Jeopardy?

Assuming the winner has response times twice as fast as anyone else, is able to click on every question and answers every question correctly, with the random nature of the doubles, I think from the third to the 5th level, what is the min and max winnings possible in one game?

The maximum amount you can win on Jeopardy! is as follows:

The total dollar value on the board in the first round is 6*($200 + $400 + $600 + $800 + $1000) = $18,000. For maximum winnings, the Daily Double clue must be hiding behind the least dollar value ($200) and be picked last, so the maximum doubling total is $18,000 - $200 = $17,800. Therefore, the maximum you can have at the end of the first round is 2*$17,800 = $35,600.

The total dollar value on the board in the second round is doubled to $36,000. For maximum winnings, the 2 Daily Double clues must be hiding behind the least dollar value ($400), and be picked last, so the maximum doubling total is $35,600 + $36,000 - 2*$400 = $70,800. Therefore, the maximum you can have at the end of the second round is 2*2*$70,800 = $283,200.

Final Jeopardy is simply a doubling stage, so the maximum you can win on Jeopardy! is 2*$283,200 = $566,400. Not too shabby! Next to impossible to achieve, but not too shabby at all.

so to answer sonhouse's question, replace the -200 in the first section with -600 and in the second section replace -2*400 with -2*1200 to get the answer.

😛

Minimum winnings would be $0. Everyone bets the house on Final Jeopardy and loses.

Originally posted by uzless
so to answer sonhouse's question, replace the -200 in the first section with -600 and in the second section replace -2*400 with -2*1200 to get the answer.

😛

Originally posted by PBE6
sonhouse obviously asked the wrong question! 😉

Originally posted by sonhouse
I did specify every question answered correctly. Obviously if you flub them all you get zero.

The minimum you could win by answering all questions correctly and wagering the max at all times would be to pick the daily doubles first and wager the max (1k for round 1 and 2k for round 2). This results in winnings exactly equal to the amount in prizes on the board.

Double your money on final Jeopardy, and you end up with 2 * ($18,000 + $36,000) = $108,000