Friday, November 25, 2011 Game Recap & Discussion [SPOILERS]

[MarkBarrett]

Got FJ with about 2 seconds left to go. On the show, I wouldn't have had time to write it - but I may still give it to myself in the poll.

Go ahead and count it. It's what I call a home hit. I had time to blaze it out with pen but with the show's writing device, no way. I always convince myself I would have thought faster on the set. You thought the correct answer before time was up? Go ahead and mark it right for a viewer solve.

I looked at the clue and 1981 and Pulitzer did nothig for me. Swift's quote rang no bells and I was not finding anything from Gulliver or eating children that helped. With time winding down I tried working off "lesser minds." Idiot? That made me think of self help type books with blank for idiots. That directly lead me to the more popular Dummies books. I was so desperate that I tried to think of a famous first title in those series. By some miracle I changed dummy to dunce and wham I had a title to scribble for a guess.

My knowledge of the work is Title and Author. That's it. Tonight's FJ clue was much harder than the previous times the author or work were used in regular clues. Great double solve by Ann and James.

The FJ wager by James has me thinking he was protecting his $2000 for second place. To bet to get past Kendra he risked being passed by Ann. Alex told him it was not a runaway. I can't believe me messed up the math and thought Kendra had a lock. Scratch paper is there to avoid that kind of error. He probably figured if it's an easy clue they all get it or a hard clue then he can't win. I'd like to think after FJ played out he realized how much money he threw away. He has some tough answers to come up with when discussing the game with family and friends.

Kendra was so close to the lock it would have been disappointing to see her lose. 10,000 on Haylogens (she didn't care how many times Alex said Hal) in the 1600 box was a stunner to me. That was CraigPahkian.

James looked like it was painful for him to say Cleveland Cavaliers as a correct response.

Truth Seekers was an excellent category for future players to study again with double does of names and information useful to file away.

[mam418]

Got FJ with about 2 seconds left to go. On the show, I wouldn't have had time to write it - but I may still give it to myself in the poll.

Go ahead and count it. It's what I call a home hit. I had time to blaze it out with pen but with the show's writing device, no way. I always convince myself I would have thought faster on the set. You thought the correct answer before time was up? Go ahead and mark it right for a viewer solve.

Excellent... will do.

Kendra was so close to the lock it would have been disappointing to see her lose. 10,000 on Haylogens (she didn't care how many times Alex said Hal) in the 1600 box was a stunner to me. That was CraigPahkian.

I totally agree... I was cheering at the TV. (I may have shouted 'ballsy!' at the tv in an admiring manner...)

[Woof]

That was a game full of surprises, from Kendra's bold DD wagers to the inexplicable FJ wager of James to an instaget on FJ for me (coincidentally, I'd read this editorial today -- note the epigraph). I was mildly surprised that two got FJ right and also noted the irony of the New Orleans contestant being the one to not get it.

[dhkendall]

I am thinking that maybe James did the math wrong and thought that Kendra had a lock and he was playing for second place. I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

Ah, but then, he could have bet anywhere up to and including 14,399 and still had a lock on second place. He might have figured both he and Kendra would get it wrong, and was hoping for a large wager from her.

Oh. My. God.

Seeing this next to your avatar game me much delight. (But couldn't you have said "Oh. My. Me."?)

Agreed. Probably the only NBA we'll get this year. And the only time the Raptors will rank higher than the Lakers and Celtics.

Not a sports fan, but I found it a relatively easy category - only missed $200, and that may have been a case of "beaten to the buzzer", can't recall. (Got the 1K clue less from being a Canadian and more from helping my son put on his Toronto Raptors pants when he was getting dressed this morning). BTW, for the "Boston Celtics" clue, I said "the Keltics" (ie with a hard "C"). Would that have passed muster? How about answering "gum" for "adhesive" in the $400 "Philately" clue? (in philatelic books and the like, I usually see the thing you lick as being referred to as "gum")

And I precalled, right after FJ, much consternation on the boards. WTF was he thinking!! He's got to have been kicking himself ever since. I know I kicked myself over my second game for months, but at least I wagered properly... to know that if you bet properly you would have won... that's a killer.

I'd like to think after FJ played out he realized how much money he threw away. He has some tough answers to come up with when discussing the game with family and friends.

I might not give him (and especially not "his family and friends") that much credit, from discussions I've had with "regular fans" (ie non-boardies), and even from watching several contestants (again, non-boardie ones), a lot of people are woefully ignorant of wagering strategy - I can say for certainty that it was only my becoming a boardie that helped me understand it (and I still don't know everything, I'm giving the Betting Police as much warning as possible before my eventual airdate here and now to stock up on ticket books). Why is basic wagering theory not even taught in American schools? No wonder China is beating us!

[billy pilgrim]

We've seen the 'Clavin". This should be known as the "Ruchala".

[seaborgium]

"Ship of Fools" to "Parlement of Foules" (which is actually "fowls," not "fools"*) to "Confederacy of Dunces." Slow enough to be a satisfying solve, quick enough that I didn't get a chance to worry about squandering a 5/5 week (which makes a nice antidote to last week's goose egg).

*I think Bob Harris had a far crazier thought process in his ToC semifinal FJ solve.

Second place overwagers are common enough that I've become jaded to them, but underwagers still make me yell at the TV. I wonder if James somehow accidentally made the wager he anticipated from Kendra. I would have liked to see each of them as a champion, but underwagering is a worse crime than getting FJ wrong, so the right person won. When I saw Kendra's body language on FJ in conjunction with my solve, I wondered if we'd see a comeback by James on a literary FJ akin to that by Mark Wales in his second game (although that one looked far more competitive, with Mark making $7,000 on a DD before Daniel Weissman leapfrogged him with $12,000 on his). Little did I know...

[teapot37]

BTW, for the "Boston Celtics" clue, I said "the Keltics" (ie with a hard "C"). Would that have passed muster?

I would think so by the rules, but for the record, the team is always pronounced with a soft C.

[legendneverdies]

Agreed. Probably the only NBA we'll get this year. And the only time the Raptors will rank higher than the Lakers and Celtics.

According to AOL News, they are hammering out a deal this weekend that if agreed on, a 66 game season will start on Kwanzaa eve. We can thank the lockout for ABC burning off Million DOllar Mind Game, on which Brad Rutter will compete on the season finale of tomorrow 11/27 at 4PM EST. Though the end of the lockout might make a second season less likely. Maybe if they did a second season, they could try airing it at 1PM EST weekdays for a couple of weeks when the Chew is in reruns(or maybe at 2PM when the upcoming One Life to Live replacement talk show The Revolution is in reruns; it presumably begins in January after OLTL's final episode airs). It would have WWTBAM as a lead in in Philly and NYC if it were to air in the Chew's timeslot.

[John Boy]

"Ship of Fools" to "Parlement of Foules" (which is actually "fowls," not "fools"*) to "Confederacy of Dunces." Slow enough to be a satisfying solve, quick enough that I didn't get a chance to worry about squandering a 5/5 week (which makes a nice antidote to last week's goose egg).

Second place overwagers are common enough that I've become jaded to them, but underwagers still make me yell at the TV. I wonder if James somehow accidentally made the wager he anticipated from Kendra. I would have liked to see each of them as a champion, but underwagering is a worse crime than getting FJ wrong, so the right person won. When I saw Kendra's body language on FJ in conjunction with my solve, I wondered if we'd see a comeback by James on a literary FJ akin to that by Mark Wales in his second game (although that one looked far more competitive, with Mark making $7,000 on a DD before Daniel Weissman leapfrogged him with $12,000 on his). Little did I know...

Good to see somebody else thought of "Ship of Fools." Only I knew it wasn't right, and that it was only heading in the right direction, but couldn't seal the deal in time. I was about 10 additional seconds from coming up with "Confederacy of Dunces." Any chance they'd give me that?

Uh, didn't think so.


As to FJ, I give the guy no benefit of the doubt whatsoever. He had to know it was not a lock. If he couldn't do the simple math in his head, couldn't he listen to Alex? And if he knew he had a chance, if only a slim chance predicated on a correct FJ and wagering almost everything; and still bet small, then shame on him. If he was thinking strategically at all, I imagine it was to protect himself from being overtaken by Ann. Let's see, do I risk the additional thousand for 2nd place, if that's the only chance I have to win $34K and come back tomorrow? If he thought that and still didn't bet big, well, that's truly sad. As another poster said, why play the game, if not to win?

[Bamaman]

Today and yesterday were pre-empted here due to football. I played both FJs from the board Mark linked Wednesday. Today I scrolled down too far and saw the question just a few seconds after seeing the answer, but I doubt I'd have ever gotten that one correct.

sounds like someone made a really bad FJ wager. There were two games last season where someone in second place in a near lock game made a very small wager, though it wound up not really mattering. Glad to see it finally cost someone the game.

[Volante]

Did anyone else think the Dickens category seemed too... on the nose?
( http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... detail.jpg )

Embarrassingly, the category I did the 2nd worst on was potent potables. (Worst was 'Song of the South', total blank. Amazingly I somehow swept the basketball category. Couldn't do that again.)

Not sure how I remembered Confederacy of Dunces. 1981 Pulitzer helped a bit, but I think the biggest aid was it's ranking here:
http://www.cracked.com/article_15072_th ... ed_p2.html (Hint: Scroll down)
Family Guy...Futurama...Cracked...it's the Volante School for Jeopardy! Preparation!

[dhkendall]

Family Guy...Futurama...Cracked...it's the Volante School for Jeopardy! Preparation!

Despite it going so downhill over the years that even I don't watch it now, Simpsons is another "lower class" show that is great for J! prep as they ref stuff all the time.

[seaborgium]

We can thank the lockout for ABC burning off Million DOllar Mind Game, on which Brad Rutter will compete on the season finale of tomorrow 11/27 at 4PM EST.

Does it count as competing when one has no opponent?


On the subject of the sports category, you know it's easy when I run it. (Assuming they give me credit for just saying "Raptors.")

[MarkBarrett]

We can thank the lockout for ABC burning off Million DOllar Mind Game, on which Brad Rutter will compete on the season finale of tomorrow 11/27 at 4PM EST.

Does it count as competing when one has no opponent?


On the subject of the sports category, you know it's easy when I run it. (Assuming they give me credit for just saying "Raptors.")

Brad Rutter won't be the only J! champ on the team tomorrow.

[Volante]

On the subject of the sports category, you know it's easy when I run it. (Assuming they give me credit for just saying "Raptors.")

I would. Don't they usually tend to accept just the team name in lieu of the city?

[Rafferty Barnes]

Why did James make the wager he did? Is he going through a messy divorce and didn't want to give his wife the satisfaction of getting half his winnings? I really loved Kendra's big wagers, so I'm glad she get to come back on Monday.

[econgator]

10,000 on Haylogens (she didn't care how many times Alex said Hal) in the 1600 box was a stunner to me. That was CraigPahkian.

I'm kinda stunned that you're stunned.

There's only 5 halogens and 3 had already been used up. Granted, it could have given one of them in the clue and asked something obscure about it, but with what they had given so far, I would have went TDD without even thinking about it.

[hbomb1947]

Dear James:

Thanks for taking a scarce contestant spot away from someone who would have actually made an attempt to win the game.

Sincerely,
H-Bomb.



The FJ was an instaget here. I really liked the clue; what a great novel COD was. I'm a little surprised that a New Orleanian like Kendra (who was also a strong player) missed the clue. I do give her props for making the kind of DD wagers that are so rarely seen but so strategically sound. I look forward to seeing her again next week.

[jpahk]

i think everybody else has covered james's FJ wager, but i'm interested in kendra's. i only played one FJ from a crush, my first (against chris fleitas). i remember thinking that i could rationally wager anywhere from the minimum cover bet ($1901) up to the difference between my score and chris's ($8700). eventually i decided on a wager toward the high end of this, thinking that if i did get it right, i wanted to maximize my payday. but apparently there are players out there who will wager so poorly from second place that i could have jeopardized a win by betting more than the minimum. certainly, if i had been in kendra's position in this game, i would have wagered damn near the maximum $17k on a great category for me (literature), and ... well, i got it right, but it would have been horrifying to get it wrong and lose to a ridiculous wager. maybe it shouldn't be, though; from the leader's perspective it's equivalent to losing to a reasonable wager. i dunno.

great boards for me in today's game. i would've loved to play these in real life. i would have wagered less than kendra on islands but more (viz. all of it) on halogens, but that's just my particular knowledge base talking. i have to say i'm impressed with her play, and i'll be cheering for her on monday.

[heelsrule1988]

As a North Carolinian, I am embarrassed.

That was downright unexplainable.