Jeopardy wagers that don't make sense

So I was watching Jeopardy last night and half-way through it was looking awesome, all three scores almost tied.  But then in Double-Jeopardy things started to get weird.

It started with a couple of odd answers.  Obvious responses that nobody got and a couple of responses that not only were wrong, they really didn’t match the category.  Finally it got down to the last two questions and the scores were (approximately) 12,600, 10,000, and 7,200.

The guy in last place has control and picks the second to last answer… nobody has the question for it.  Since the guy in last place picked it he automatically is gets to pick again and there is only one answer left for 2,000… and it’s a daily double.

I’m thinking this is great for the guy in last place because he can make it a true daily double and go into Final Jeopardy in the lead.  His wager… “1,000 please Alex.”  What?  A 1,000 dollars is possibly the worst thing he could bet.  If he’s right he still goes into the Final Jeopardy in last place and has to rely on BOTH of the other contestants blowing their answers AND betting large, and if he’s wrong he goes into Final Jeopardy with an amount that can’t touch the leader if the leader doesn’t even wager.  And he blows his response.

So we go into final Jeopardy with 12,600, 10,000 and 6,200.

Mr. Third place bets… 1,000.  Really?  Really?  Are you even playing this game anymore?  You strategy all night has been to just hope everyone else is a bigger idiot than you?   He gets the Question right (Only 58% of this state’s population is licensed to drive – What is New York) and goes up to 7,200.

Second place guy wagers 2,401 just enough so if he’s right and if third place had doubled his bank he will beat him by a dollar.  He gets is right and goes up to 12,401

Mrs. First place has already won by virtue of the other two players playing hoping she is loses rather than actually trying to... you know... win.  She does get her answer right. Her wager?  100.00  ONLY 100.00.  If the second place guy had SNEEZED while writing his 4 in 2,401 so it looked more like 2,901 he would have won.

Still gave me an interesting dream last night.  I was playing Jeopardy and went into Final Jeopardy in the lead with 9,500.  I got the question right but lost because I only wagered 1,735.  Still I left with a stage with a sly smile.  The Final Jeopardy answer?  “Leonardo of Pisa’s famous group of numbers.”

If your going to lose when you don't have to, at least do it with some style.