Trevor - you still on J this Monday?

[slam]

Number of games won, then dollar winnings amongst those with the same number of wins. That is, in the order shown on the list.

Oh. Make it obvious, why dontcha!

Oh, one other quirk in the qualification rules. Only money won during actual wins counts for qualification. The $2,000 for 2nd place and $1,000 for 3rd place that one wins in a losing game does not count. So, if player A wins $100,000 in 5 wins and then finishes 3rd in his losing game for another $1,000 and player B wins $99,500 in 5 wins and then finishes 2nd in her losing game, then player A is ahead of player B even though A went home with $101,000 and B went home with $101,500. This rule has never actually been relevant in determining who qualifies. First of all, it only went into effect in 2002 when the 2nd and 3rd place prize-money was instituted (as opposed to actual prizes). Second, it would only matter to separate two players right on the qualification line.

[TheConfessor]

Of course, I realize there is nothing I can do about whether I qualify at this point and to worry is pointless. But it is kind of fun to have a "rooting interest" in each J! game (new champion each night!!).

So I guess it's an advantage for contestants to play late in the qualifying period, since they can theoretically know what amount they need to win to take your place. In practice, I doubt that this has ever been a factor in how anyone has played the game. The surest way to qualify is to just keep winning.

I hope the chips continue to fall in your favor.

[TheConfessor]

Oh, one other quirk in the qualification rules. Only money won during actual wins counts for qualification. The $2,000 for 2nd place and $1,000 for 3rd place that one wins in a losing game does not count. So, if player A wins $100,000 in 5 wins and then finishes 3rd in his losing game for another $1,000 and player B wins $99,500 in 5 wins and then finishes 2nd in her losing game, then player A is ahead of player B even though A went home with $101,000 and B went home with $101,500. This rule has never actually been relevant in determining who qualifies. First of all, it only went into effect in 2002 when the 2nd and 3rd place prize-money was instituted (as opposed to actual prizes). Second, it would only matter to separate two players right on the qualification line.

Has Jeopardy ever officially documented their selection rules somewhere, or are you just deducing how it works from observation? I assumed it was the latter, but if that's the case, you wouldn't know whether player A or player B makes the cut, since the situation has never come up.

[earendel]

Did you watch the same Dave I did? I am certainly impressed with his wins and winnings. Sure I wish he could have continued, but I do look forward to seeing him In the TOC.

As was I - did my post imply otherwise?

A little bit. You mentioned that you were hoping he would have a long run and implied that he didn't (You said that if had had a long run your VCR wouldn't have taped all of it. Since your VCR was able to tape his run in its entirety...)

If you check the link I posted to the ToC qualification thread, you can see that more than halfway through the qualification period, there are only 4 people who have won more games than he has. In a typical season, he would probably be in the top 10. Sure, Ken Jennings apparently had nothing to worry about, but Dave certainly had an excellent run.

I guess I didn't see my post in that way - I was hoping he'd have a run of KJ-like significance and was sorry that he didn't. Four games is certainly nothing to be sneezed at, especially by the likes of one who hasn't even had a chance yet (namely me).

[ulysses5019]

So contestants could qualify for the TOC before their original games had even aired yet. That makes sense for the viewers at home, but leaves some uncertainly for those of us tracking the qualifiers.

I don't know if it makes any difference for people like you and me other than determining when we find out who'll be in the ToC, but it cerainly does affect someone like Trevor. He won't know until he gets a call from TPTB whether or not there has been a spate of late qualifiers that. Moreover, if he does make the ToC, there will very likely be a few contestants whose runs he won't have seen.

All this has led to a very different experience watching Jeopardy! each night. It's very strange to watch knowing that results could have an impact on, well, me.

Friday night was especially significant - if the 3-time champ, who was leading going into Final Jeopardy, had won, he would've passed me on the TOC list (although we'd have been tied in games, he would've had more money). But he missed FJ, and there was a new champion, and there was much rejoicing in the Trevor household.

I'm looking forward to the summer hiatus and 6 weeks of no-stress Jeopardy.

Of course, I realize there is nothing I can do about whether I qualify at this point and to worry is pointless. But it is kind of fun to have a "rooting interest" in each J! game (new champion each night!!).

On a totally unrelated note, I had to email Maggie about something and she had nothing but good things to say about you Dave.

[TheConfessor]

On a totally unrelated note, I had to email Maggie about something and she had nothing but good things to say about you Dave.

Are you two an item? She's never told me anything good about Dave.

[slam]

Oh, one other quirk in the qualification rules. Only money won during actual wins counts for qualification. The $2,000 for 2nd place and $1,000 for 3rd place that one wins in a losing game does not count. So, if player A wins $100,000 in 5 wins and then finishes 3rd in his losing game for another $1,000 and player B wins $99,500 in 5 wins and then finishes 2nd in her losing game, then player A is ahead of player B even though A went home with $101,000 and B went home with $101,500. This rule has never actually been relevant in determining who qualifies. First of all, it only went into effect in 2002 when the 2nd and 3rd place prize-money was instituted (as opposed to actual prizes). Second, it would only matter to separate two players right on the qualification line.

Has Jeopardy ever officially documented their selection rules somewhere, or are you just deducing how it works from observation? I assumed it was the latter, but if that's the case, you wouldn't know whether player A or player B makes the cut, since the situation has never come up.

The basics are from observation, but they've been confirmed (as well as that odd rule) by actual contestants from instructions they've received during the taping process.

[ulysses5019]

On a totally unrelated note, I had to email Maggie about something and she had nothing but good things to say about you Dave.

Are you two an item? She's never told me anything good about Dave.

How do you think I got on the show? It wasn't Suzanne!

[slam]

Of course, I realize there is nothing I can do about whether I qualify at this point and to worry is pointless. But it is kind of fun to have a "rooting interest" in each J! game (new champion each night!!).

So I guess it's an advantage for contestants to play late in the qualifying period, since they can theoretically know what amount they need to win to take your place. In practice, I doubt that this has ever been a factor in how anyone has played the game. The surest way to qualify is to just keep winning.

Yes, contestants playing late in the qualifying period may have some additional information from shows they've seen. I agree, though, that such information is unlikely to make any practical difference). Very recently, there was a contestant who had 3 wins and had been at the taping for Trevor's run (because she was in the taping pool for that day but wasn't selected to play until the following taping day). Therefore, she had relevant information (which hadn't even been aired yet!) which could have influenced her wagering in FJ! in her game 4. I commented on this in the daily thread of her 3rd game (http://boards.sonypictures.com/boards/s ... 186&page=3)
It turned out that she couldn't use the information in her making wager.