Jeopardy Baby, Ooooh-ooh-oooooh (4 Viewers)

[zamboni]

Ken is such a likable fellow. He should be banned from taking future vacations.

 

[SoBeDad]

70% of fans prefer Ken Jennings as the permanent host

I concur with the majority. Plus I don't like "neuroscientists" who promote unproven treatments, such as Neuriva brain supplements. 

 

[jhib]

I like Mattea. She seems to have a fun personality, is very smart and the one time she trailed going into Final, she bet  intelligently instead of like a moron as so many contestants do.

Yeah, she's grown on me. She's awkward for sure, but how many folks that make it this far aren't? Seems like a nice person and a very impressive player

I like her, too.  But I can't stop thinking of this ever since I first made the observation about her, especially when they talk to the contestants after the first break...

Sometimes when she's talking and gesturing with her hands, it reminds me of one of those dogs gesturing and/or eating with human arms. Or the old "Helping Hands" skits from Whose Line is it Anyway.  

 

[jhib]

I was going to say watch for it next episode to see if you think someone else is in control of her hands,  but I just realized it's Monday and I haven't seen today's episode yet. I really shouldn't even be opening this thread right now. 

 

[zamboni]

I like her, too.  But I can't stop thinking of this ever since I first made the observation about her, especially when they talk to the contestants after the first break...

Sometimes when she's talking and gesturing with her hands, it reminds me of one of those dogs gesturing and/or eating with human arms. Or the old "Helping Hands" skits from Whose Line is it Anyway.  

Good call on the hands thing. Reminds me personally of this. 

 

[BobbyLayne]

There have now been 13 players in Jeopardy history to win 10 or more games. 4 of them have come from this season alone.

***************

Have we ever seen more terrible FJ wagers than the last month or so?

End of Double Jeopardy round scores:

• Mattea: $20,800
  
• Caitln: $9,800
  
• Sarah: $12,400
  

FINAL JEOPARDY

CATEGORY: WORLD LITERATURE

Clue: "Befitting the title, Antoine Galland, the first Western translator of this collection, worked on it only after dinner."

Contestant, Wager (+/-), Response:

• Caitlin: +$2,000, "What is Arabian Nights?" 
  
• Sarah: -$9,000, "What is dessert stories?"
  
• Mattea: -$4,001, "What is Midnight's (illegible)?" Mattea: "I tried to write Children...?"
  

Caitlin on r/jeopardy:

I lost my mind and just totally froze. Such intense pressure up there--I had my little pen and paper and just biffed it. It didn't occur to me that Mattea might get it wrong so basically was being meek and ultra-Canadian and playing for second place in case Sarah went all in. KICKING MYSELF every day since! Argh!

 

[brun]

I like her, too.  But I can't stop thinking of this ever since I first made the observation about her, especially when they talk to the contestants after the first break...

Sometimes when she's talking and gesturing with her hands, it reminds me of one of those dogs gesturing and/or eating with human arms. Or the old "Helping Hands" skits from Whose Line is it Anyway.  

I think her hands are very small so they don't look like they belong to her which adds to this look.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Wow, just when I thought the Final betting couldn't get any worse. We have a contestant in 3rd place who just has to do simple math to win and fails.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I think her hands are very small so they don't look like they belong to her which adds to this look.

Yes, she definitely wouldn't measure well at the combine.

 

[zamboni]

Wow, just when I thought the Final betting couldn't get any worse. We have a contestant in 3rd place who just has to do simple math to win and fails.

I agree, although in some fairness, we don't know how long they have to make their wagers - it might be shorter than the long commercial break we get. And in this case and under a lot of pressure, it's guarding against not one, but both, contestants.

But yeah, she had a fubar moment.

 

[zamboni]

I think her hands are very small so they don't look like they belong to her which adds to this look.

Yes, she definitely wouldn't measure well at the combine.

She can sure pickett the categories though.

 

[Mookie Gizzy]

I agree, although in some fairness, we don't know how long they have to make their wagers - it might be shorter than the long commercial break we get. And in this case and under a lot of pressure, it's guarding against not one, but both, contestants.

But yeah, she had a fubar moment.

It takes 1 second. You know how much $ you have. If you’re trailing going into FJ w/ a chance to win you bet it all. She messed up. Wasn’t the first, won’t be the last

 

[zamboni]

I agree, although in some fairness, we don't know how long they have to make their wagers - it might be shorter than the long commercial break we get. And in this case and under a lot of pressure, it's guarding against not one, but both, contestants.

But yeah, she had a fubar moment.

It takes 1 second. You know how much $ you have. If you’re trailing going into FJ w/ a chance to win you bet it all. She messed up. Wasn’t the first, won’t be the last

In most cases, yes, you bet it all, but that was probably not the best strategy for Caitlin here in 3rd place to guard against the others as they headed into FJ:

Mattea: $20,800

Caitlin: $9,800

Sarah: $12,400

Caitlin should have guessed that Sarah would bet it all, and that Mattea will bet $4,001 to win by one dollar over Sarah. If Caitlin did bet it all and either one of Mattea or Sarah got it right, Caitlin had no shot regardless.

Where Caitlin did not adjust for - which actually happened - is if she got it right based on her above expectations, but the others got it wrong. 

So for Caitlin to top Mattea's expected $16,799 if the other two got it wrong, she should have bet $7,000 rather than $2,000. 

 

[Mookie Gizzy]

In most cases, yes, you bet it all, but that was probably not the best strategy for Caitlin here in 3rd place to guard against the others' wagers, as they headed into FJ:

Mattea: $20,800

Caitlin: $9,800

Sarah: $12,400

Caitlin should have guessed that Sarah would bet it all, and that Mattea will bet $4,001 to win by one dollar over Sarah (if Sarah bet did just that). If Caitlin did bet it all and either one of Mattea or Sarah got it right, Caitlin had no shot regardless.

Where Caitlin did not adjust for - which actually happened - is if she got it right based on her above expectations, but the others got it wrong. 

So for Caitlin to top Mattea's expected $16,799 if the other two got it wrong, she should have bet $7,000 rather than $2,000. 

Thanks for the explanation. I just want Madea out. I hope she gets stuck w/ Amy in the TOC and Amy destroys her

 

[zamboni]

Thanks for the explanation. I just want Madea out. I hope she gets stuck w/ Amy in the TOC and Amy destroys her

I'd be shocked if anyone beat Amy. She not only knows just about everything, but is lightning quick with the buzzer to box anyone else out who also knows the answers.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Thanks for the explanation. I just want Madea out. I hope she gets stuck w/ Amy in the TOC and Amy destroys her

What's wrong with Mattea?  

I'd be careful what you wish for.  You could get Vocal Fry Girl.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I'd be shocked if anyone beat Amy. She not only knows just about everything, but is lightning quick with the buzzer to box anyone else out who also knows the answers.

Matt’s pretty good on the buzzer. He’s got the second best game of all time (43 correct answers - James once had 44), and like 3 of the Top Ten Coryat scores.

Amy doesn’t hunt, she’s old school top down. If Amodio gets control of the board he’s got a much better chance of finding DDs. He’s also more inclined to go all in whilst Schneider is content with $3-4K chunks.

It’s possible she switches things up for the ToC. They’re both phenomenal players. Both are gracious and likable. I like Matt’s chances better but def the margin is thin.

S/b a great ToC with high quality games every day. Deepest field ever seen.

 

[wlwiles]

Not saying this to take anything away from Mattea because she's obviously genius...but I feel like at least 3 or 4 of her wins have come in games where her opponents find and botch the DD's which just dooms them.  Everytime she finds one she does the "aww shucks, I'll just bet 2000 here", then gets it, then immediately says "well gee, I shoulda bet more money"...she's had several runaway/lock games or whatever they're called now, but I feel like it's been because she jumps out to a lead with the buzzer quickness and familiarity, she's ~$4000 ahead, her opponent finds one, goes all in, and misses it and then she just coasts to FJ.  

Haven't looked up any of her stats so I may be off, it's just the impression I get.  Obviously you don't win 10 games without being a great player, but she just doesn't give me that dominant player feeling that Matt and Amy had.  

 

[Frostillicus]

Not saying this to take anything away from Mattea because she's obviously genius...but I feel like at least 3 or 4 of her wins have come in games where her opponents find and botch the DD's which just dooms them.  Everytime she finds one she does the "aww shucks, I'll just bet 2000 here", then gets it, then immediately says "well gee, I shoulda bet more money"...she's had several runaway/lock games or whatever they're called now, but I feel like it's been because she jumps out to a lead with the buzzer quickness and familiarity, she's ~$4000 ahead, her opponent finds one, goes all in, and misses it and then she just coasts to FJ.  

Haven't looked up any of her stats so I may be off, it's just the impression I get.  Obviously you don't win 10 games without being a great player, but she just doesn't give me that dominant player feeling that Matt and Amy had.  

I think this is fair. I like her and find her quirkiness adorable, but she's not a dominant player. Obviously she's excellent as you said, but I don't think she's anywhere near Matt or Amy. 

 

[wlwiles]

Wow, just when I thought the Final betting couldn't get any worse. We have a contestant in 3rd place who just has to do simple math to win and fails.

One credit I'll give Mattea is she wagers smartly.  There was a game recently where she found the last DD at the very end of round 2, quickly did the math and bet just enough that a correct answer locked up the win and made it a runaway game.  She's usually fairly conservative with her DD wagers (and often mentions that she wished she'd bet more), but her FJ wagers are usually dead on.  Overall I like her as a contestant a lot and hope she keeps the streak going, I find Jeopardy much more entertaining when there's a champ with a streak going.  New champs every other day just gets mundane. 

 

[Mr. Mojo]

One credit I'll give Mattea is she wagers smartly.  There was a game recently where she found the last DD at the very end of round 2, quickly did the math and bet just enough that a correct answer locked up the win and made it a runaway game.  She's usually fairly conservative with her DD wagers (and often mentions that she wished she'd bet more), but her FJ wagers are usually dead on.  Overall I like her as a contestant a lot and hope she keeps the streak going, I find Jeopardy much more entertaining when there's a champ with a streak going.  New champs every other day just gets mundane. 

I echo your comments and posted something similar a few days ago when she was in 2nd going into the Final and made a smart bet.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I think this is fair. I like her and find her quirkiness adorable, but she's not a dominant player. Obviously she's excellent as you said, but I don't think she's anywhere near Matt or Amy. 

That’s the crazy thing - she’s super good, top ten longest streak ever. Also, 3rd best this season.

ETA: she’s tied with Jonathan now (dude that beat Amodio), so maybe 4th best

also, does a TweetStorm after every game detailing misses, guesses, thought process, et al. 

@mattearoach

 

[wlwiles]

Not saying this to take anything away from Mattea because she's obviously genius...but I feel like at least 3 or 4 of her wins have come in games where her opponents find and botch the DD's which just dooms them. 

Happened again today.  And with the final clue of DJ being worth $2000, how do two contestants who are at -$600 and -$1600 not even attempt to ring in and guess an answer to try and get out of the red and be able to play FJ?  The lady in the middle was never a factor at all today, but the guy on the right just flat out gave up when he went broke on that DD miss. 

All the credit in the world to Mattea, as I think Ken mentioned that her streak now of 12 games is Top 10 all time.  

 

[Frostillicus]

Never seen that before. 

 

[UOFI_316]

If you are the only person in FJ, how do you not bet it all, or at least more than 5k when you have 21k.

New drinking game, everytime she does her wrist/hand "aww shucks" flip you take a drink.  Bet no one makes it into the double jeopardy round.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

If you are the only person in FJ, how do you not bet it all

You do have to have at least one dollar to be able to advance to the next game.  And I reckon she bet what she was comfortable with.  She has quite a bit of money now, so it's a bit hard to disagree with her choices.

 

[Mookie Gizzy]

You do have to have at least one dollar to be able to advance to the next game.  And I reckon she bet what she was comfortable with.  She has quite a bit of money now, so it's a bit hard to disagree with her choices.

And her (among many) annoying habit of saying I should have bet more after getting the DD right. Shut up and play the game . She’s a smart kid who happens to end up playing dummies every game, not an all time great 

 

[BobbyLayne]

Mattea Roach annoying was trending on Twitter during last night's game.

People seemingly have an insatiable desire to be outraged over something (new) every day?

I don't get it. She's 23, has a breadth of knowledge, cute/geeky vibe, tats and a nose ring, doesn't like penises.

Too chatty?

Anyway, I'd agree she is probably the 4 seed for this year's ToC (if that were actually a thing.) Her competition has been kind of week (would love to see opponents stats to confirm.) But she is Frank Gore - literally an all-time great already even if you don't like her.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Gore is a good comparison.  Best I could come up with is Malik Willis for the lack of competition.

 

[BrutalPenguin]

I cannot see Mattea and not think "metal snot bubbles".  Thanks @Mrs. Rannous

 

[wlwiles]

You do have to have at least one dollar to be able to advance to the next game.  And I reckon she bet what she was comfortable with.  She has quite a bit of money now, so it's a bit hard to disagree with her choices.

I can only imagine James Holzhauer watching that episode and screaming at her for not betting everything minus $1.  

 

[identikit]

I cannot see Mattea and not think "metal snot bubbles".  Thanks @Mrs. Rannous

I think 'T-rex'

 

[BobbyLayne]

I think 'T-rex'

8th grader calls her this.

Friend from church has CP, spastic quadriplegic. Calls herself Spazzy on social media.

She makes fun of Mattea. 

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I cannot see Mattea and not think "metal snot bubbles".  Thanks @Mrs. Rannous

I'm here for you.

 

[zamboni]

I thought the guy in the middle last night was possibly heading towards an upset over Mattea , but when he missed that daily double in DJ, he was done-zo. As someone said above, I don't know if she's really that overpowering or her competition has been weak. I think some of Part A and some of Part B.

And none of them had a clue who Richie Havens was. <_<

 

[zamboni]

New drinking game, everytime she does her wrist/hand "aww shucks" flip you take a drink.  Bet no one makes it into the double jeopardy round.

I like that. 

If they made the tournament with hands behind your back, she'd be toast.

 

[Jayrok]

I like Mattea but she hasn't had some of the stiff competition that Amy and Matt seemed to have during their runs. She's also missed several FJs and still managed to win.  Then we get the oh well hands gesture. 

TOC will be interesting. I don't see her beating Matt or Amy, but who knows (<insert Mattea's oh well gesture here&gt, anything can happen. 

 

[BobbyLayne]

Twice in the last four days she arguably should have lost. Give her proper due, she's in rarefied air. Pretty much any Megachamp will compare unfavorably if you line them up next to Amy or Matt.

Feel like it's only a matter of time and her streak will be over, she is very good but also super beatable. BUT AT LEAST SHE KNOWS HOW TO BET. Last night she once again made the correct FJ wager, which is pretty much always the case with her.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Ken returns on Monday, April 10th.

The mods at r/Jeopardy have apparently decided any negative comments about Mayim are rooted in misogyny and will no longer be tolerated. Or it's antisemitic. Hate speech at it's finest.

no longer a safe place

So you can't just not like a person, your dislike has to be rooted in some form of 'troglodytic nonsense'.  Got it.

 

[zamboni]

It's been bugging me for awhile from what movie I saw a similar Mattea hand motion thing. 

Got it - Poltergeist

 

[BobbyLayne]

So you can't just not like a person, your dislike has to be rooted in some form of 'troglodytic nonsense'.  Got it.

Thankfully the community wide outage put an immediate stop to that b.s. 

That's not how any of this works

 

[wlwiles]

Stupid DVR/Hulu account messed up last night and re-recorded Wednesday's episode for some reason (where Mattea was in FJ alone), so didn't get to see Thursday's episode.  Looking at the game review it looks like more of the same - opponent tanked a big wager DD, then missed FJ anyway.  All it's going to take to beat her is someone to get the dang DD correct and be within striking distance in FJ...it's like I'm rooting against her when I don't really mean to.  She's a likeable contestant, even the quirks and hand gestures and all that are fine with me, I just feel like she should have only had a ~5 game streak because she's just getting lucky.

 

[zamboni]

Stupid DVR/Hulu account messed up last night and re-recorded Wednesday's episode for some reason (where Mattea was in FJ alone), so didn't get to see Thursday's episode.  Looking at the game review it looks like more of the same - opponent tanked a big wager DD, then missed FJ anyway.  All it's going to take to beat her is someone to get the dang DD correct and be within striking distance in FJ...it's like I'm rooting against her when I don't really mean to.  She's a likeable contestant, even the quirks and hand gestures and all that are fine with me, I just feel like she should have only had a ~5 game streak because she's just getting lucky.

You can catch any ones you missed on YouTube.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Stupid DVR/Hulu account messed up last night and re-recorded Wednesday's episode for some reason (where Mattea was in FJ alone), so didn't get to see Thursday's episode.  Looking at the game review it looks like more of the same - opponent tanked a big wager DD, then missed FJ anyway.  All it's going to take to beat her is someone to get the dang DD correct and be within striking distance in FJ...it's like I'm rooting against her when I don't really mean to.  She's a likeable contestant, even the quirks and hand gestures and all that are fine with me, I just feel like she should have only had a ~5 game streak because she's just getting lucky.
Expand  

You can catch any ones you missed on YouTube.

IME it helps to search “Jeopardy S38 E159”

or spell out Season and Episode

there are always 5 episodes per week irrespective of holidays so if lose track you can just try

Mon xx1 & xx6    
Tue xx2 & xx7
Wed xx3 & xx 8
Thu xx4 & xx9
Fri xx5 & xx0

and then add 5. So like next week Tue is S38 E162 but if it’s been a minute & you cannot remember, just start with 152, then try 157, then 162, etc

You could also try searching by date but I find that doesn’t always work - YMMV

 

[identikit]

The T-rex antics were strong in the 'about the contestants' section Friday night.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Not saying this to take anything away from Mattea because she's obviously genius...but I feel like at least 3 or 4 of her wins have come in games where her opponents find and botch the DD's which just dooms them.  Everytime she finds one she does the "aww shucks, I'll just bet 2000 here", then gets it, then immediately says "well gee, I shoulda bet more money"...she's had several runaway/lock games or whatever they're called now, but I feel like it's been because she jumps out to a lead with the buzzer quickness and familiarity, she's ~$4000 ahead, her opponent finds one, goes all in, and misses it and then she just coasts to FJ.  

Haven't looked up any of her stats so I may be off, it's just the impression I get.  Obviously you don't win 10 games without being a great player, but she just doesn't give me that dominant player feeling that Matt and Amy had.  

After his 8-win run, I thought Buzzy was great but not legendary — he beat up on a lot of bad opponents. But then he won what was probably the deepest TOC before the upcoming one. So you never know.

 

[wlwiles]

Finally starting to get annoyed at this champ with her little quips everytime the action is on her.  

"Hmmm, let's go to a different category.  I'll do XXX for $YY"  

"I like this category, let's keep going in it" 

When she finds the DD:  "You'd think I'd learn my lesson but I'll just go with a safe wager of $YY."  *gets the DD correct*  "aww, I should have wagered more money again"

and her little ramble post-answer after her DD clue about Canadian provinces last night bc she's Canadian....I've quite enjoyed her during this run but yesterday I found myself thinking "just #### and keep the game moving already"

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

yesterday I found myself thinking "just #### and keep the game moving already"

They are clearing the board, though.  She can't be holding things up too much.  And I think Ken is kind of egging her on a bit- maybe by design.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

They are clearing the board, though.  She can't be holding things up too much.  And I think Ken is kind of egging her on a bit- maybe by design.

Ken definitely has a chemistry with the mega-champs that's different from how he interacts with the others. As one might expect. Heck, he might be playing The Chase with these people someday. 

There was one egregious round during her run where 5 clues were left on the board, but otherwise I don't think things have dragged at all. 

 

[chet]

I am proud of my fellow Canadian but she's not in the same league as Matt or Amy IMO.  I knew two clues today that no one answered.