Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 17, 2022, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Movies & Literature) for Thursday, November 17, 2022 (Season 39, Game 49):
Ridley Scott’s first feature film, “The Duellists”, was based on a story by this author to whom Scott’s film “Alien” also pays tribute
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Sam Buttrey, an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School from Pacific Grove, California (0 wins)
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Andrew He, a software developer from San Francisco, California (2 wins)
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Amy Schneider, a writer from Oakland, California (1 win)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
After yesterday’s game–which will surely be discussed for a very long time—Andrew He is now one victory away from winning the 30th Tournament of Champions. However, the series doesn’t end until a player wins three games, and both Amy Schneider and Sam Buttrey are still in contention until that happens. One thing that I thought the players did improve upon significantly in Game 3 compared to Game 1 and Game 2: The Daily Double hunting was taken up by all three players in Double Jeopardy. If this continues, this will give Andrew less of a chance of finding those Daily Doubles and will increase Amy’s and Sam’s chances of winning games.
(For what it’s worth, I also have more to say about last night’s game with further thoughts on how I think further online brouhahas in this area can be prevented; I have an editorial already written, which will be published on Saturday.)
In an amusing bit of timing, the opening round today contains a category called “the King James Bible Saith”—I can’t wait to see how this category is going to be received by the audience tonight.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: Who is Joseph Conrad?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
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Tonight’s Final Jeopardy feels significantly more straightforward than yesterday’s. Ridley Scott’s film The Duellists was based on the Joseph Conrad short story “The Duel”/”Point of Honor” (published as a part of Conrad’s 1908 short story collection A Set of Six). Moreover, the spaceship Nostromo in Ridley Scott’s Alien is named after Joseph Conrad’s 1904 novel of the same name. Again, I think this is an excellent Tournament of Champions-level clue, as Conrad is usually only associated with Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim in a Jeopardy! context.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Historic Dates; The King James Bible Saith; Head For The Hills; A Word Of Warning; Songs From The Hit Album; We’Ll All Need A Drink After This)
Amy had control for most of this round and was unlucky that Andrew got to play the Daily Double. While Andrew did double up, Amy had more than $10,000 after the Jeopardy! round and held a commanding lead.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Amy 8 correct 0 incorrect
Sam 4 correct 0 incorrect
Andrew 2 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Amy 16 correct 0 incorrect
Andrew 7 correct 1 incorrect
Sam 6 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Native American Place Names In The U.S.; Memoirs & Personal Accounts; Far Out; Miscellany; Double Letters In The Middle; Silent Films With Jacqueline Stewart)
Double Jeopardy! was another huge battle—this time between Amy and Sam. Sam doubled up on a Daily Double, while Amy went more conservative on hers—picking up only $4,000. It was enough for Amy to hold the lead going into Final at $25,000! Sam had $20,000 and Andrew was in a distant third at $6,800.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Amy 28 correct 1 incorrect
Sam 18 correct 3 incorrect
Andrew 11 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Final today was a Triple Stumper; Sam went for a big bet but Amy successfully predicted a difficult clue and ended up with victory at $19,000! Amy has her second win as Game 5 tomorrow becomes crucial!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, November 17, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Amy $25,000
Sam $20,000
Andrew $6,800
Tonight’s results:
Andrew $6,800 – $5,999 = $801 (Who is Dick?) (2 wins)
Sam $20,000 – $20,000 = $0 (Who is A.C. Clarke?) (0 wins)
Amy $25,000 – $6,000 = $19,000 (Who is Lovecraft?) (2 wins)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Amy $10,200
Andrew $4,000
Sam $2,400
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) HISTORIC DATES $1000 (clue #20)
Andrew 1600 +1600 (Amy 8200 Sam 2400)
2) FAR OUT $1600 (clue #13)
Sam 6000 +6000 (Amy 13800 Andrew 6000)
3) NATIVE AMERICAN PLACE NAMES IN THE U.S. $800 (clue #20, $8400 left on board)
Amy 17000 +4000 (Andrew 6000 Sam 16800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 224
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Amy 2.85
Andrew 4.20
Sam 4.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.24 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Amy $21,800 Coryat, 28 correct, 1 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Andrew $6,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 1 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Sam $15,600 Coryat, 18 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $43,600
Lach Trash: $4,800 (on 3 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $5,600
Amy Schneider, career statistics:
1462 correct, 97 incorrect
69/85 on rebound attempts (on 182 rebound opportunities)
50.43% in first on buzzer (1346/2669)
70/81 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $218,200)
30/47 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $25,345
Andrew He, career statistics:
265 correct, 37 incorrect
15/17 on rebound attempts (on 41 rebound opportunities)
36.55% in first on buzzer (250/684)
18/23 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $89,400)
4/12 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,033
Sam Buttrey, career statistics:
229 correct, 24 incorrect
12/14 on rebound attempts (on 37 rebound opportunities)
38.77% in first on buzzer (221/570)
6/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
5/10 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,460
Remaining Players’ Tournament of Champions Chances (after 100,000 Simulations)
Amy 50.317%
Andrew 47.901%
Sam 1.782%
Chances of 5 games: 74.273%
Chances of 6 games: 19.000%
Chances of 7 games: 6.727%
Today’s interviews:
Sam is a published constructor of crossword puzzles.
Andrew has visualized Ken throwing cue cards at him in the hotel room.
Amy got to throw out the first pitch at a Giants and A’s game.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- The wagering gambits have started. I’m okay with Amy’s bet, as regardless of the outcome, it keeps Andrew locked out, and the tournament continues.
- Today’s box score: November 17, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Amy $25,000 Sam $20,000 Andrew $6,800)
Amy: Standard cover bet over Sam is $15,001. If you want to try to finesse Sam, a bet between $1,401 and $4,999 might work. (Actual bet: $6,000)
Andrew: If Amy covers Sam, she falls to $9,999. Thus, you should bet at least $3,801. (Actual bet: $5,999)
Sam: Bet between $5,000 and $6,399, thereby keeping Andrew locked out. (Actual bet: $20,000)
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Andy,
In the wagering strategy for Andrew why do you say he should bet 3,801 instead of just 3,800, which would bring him to 10,000 and still beat Amy’s 9,999?
Basically, it’s a hedge just in case the other player leaves a dollar off on the other end.
I was looking at the other option, which was for Andrew to have bet nothing, in case Amy got it wrong, and he would have been guaranteed a win regardless of his own answer. If Amy got it right, he was MOST LIKELY not going to win, although that wasn’t the way it actually worked out give her conservative bet.
GIVEN her conservative bet . . .
I hate not being able to correct my own typos 😠 🙄
“But the producers wouldn’t have known Amy won until the tournament was over.” Exactly, and since the tournament was recorded a month or more ago, they already knew well before anything aired. If anything other than my two scenarios occurred, we probably would not have seen game 3 as it played out. Of course, we won’t know until all episodes have aired but the producers already have known for weeks. That’s why I say, one of my two scenarios is most likely with Amy having won a third game somewhere along the line (quite probably game 5 tomorrow but game 6 or 7 would do, too). As I wrote before, though, I hope I’m wrong because I would like to see all of the contestants have, at least, one win which could still happen if Sam wins one or two.
This should have been in the above thread in reply to Brian M. at 6:15 p.m. Sorry about that.
You still are assuming that 1) the producers actually think there was an error and 2) that given they do, they think they need to respond. I don’t think that either is necessarily true. So even if Andrew wins, they may not respond to anything. There have been disputed rulings/answers over the years met with silence by the show.
If Amy wins in seven games, that means that Sam should’ve won the tournament.
Yes, you are correct, Eric. I should have corrected myself to say that Amy would have to win either game 5 or game 6. If Sam wins the next two games, he should have won the tournament. My main point was that as long as Andrew doesn’t win another game, then game 3 becomes moot. If Sam wins the remaining three games, game 3 also becomes moot. As you pointed out, if Amy wins game 7, that means that Sam had to have won games 5 and 6 and, therefore, should have 3 wins. I think I mentioned this earlier but left that out in the previous comment. Thanks for catching it, Eric.
I didn’t understand Sam’s bet. Maybe he was really confident in the topic.
Most likely, Sam was trying to force Amy to make a cover bet over him by going all in. Had she done so, she would have lost if either of her competitors had gotten FJ correct. As it turned out, it was a triple stumper so Amy wisely bet conservatively (but Sam could not have counted on that).
Any connection with Andrew Saunders, the Battle of Britain expert?
Amy dodged a bullet with her $6,000 FJ bet. If Sam had bet nothing, he would have won. As Andy suggests, if Amy chooses not to cover, she should bet no more than $4,999.
I’m discouraged on the subject of “Hebrews” after finding information easily available online. I’ve watched Jeopardy for decades–funny New Yorker cartoon this week about the program! However, my view is that a sometimes called “cult of personality” has affected the program adversely. Are contestants viewed as impartially as previously, or are streaks more valued and tricky twists in clues becoming the game within the game? This forum for considerations is delightful, so I participate cautiously today.
Nothing has changed from the past on that front.
This is bit cryptic, but I hope it means that the contestants are in fact treated impartially.
That’s exactly what it means.
I had not thought of it being better to lose to Sam than to Andrew in deciding Amy’s bet. Excellent point. I am still mad at Sam for his bet tonight (not really, but sort of). Before Final Jeopardy my wife and I discuss the wagers and I opined that Sam should bet nothing as he only had a chance if Amy didn’t know it. I didn’t think it likely that Amy would bet zero as that would only make sense if she was betting that it was a double stumper. Anyway, I was rooting for Sam to take at least one game and this seemed like his night. Garrrrgh.
Right there with you Stuart. I would like to see them all win one. I would love to see it go to a 7th game. I thought Sam’s best chance was to bet zero. In two of the first three days of the championship series, second place won by making a small FJ wager.
Sam did bet zero in other games in the Finals. Just didn’t today. Given what he bet, I would have picked nothing instead. Though its easy to say that looking back at what actually happened.
Yeah, another factor of the wagering situation that was so interesting to me. Ordinarily with these scores going into FJ, Sam would probably be best served by betting conservatively in the range suggested by Andy. Given the Tournament situation, where he is down 1-2-0 in the “first to three” format, he really needs to maximize his chance of winning this game, but also needs to minimize Andrew’s chance of winning. That does seem to suggest that ‘hoping Amy is wrong but is still wagering a nominal sum to cover a small wager on Sam’s part’ and just betting zero is a valid option. Note that if Amy considers this possibility herself, she could employ a short wagering strategy and just bet $4999 or less herself, still locking Andrew out, but forcing Sam to wager a non-zero amount and be correct in order to pass her.
Andy, as an adjunct to your note about today’s category “The King James Bible Saith”, I’d say today’s category “We’ll All Need A Drink After This” was apropos, too.
Amen.
Though I had no idea what the correct response for FJ should be, I was very surprised that not one of the three got it correct. My first thought was Clarke, but I had no specific reason and I doubted it was a science fiction writer as that is so seldom referred to as ‘literature’.
Now that Andrew reminded me of him, I think Dick was a better guess than Clarke.
Also, though the FJ category of “Movies & Literature” was 100% accurate, wouldn’t that category on a single Jeopardy or double Jeopardy board likely contain a collection of clues in which some are about movies and some are about literature? I am not thinking about this in terms of helping figure out the clue, just in terms of determining betting.
Movies and Literature are each such broad and common categories that if there were a category on the J! board called “Movies & Literature” I would be very surprised if it were not all questions about the intersection thereof (books made into movies, books referencing movies, and so on).
However, if there were a category along the lines of, say “Korean Movies & Literature”, then I’d expect some questions just about movies and some just about literature.
You are probably right. I am probably generalizing it from categories like “Nuts and Seeds” or “Lakes and Seas” or something like that (not that either of those have actually been used).
It is entirely possible that in this game (#4) Amy would not have bet so as to avoid a conflict with Andrew if the series was tied at 1-1-1. This means that tonight’s betting was affected by last night’s FJ fiasco.
The betting may have changed, but a cover bet by Amy doesn’t change the ultimate result of the match. I don’t think you can make the case you’re making.
It should be noted that when Amy threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Giants game, the game in question was broadcast by Fox Sports. Rather than show Amy throw out the first pitch, they showed an old clip of Kurt Busch throwing the first pitch, presumably to advertise a NASCAR race. Fox got lambasted for that. Mike Krakow, the Giants announcer, said the next day that Amy threw out the first pitch, not Kurt Busch.
Why am I not surprised. Thanks for the info.
Andrew pointed out on twitter (and perhaps elsewhere) that this game (Nov 17) aired exactly one year after Amy’s first win aired (in a game where she also defeated Andrew). That’s gotta be a first on a number of levels:
– a contestant winning a J! game on the same date two years in a row
– a contestant losing a J! game on the same date two years in a row
– a contestant being the same contestant on the same date…
– heck, probably even having a contestant PLAY a game on the same date two years in a row (though that may have occurred before with ToC contestants, I dunno)