Wagering in FinalJeopardy!
George T. Gilbert, Rhonda L. Hatcher · Mathematics Magazine · 1994
In the popular television game show Jeopardy! three contestants accumulate points by giving the correct questions corresponding to the answers provided by the emcee. While the contestants show a great deal of self-confidence in wagering in Final Jeopardy!, the last stage of the game, they appear to give little thought to betting strategy. In this article, we look for a reasonable strategy for wagering in Final Jeopardy! We consider betting strategies from two perspectives. First, we describe a practical strategy to use against two contestants who behave in a way predicted by actual game data. After this, we determine how the game might be played if all of the contestants were knowledgeable in game theory.