that people can be this fucking stupid? As some may know, I'm a pretty big trivia fan. We go out to random restaurants/bars at least twice a week to play. I also watch Jeopardy, though not religiously, and other such games from past to present, like Win Ben Stein's Money or Cash Cab or what I'll be referencing here, Pop Culture Jeopardy!.
If you don't know, Pop Culture Jeopardy is only a couple of seasons in hosted by Colin Jost. (known for his weekend updates on SNL with Michael Che and for being the lucky bastard that Scarlett Johansson married) It's very similar to regular Jeopardy! with some elements tossed in to try to make it more appealing generally. Instead of three people you have three teams of 3 people. Also, obviously, the trivia is aimed at pop culture so easier than regular Jeopardy!. (if you're into pop culture obv)
Anyway, one of the things I both appreciate and drives me nuts is how people bet when they hit the daily doubles or even in Final Jeopardy. Sometimes there is a 'right amount' to bet. When people who are on Jeopardy! don't understand this it blows my mind. During the episode I'll be referencing (S1 E38) we have a team with a seemingly good understanding of this. Here is the scene (or you can just reference the two photos below. It's the second (last) round and team Buggsy Mogues has a large yet not insurmountable if taken into Final Jeopardy lead. They hit the last daily double. Scores are 32k, 18.4k, 3k. After this clue there's only like 4k in potential left on the board. So how much should they bet?
I was watching this with two friends and I asked them before the team bet. The response I got was that they should bet 5. (you are not allowed to bet nothing) I quickly said '7,000'. I'm sure there's a more precise answer but on gut feel alone that felt right. If they get it wrong and lose 7k they still are so far ahead of second place that their fate will always be their own going into final Jeopardy. Basically nothing changes. They had two shots instead of one to lock up the game. If however they get it correct they'll have 39k and it pretty unlikely the other team gets within' half of their score going into Final Jeopardy! meaning they'll have a lock on the game and not need to bet anything. Looking at it now and giving it actual thought 8k is probably a better bet but we all get the idea.
So how did the team do at the time? Well, they bet 6k. They understood what was going on but picked a number I felt was too low. I called it out at the time, explained it, and wouldn't you know it...Final Jeopardy rolls around and the second place team crawled back into the game. The scores going into the final Jeopardy question:
A real tough one for you now, like how to play an opening [31], how much would you bet as the second place team going in to Final Jeopardy? Here's the exciting end of the game summary. And mind you, this isn't some special Jeopardy! where they add scores from multiple shows or anything. This is you need to win this show right here right now to advance. This is already the semi-finals of the season long tournament.
- The second place team was the only team to get the question right!
- The second place team still ended up in second!???
They bet 2 points. 2. You understood that correctly, two. T-W-O. I get how a person can be stupid or even at times do stupid things. It happens to all of us at different rates. So you have to give a singular person a fair amount of leeway if it's a one pure dufus move. However, when there are three of you and you've already made it to the semi-finals of PC Jeopard! HTF does this happen???
Rant over.
Stick