Friday, February 28, 2014 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[lieph82]

I know all the game theory and everything, but why not wager $401 knowing how well of a player Semret was? Before Arthur's $8,000 DD, it was a close game.

Check out Semret's wager. It's a perfect example of how saving that extra dollar can't hurt you (in your current game), but it can sure as hell help you. If Arthur got Final wrong, he'd be co-champion. If he bet $401 and got Final wrong, he'd be a mere 8 day champion.

[morbeedo]

AC's mental route to

Spoiler

Idaho

was the state's nickname in the clue, obvs!

[poisontongue]

That was fun. Can't say I even remember any of the clues. Just when it looked like the champion might go out, a beautiful comeback. The competitors gave him a good challenge.

Kind of makes you think about how insane a 70+ game winning streak is again. Just when it started to get lost in the clues.

[goforthetie]

AC's mental route to

Spoiler

Idaho

was the state's nickname in the clue, obvs!

Nez Perce is also pavlovian for Idaho.

Check out Semret's wager. It's a perfect example of how saving that extra dollar can't hurt you (in your current game), but it can sure as hell help you. If Arthur got Final wrong, he'd be co-champion. If he bet $401 and got Final wrong, he'd be a mere 8 day champion.

Once the FJ clue hit, seeing whether Arthur would bet for the tie was pretty much the only drama left in the game. I do wish Semret had gone for it too, but at least he made a wager that's highly educational.

[lieph82]

Check out Semret's wager. It's a perfect example of how saving that extra dollar can't hurt you (in your current game), but it can sure as hell help you. If Arthur got Final wrong, he'd be co-champion. If he bet $401 and got Final wrong, he'd be a mere 8 day champion.

Once the FJ clue hit, seeing whether Arthur would bet for the tie was pretty much the only drama left in the game. I do with Semret had gone for it too, but at least he made a wager that's highly educational.

I really do think that had even one of the previous four games not been a lock, Semret would have bet it all and we'd have co-champions.

[Dr. J]

Also, is it just me or have the finals been easier than usual this week?

Hubs and I are on an 11-game streak of FJ gets, so we think so.

[TryingHarder]

Did anyone else think how apt the FJ was with Chu-gate going on these past few days?

[eboettch]

Did anyone else precall other modern suffixes? I thought of -gate right away when the category was given but was panicking because I couldn't think of any others.

[dnbguy]

Thought I heard Arthur cursing under his breath at one point, though I might have just been hearing things.

Watergate derives its name from steps that lead from the Lincoln Memorial down to the banks of the Potomac. Originally they were to be used as a way for dignitaries to make a grand entrance onto the Mall. Nowadays they are mainly used by joggers.

[Bamaman]

Did anyone else precall other modern suffixes? I thought of -gate right away when the category was given but was panicking because I couldn't think of any others.

I was trying to think of something computer related for a precall, but gate was there before the music started.

[morbeedo]

Did anyone else precall other modern suffixes? I thought of -gate right away when the category was given but was panicking because I couldn't think of any others.

Total blank and took me a few seconds to get.

[georgespelvin]

I really do think that had even one of the previous four games not been a lock, Semret would have bet it all and we'd have co-champions.

I agree with you and a couple of other folks here. I also agree with the folks that wonder why Arthur would offer a tie to Semret (OK, I know why he did it, he's explained it before) given that Semret was the best player Arthur has faced all week and Semret would have had overnight to gather himself for the next game. On the other hand, Semret made a fatal error by not picking the $1600 clue in Rip Van Winkle when he had control of the board--it was the highest valued clue left and had he taken it and gotten the DD, Arthur would not have been able to run away. On the other hand, as with the other games with easy FJs this week, I suspect that unless Semret had gotten the last DD, wagered at least moderately and gotten it right, Arthur would have had the lead going into FJ anyway and it would have been moot.

Arthur does seem to have a habit of making at least one embarrassing response in every game he plays (today it was Salk), which is actually great because now and forever if a contestant feels bad about saying something foolish on TV, you can make him/her feel better by saying, "don't let it bother you, even the great Arthur Chu did it, and more than once."

Congratulations to Arthur on tying Dan Pawson and Jason Keller at the nine win plateau.

[alietr]

Watergate derives its name from steps that lead from the Lincoln Memorial down to the banks of the Potomac. Originally they were to be used as a way for dignitaries to make a grand entrance onto the Mall. Nowadays they are mainly used by joggers.

There is a dispute about this. Another interpretation is that the first lock of the C&O Canal, and where Rock Creek empties into the Potomac, was where the Watergate Complex is now. The lock was the first 'gate' to the canal. I exchanged emails with someone at the Post about this. I'll have to dig it up.

[morbeedo]

would OB-GYN have been accepted?

[georgespelvin]

Also, although perhaps this belongs in the Pet Intellectual Peeves thread, one of my biggest intellectual peeves is adding a "gate" suffix after everything (including sports related "scandals" like the so-called "Spygate"). It's intellectually lazy and fatuous. Did people put the suffix "dome" after every scandal from 1922 until 1973?

Oh yes, I was impressed at how Arthur's opponents stayed in it after being far behind at the end of the Jeopardy round. I confess to scoffing when Alex said that Arthur's lead was not insurmountable (given that it was Arthur who had the lead) but almost in the blink of an eye Semret had gained the lead thanks to the Who Sang it First category (which, had I been third in this game, I certainly would have started with the $2000 clue there and at home I did wind up sweeping that category).

[alamble]

would OB-GYN have been accepted?

I doubt it. Too much information.

[Golf]

I know all the game theory and everything, but why not wager $401 knowing how well of a player Semret was? Before Arthur's $8,000 DD, it was a close game.

If you have to ask, then no, you don't know all the game theory.

Semret had every opportunity to win >$20k but did his best to throw it away twice. Wagering next to nothing on a 2nd row DD against a superchamp? Laughable. Leaving $800 on the table for no reason whatsoever in FJ? Laughable. Any strategic sense whatsoever and he has lotsa cash. So no, I don't feel sorry for him in the least.

[TryingHarder]

I know all the game theory and everything, but why not wager $401 knowing how well of a player Semret was? Before Arthur's $8,000 DD, it was a close game.

If you have to ask, then no, you don't know all the game theory.

Semret had every opportunity to win >$20k but did his best to throw it away twice. Wagering next to nothing on a 2nd row DD against a superchamp? Laughable. Leaving $800 on the table for no reason whatsoever in FJ? Laughable. Any strategic sense whatsoever and he has lotsa cash. So no, I don't feel sorry for him in the least.

Didn't he miss that DD?

[Golf]

I know all the game theory and everything, but why not wager $401 knowing how well of a player Semret was? Before Arthur's $8,000 DD, it was a close game.

If you have to ask, then no, you don't know all the game theory.

Semret had every opportunity to win >$20k but did his best to throw it away twice. Wagering next to nothing on a 2nd row DD against a superchamp? Laughable. Leaving $800 on the table for no reason whatsoever in FJ? Laughable. Any strategic sense whatsoever and he has lotsa cash. So no, I don't feel sorry for him in the least.

Didn't he miss that DD?

Sure. So what?

[lieph82]

I know all the game theory and everything, but why not wager $401 knowing how well of a player Semret was? Before Arthur's $8,000 DD, it was a close game.

If you have to ask, then no, you don't know all the game theory.

Semret had every opportunity to win >$20k but did his best to throw it away twice. Wagering next to nothing on a 2nd row DD against a superchamp? Laughable. Leaving $800 on the table for no reason whatsoever in FJ? Laughable. Any strategic sense whatsoever and he has lotsa cash. So no, I don't feel sorry for him in the least.

Leaving $800 on the table reduces his odds of winning only marginally--there's no way he could have guessed that Arthur would bet to tie. Against almost any other champion, it wouldn't have made a difference. What leaving $800 on the table does accomplish is give him much better odds at second place money in case he and the third place player both get it wrong. I know you think you should always play to win, and I agree with you, but the wager had strategic merit. It doesn't hurt his odds of winning the game against the MSB, and given what we know about the usual lack of rationality in third place wagers, it increases his odds at coming in second if Arthur gets it right and he can't win. Obviously, all of this logic goes to shit because Arthur bets to tie, but again, all 4 games this week before this one were locks, so he didn't know this.

I just don't see how you can look at his FJ wager and say he has no strategic sense whatsoever. Yeah, an all-in bet would have been better, especially in this case. But please don't tell me you think he wrote a random number down? You can see his thought process, right? He calculated based on Arthur making the MSB and getting FJ wrong, which is always a good thing to do.