Note: This page contains spoilers for the August 31, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please also note that today’s game is an encore presentation of the game that originally aired on November 17, 2022.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Movies & Literature) for Thursday, August 31, 2023 (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
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Andrew He, a software developer from San Francisco, California
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Amy Schneider, a writer from Oakland, California
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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.
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.
(Content continues below)
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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 & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, August 31, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a 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
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.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Amy 16 correct 0 incorrect
Andrew 7 correct 1 incorrect
Sam 6 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Amy $10,200
Andrew $4,000
Sam $2,400
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 Fina.
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).
Scores going into Final:
Amy $25,000
Sam $20,000
Andrew $6,800
Final today was a Triple Stumper; Sam went for a big bet but Amy successfully predicted a difficult clue and ended up the victor at $19,000! Amy has her second win as Game 5 tomorrow becomes crucial!
Tonight’s results:
Andrew $6,800 – $5,999 = $801 (Who is Dick?)
Sam $20,000 – $20,000 = $0 (Who is A.C. Clarke?)
Amy $25,000 – $6,000 = $19,000 (Who is Lovecraft?) (2 wins)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
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
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Amy 1 2 3 5 2 3 3 4 5 4 3 3 4
Andrew 5 4 5*
Sam 4 4 5 5
DJ! Round:
Amy 3 2 2 2 2† 2 2*
Andrew 4 3
Sam 4 5 4 5 4 5 4* 5† 3† 5 3
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
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
Player Statistics:
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
Note: The above career statistics are as of the original air date of today’s game, November 17, 2022.
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%
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 continuing.
- Today’s box score: August 31, 2023 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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My comment today will be a little bit shorter, as I’m low on energy, but this is about small bets!
I have no problems on the surface with Amy making a small bet. The problem I have with it is that her bet was not small enough. Yes, Sam could (and did) go big with his wager – however, he could also recognize the situation he’s in and opt for a small, or $0, bet himself. Any bet between $1,401 and $4,999, as you mentioned, would have worked, but $6,000 gives away a pretty big advantage with not a lot of upside. (My logic is that any clue that Amy doesn’t get, Andrew and Sam probably aren’t getting, either – but I’ll talk about that second point tomorrow!)
To end this comment, I believe it was on one of the last recaps of Season 39 where you asked for suggestions as to how to change your coverage for Season 40. I’ve been going through a lot of old recaps, and I think bringing back the Strategy Talk posts would be a good idea. There were quite a few errors in strategy this season – second-placers not betting everything in a lock-tie scenario, players going back to the category DD2 was found in multiple times while DD3 was still out, medium-sized bets on Daily Doubles in situations that call for either massive or extremely tiny bets, etc. – and given how many past, present, and prospective contestants view your site as a source of strategy, that would be an interesting thing to try out again. At the very least, it would probably decrease the amount of strategic mistakes made.
I don’t fully understand the reasoning behind Amy making a small FJ bet (except that if she felt she was very unlikely to know the “answer” and/or that the others WERE likely to know it), but when I saw that she had, my first thought was “Why not $4,999?”
Amy was at one win at this point, and Andrew was at two. Amy could make the standard cover bet, but that risks handing the tournament to Andrew. With a small bet, she ensures that the tournament continues, even if it means losing to Sam.
I totally get the idea for betting small in this case, but I just don’t see any advantage in going with $6,000 instead of $4,999 and it appears that Andy agrees with me since his suggestion for a small bet was from $1,401 and $4,999 — right? [BTW, it felt really great having thought something myself that turned out to be within the range of Andy’s suggestion, especially at the end of the range which was closest to what Amy did bet 😃 ]