Not sure what the point is to let the viewers know in advance where the Daily Doubles are in the Masters Tournament.
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I agree. Seems lame.
Holzhauer stole the show even with a star-studded cast.
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I think we can all agree that nobody is disparaging Mayim’s intelligence or personality.
However, I do agree that as a host of the show Mayim is just not as quick as Ken to rule on an answer. I also find her delivery to be a bit staccato.
When the guest hosting began I thought Ken was stiff and Mayim was fine. IMO Ken has dramatically improved as a host over time (seeming more comfortable, more confident, more willing to make a fun off the cuff comment etc.) while Mayim has stayed the same. Maybe she will also improve during her stint as host this spring/summer.
In my perfect Jeopardy world Ken would host regular games and TOC and Mayim would do the other one off (ex. Celebrity, college) tournaments. But sadly nobody asked me LOL.
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I laughed at James’ final jeopardy answer tonight!
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I love James. Can’t help it.
Here’s my take. Ken Jennings probably has a photographic memory. I presume the hosts study the questions and answers. It’s not that Mayim isn’t smart, but maybe truly does want to make sure the answer is correct if she is unsure or forgot it. She doesn’t do it every time.
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I thought I read somewhere that Mayim has a photographic memory. I wonder if the pauses may be to take a second before ruling on something that may be slightly off from the answer the host was given (or maybe it is for dramatic effect – who knows). Hopefully the staff at Jeopardy is working with her to eliminate or at least minimize the pauses. I do think because of his experience on the show, Ken may be more comfortable with the nuances of what makes an answer correct or not.
As for James, I think he is having fun playing the “villain” role on the tournament.
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I think this is the answer. The host has the correct response (with accepted variations), but sometimes a contestant’s correct response may not be listed in their options, in which case, they are waiting for a cue from the judges. Less frequently, as in the recent eviscerate vs. gutting response, the game will continue with adjustments announced after the commercial break.
But that doesn’t explain why Mayim has more pauses than Ken. I don’t think it’s my imagination. She used to do some for dramatic effect, but I’m not seeing that now.
Exactly–I assume both Ken and Mayim have an earbud in place and producers are talking to them—perhaps Ken can multitask better. I still believe some of the pauses ARE for dramatic effect, but many are just taking too long to rule a response right/wrong.
Ken has even gotten better at adlibbing when ruling—there was a question whose answer I believe was “Who is Yoda” and Ken said something like “correct, you are”.
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Wow. Crazy betting for Final Jeopardy tonight! I hate to see stuff like that to end a game. Looking forward to the second night of the Masters Tournament.
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I agree…terrible betting by second place contestant.
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And what a gift to make someone a 5 time champion because of betting. The champion is a great player but what a way to get to 5!
It infuriates me when smart people don’t do the math. If the champ bets correctly second place can only win if the champ gets FJ wrong. Calculate how much the champ has to bet to win if 2nd place bets it all and gets FJ right. Subtract that bet from the champ’s score (champ needs to get FJ wrong, remember) and adjust your 2nd place bet to beat that score by $1.
Also infuriates me when 2nd or 3rd place find the Daily Double, and don’t bet it all when they are far behind. It seems that making it to FJ is more important than trying to win. Third place is $1000 whether you play FJ or not. Kinda like athletes who make a championship game but are just happy to be there, and don’t care about winning.
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Wow, I just watched yesterday’s episode. Fascinating that the second place person bet that way. So odd.
And I take it back - Mayim paused a lot last night for dramatic effect, sigh.
I’m not certain what your definition of winning is. But Raquel’s wagers kept her in contention for Final Jeopardy, and therefore in contention for winning. Or maybe you weren’t referring to Raquel? In any case, in general, a daily double strategy of always betting it all is a losing one.
I know people love Holzhauer and his all-in style, but wagering on Daily Doubles is an inherently situational process. The goal is always to win; settling for 3rd place with a rote betting strategy does not optimize for winning.
I knew the second FJ answer last night!!!
Raquel bet properly in DDs. I was critical of her FJ bet/calculations. My comments about overcautious betting were more general in nature.
It bothers me when someone is within striking distance and wonteven bet enough to be within striking distance
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I still can’t believe her FJ bet. As soon as I saw it, I turned to my husband in disbelief-wow, why did she do that!
Oops- I thought you were taking issue with contestants not going all in on DDs.
There are definitely times for “making it a true daily double” and times when that would be foolish.
If 1st place has 10K and bettor has 3K, at least try to get just over 50% of first place to give yourself a shot. If it takes betting it all to do that, you kinda have to, or give up on any chance of winning. Third place is a $1000 prize whether you have $-400 or $+2000.
In general I would wish contestants would try harder to win. If a contestant has trouble ringing in, on a DD you are the only one who can answer so take advantage of it. As I said, some seem to treat making it to FJ the goal as opposed to trying to win.