rob the knob
02-01-2014, 10:09 PM
read article here. does not paste nice.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550177/The-30-year-old-mad-genius-keeps-winning-Jeopardy-causes-uproar-fans-unorthodox-game-tactics.html
/IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/01/article-2550177-1B22117E00000578-21_634x795.jpg
What is a 'mad genius'? Meet the 30-year-old causing uproar among Jeopardy! fans for the 'villainous' tactics behind his winning streak
Arthur Chu studied how to play Jeopardy! before appearing on the show
He opts to choose the high-stakes questions first instead of starting with easier ones
On one occasion he forced a tiebreak, generously allowing his fellow contestant to go home with a huge pay-day
His tactics are helping him win, but they are also frustrating viewers who are used to the way contestants traditionally play
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 20:28 GMT, 1 February 2014 | UPDATED: 23:59 GMT, 1 February 2014
489 shares 172View
comments
If you've been watching Jeopardy! the past few nights, you may have noticed a change in gameplay by one of the contestants.
Arthur Chu, a 30-year-old Ohio insurance compliance analyst, who does freelance voiceovers, has been using a geeky type of Jeopardy! game theory win.
But his unorthodox methods have made him a polarizing figure in the minds of Jeopardy! viewers.
+10
A little bit different: Arthur Chu, 30, (right) Jeopardy's latest and greatest star, has used Jeopardy game theory to become nightly must-see TV. But his unorthodox methods have made him a polarizing figure
+10
Nice gift: Arthur Chu celebrated turning 30 with the announcement of his third Jeopardy win his accumulated winnings going up to $80,000
Arthur first appeared on the show on Tuesday, and has won three times in a row.
He is quick and confident with his answers but he has received a mixed reception from viewers with some sites such as Philly.com are calling him a 'hero', whilst others blogs like BarStool describe him as a 'mad genius'.
More...
Day from hell! Justin Bieber's Super Bowl weekend is off to a rocky start as star's chrome-plated car is towed and sniffer dogs are called in to search his private jet
The real Super Bowl battle: This years commercials are cute, hilarious, sexy and weird (and at $4 million for 30 seconds, the most expensive ever)
Before appearing on the show, Arthur claims he studied the mechanics of the gameshow that has been running for 30 years.
'I decided pretty early on, you know, I'm not going to be able to learn all the things I don't know in terms of actual knowledge,' he says.
'You only get a month between when they call you and when you have to go out for the show. So I said, 'What's the strategy that'll serve me best on the show?' It seems that people don't actually think about the strategy of the game itself as much as they do about the knowledge.'
'I quickly found stories about former champions like Roger Craig and David Madden and Chuck Forrest who've bucked the 'tradition' of starting at the top of each category and slowly going down and achieved great success in the game.'
'There's no logical reason to do that -- if you are able to take your opponents by surprise and keep them guessing and on their toes about what the next clue is going to be, you gain a major advantage over them. One of the few parts of the game you actually have any control over is your power to select the next question after answering a question correctly,' he told MailOnline.
Arthur has been tweeting his performance each night on his Twitter account @arthur_effect and through Facebook.
+10
Knowing his weakness: In his second game, Arthur Chu he immediately admitted that he knew very little about sports, and wagered only $5
Arthur's in-game strategy involved him jumping all over the board searching for the all-important Daily Doubles, where the contestant can decide how much to wager from a minimum of $5 up to the maximum amount they have accumulated in their bank.
Typically, contestants choose a single category and progressively move from the lowest amount up to the highest, giving viewers an easy-to-understand escalation of difficulty.
However, because Arthur is finding the hidden Daily Doubles, which are normally located within the three highest-paying rungs in the categories, it means rather than building up in difficulty, he ends up starting with the most difficult questions.
After a couple of the most difficult high-stakes questions have been answered, he moves over to another category.
+10
+10
Arrgh: Arthur's game-play tactics appear to delight and frustrate viewers in equal measure
+10
Tactics: Part of Chu's strategy is to pick the highest value questions first where more of the Daily Double questions are hidden
It can be a frustrating watch because it doesn't allow the viewer to get into each subject matter and viewers aren't given enough to time to get in a rhythm or fully comprehend the new subject area but Arthur defends accusations that he is being 'unsportmanlike.'
'Being unsportsmanlike is calling your opponents names or refusing to shake their hands. It shouldn't apply to playing the game as hard as you can and trying to win as hard as you can, within the confines of the rules.
'Not giving my opponents a chance to answer', to me, is just like not giving your opponents the chance to shoot in basketball or not letting them get within range of the goal in soccer. It's not 'unsportsmanlike', it's playing defense,' he told MailOnline.
On Wednesday, Arthur managed to find all three of the game's Daily Doubles.
At one point he lost everything as he wagered all his money on a Daily Double, but then he won even more with another massive wager on another Daily Double.
Contestants are hesitant to go for the all-or-nothing approach, but Arthur appears to be happy taking such calculated risks.
On one Daily Double, he wagered just $5. The category was sports and was a topic he knew nothing about.
+10
Playing to win: Chu went out of his way and jumped around the board to find as many Daily Doubles as possible
Contestants often avoid topics they unsure on, Arthur was playing tactically: if he lost, the most it would cost him was $5, and either way, it would take the Daily Double out of play for everyone else in the game.
Host Alex Trebek and the audience giggled when the question came, Arthur immediately blurted out 'I don't know.'
It wasn't a waste of a Daily Double, as he kept that question out of the hands of the other contestants. Winning in Jeopardy just means beating the other two, and his strategy made that possible.
Other haters online dislike Arthur for his incessant buzzer-clicking but Arthur defends his gameplay.
'There's no logical reason for most people to play the game the way they do it - start at the top of one category and then go all the way down until you finish it,' Arthur says.
+10
Love him or hate him? Some of the shows' fans admire Arthur Chu¿s game strategy
'The only control you have in the game is the ability to pick where the next question is gonna be. If you have that advantage and you jump around the board, you can put the other players off their game. That's your advantage, and you don't just want to give that up for nothing.'
He also plays at a blindingly quick pace, often talking over Alex Trebek's words to get to the next question.
Of course, this too is also a matter of strategy. The more questions he can get to before the time runs out, the more money he can win - but it isn't the most endearing style of play.
'I've been accused of being way too competitive and ruthless in my game play, and yet my betting to tie rather than beat my opponents has been treated as somehow being equally offensive for being a sign of 'weakness'. At some point it just seems like people don't really have any logic to the 'code of conduct' they expect for Jeopardy other than disliking what they find unfamiliar, and I can't really sympathize with that.
On Wednesday, Jeopardy! ended in a rare tie. In Final Jeopardy, the leading contestant typically wagers $1 more than double of the 2nd place contestant.
If both answer correctly, then the person in the lead wins by an extra dollar. But Arthur did not add the $1, wagering enough so that if he and fellow contestant Carolyn both answered correctly, they would tie and both walk away with a handsome cash out.
She ended up getting a big payday and both moved onto the next round.
+10
Interesting play: Wednesday's game was a wild one, where Arthur Chu went down to zero during Double Jeopardy after missing a Daily Double, only to surge back into the lead before the ultimate wager
Arthur explains the mechanics: 'If you're in the lead and you consider betting an "extra dollar" - you know, in such a way that if you get the answer right you're guaranteed to maintain a $1 lead over any opponents who bet all-in and get the answer right - well, that opponent might factor that into their own wagering decisions. They can bet the amount that, if you both get it wrong, you'll go down below them by that extra dollar,' he told Cleveland Scene.
'Everyone's playing with self-interest in mind, and there's quite a bit of math that can do into those final wagers. Plus, those final questions can be damn tricky, and it's fairly common for one or more players to miss it.'
On Wednesday night, Arthur bet for the tie. His opponent, Carolyn Collins went all-in, betting $13,400 on an answer she knew was right.
Chu also had the right answer, but he bet $8,600 to match her winnings and bring both of them back for Thursday night's episode.
'The most important thing is that you come back. People talk about having home-field advantage — if you're the only person coming back. But that's less important than ensuring that you do come back, in my calculations.'
+10
Generous: Chu's most interesting move so far was on Wednesday's show, when he entered Final Jeopardy in the lead and intentionally wagered so that he might tie with another player, Carolyn Collins
'Tonight was my favorite episode of @Jeopardy that I can remember. Doing something nice for someone else is where you can find happiness,' tweeted @averageheather.
'So happy to see someone playing game theory correct on Jeopardy. Totally nerded out after you bet to tie. You're awesome!' tweeted @CraigMacn.
Arthur has revealed that While prepping for the show, he studied the advice of a former college champ, whose The Final Wager website is devoted to analyzing Jeopardy!'s concluding bets.
After hearing that Chu studied his advice, Keith Williams created a YouTube video explaining why he 'always' recommends betting for a tie, for two reasons.
'Tacking on that extra dollar won't help you, but if you're wrong, you could lose a game by a dollar, and there have been several instances where that has been the case,' he said.
'There’s a lot of psychology happening in the background, which is why it’s all very fascinating,' he said.
Chu says that Wednesday night's game even elicited audible gasps from the studio audience, referencing 'tornadic' moments in the game.
'I wasn't expecting people to feel so strongly. I didn't expect it to get so big.'
Arthur Chu will appear again on Jeopardy, Monday, February 24th.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550177/The-30-year-old-mad-genius-keeps-winning-Jeopardy-causes-uproar-fans-unorthodox-game-tactics.html#ixzz2s8NtaFN3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook[IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/01/article-2550177-1B21759700000578-323_634x381.jpg[
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550177/The-30-year-old-mad-genius-keeps-winning-Jeopardy-causes-uproar-fans-unorthodox-game-tactics.html
/IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/01/article-2550177-1B22117E00000578-21_634x795.jpg
What is a 'mad genius'? Meet the 30-year-old causing uproar among Jeopardy! fans for the 'villainous' tactics behind his winning streak
Arthur Chu studied how to play Jeopardy! before appearing on the show
He opts to choose the high-stakes questions first instead of starting with easier ones
On one occasion he forced a tiebreak, generously allowing his fellow contestant to go home with a huge pay-day
His tactics are helping him win, but they are also frustrating viewers who are used to the way contestants traditionally play
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 20:28 GMT, 1 February 2014 | UPDATED: 23:59 GMT, 1 February 2014
489 shares 172View
comments
If you've been watching Jeopardy! the past few nights, you may have noticed a change in gameplay by one of the contestants.
Arthur Chu, a 30-year-old Ohio insurance compliance analyst, who does freelance voiceovers, has been using a geeky type of Jeopardy! game theory win.
But his unorthodox methods have made him a polarizing figure in the minds of Jeopardy! viewers.
+10
A little bit different: Arthur Chu, 30, (right) Jeopardy's latest and greatest star, has used Jeopardy game theory to become nightly must-see TV. But his unorthodox methods have made him a polarizing figure
+10
Nice gift: Arthur Chu celebrated turning 30 with the announcement of his third Jeopardy win his accumulated winnings going up to $80,000
Arthur first appeared on the show on Tuesday, and has won three times in a row.
He is quick and confident with his answers but he has received a mixed reception from viewers with some sites such as Philly.com are calling him a 'hero', whilst others blogs like BarStool describe him as a 'mad genius'.
More...
Day from hell! Justin Bieber's Super Bowl weekend is off to a rocky start as star's chrome-plated car is towed and sniffer dogs are called in to search his private jet
The real Super Bowl battle: This years commercials are cute, hilarious, sexy and weird (and at $4 million for 30 seconds, the most expensive ever)
Before appearing on the show, Arthur claims he studied the mechanics of the gameshow that has been running for 30 years.
'I decided pretty early on, you know, I'm not going to be able to learn all the things I don't know in terms of actual knowledge,' he says.
'You only get a month between when they call you and when you have to go out for the show. So I said, 'What's the strategy that'll serve me best on the show?' It seems that people don't actually think about the strategy of the game itself as much as they do about the knowledge.'
'I quickly found stories about former champions like Roger Craig and David Madden and Chuck Forrest who've bucked the 'tradition' of starting at the top of each category and slowly going down and achieved great success in the game.'
'There's no logical reason to do that -- if you are able to take your opponents by surprise and keep them guessing and on their toes about what the next clue is going to be, you gain a major advantage over them. One of the few parts of the game you actually have any control over is your power to select the next question after answering a question correctly,' he told MailOnline.
Arthur has been tweeting his performance each night on his Twitter account @arthur_effect and through Facebook.
+10
Knowing his weakness: In his second game, Arthur Chu he immediately admitted that he knew very little about sports, and wagered only $5
Arthur's in-game strategy involved him jumping all over the board searching for the all-important Daily Doubles, where the contestant can decide how much to wager from a minimum of $5 up to the maximum amount they have accumulated in their bank.
Typically, contestants choose a single category and progressively move from the lowest amount up to the highest, giving viewers an easy-to-understand escalation of difficulty.
However, because Arthur is finding the hidden Daily Doubles, which are normally located within the three highest-paying rungs in the categories, it means rather than building up in difficulty, he ends up starting with the most difficult questions.
After a couple of the most difficult high-stakes questions have been answered, he moves over to another category.
+10
+10
Arrgh: Arthur's game-play tactics appear to delight and frustrate viewers in equal measure
+10
Tactics: Part of Chu's strategy is to pick the highest value questions first where more of the Daily Double questions are hidden
It can be a frustrating watch because it doesn't allow the viewer to get into each subject matter and viewers aren't given enough to time to get in a rhythm or fully comprehend the new subject area but Arthur defends accusations that he is being 'unsportmanlike.'
'Being unsportsmanlike is calling your opponents names or refusing to shake their hands. It shouldn't apply to playing the game as hard as you can and trying to win as hard as you can, within the confines of the rules.
'Not giving my opponents a chance to answer', to me, is just like not giving your opponents the chance to shoot in basketball or not letting them get within range of the goal in soccer. It's not 'unsportsmanlike', it's playing defense,' he told MailOnline.
On Wednesday, Arthur managed to find all three of the game's Daily Doubles.
At one point he lost everything as he wagered all his money on a Daily Double, but then he won even more with another massive wager on another Daily Double.
Contestants are hesitant to go for the all-or-nothing approach, but Arthur appears to be happy taking such calculated risks.
On one Daily Double, he wagered just $5. The category was sports and was a topic he knew nothing about.
+10
Playing to win: Chu went out of his way and jumped around the board to find as many Daily Doubles as possible
Contestants often avoid topics they unsure on, Arthur was playing tactically: if he lost, the most it would cost him was $5, and either way, it would take the Daily Double out of play for everyone else in the game.
Host Alex Trebek and the audience giggled when the question came, Arthur immediately blurted out 'I don't know.'
It wasn't a waste of a Daily Double, as he kept that question out of the hands of the other contestants. Winning in Jeopardy just means beating the other two, and his strategy made that possible.
Other haters online dislike Arthur for his incessant buzzer-clicking but Arthur defends his gameplay.
'There's no logical reason for most people to play the game the way they do it - start at the top of one category and then go all the way down until you finish it,' Arthur says.
+10
Love him or hate him? Some of the shows' fans admire Arthur Chu¿s game strategy
'The only control you have in the game is the ability to pick where the next question is gonna be. If you have that advantage and you jump around the board, you can put the other players off their game. That's your advantage, and you don't just want to give that up for nothing.'
He also plays at a blindingly quick pace, often talking over Alex Trebek's words to get to the next question.
Of course, this too is also a matter of strategy. The more questions he can get to before the time runs out, the more money he can win - but it isn't the most endearing style of play.
'I've been accused of being way too competitive and ruthless in my game play, and yet my betting to tie rather than beat my opponents has been treated as somehow being equally offensive for being a sign of 'weakness'. At some point it just seems like people don't really have any logic to the 'code of conduct' they expect for Jeopardy other than disliking what they find unfamiliar, and I can't really sympathize with that.
On Wednesday, Jeopardy! ended in a rare tie. In Final Jeopardy, the leading contestant typically wagers $1 more than double of the 2nd place contestant.
If both answer correctly, then the person in the lead wins by an extra dollar. But Arthur did not add the $1, wagering enough so that if he and fellow contestant Carolyn both answered correctly, they would tie and both walk away with a handsome cash out.
She ended up getting a big payday and both moved onto the next round.
+10
Interesting play: Wednesday's game was a wild one, where Arthur Chu went down to zero during Double Jeopardy after missing a Daily Double, only to surge back into the lead before the ultimate wager
Arthur explains the mechanics: 'If you're in the lead and you consider betting an "extra dollar" - you know, in such a way that if you get the answer right you're guaranteed to maintain a $1 lead over any opponents who bet all-in and get the answer right - well, that opponent might factor that into their own wagering decisions. They can bet the amount that, if you both get it wrong, you'll go down below them by that extra dollar,' he told Cleveland Scene.
'Everyone's playing with self-interest in mind, and there's quite a bit of math that can do into those final wagers. Plus, those final questions can be damn tricky, and it's fairly common for one or more players to miss it.'
On Wednesday night, Arthur bet for the tie. His opponent, Carolyn Collins went all-in, betting $13,400 on an answer she knew was right.
Chu also had the right answer, but he bet $8,600 to match her winnings and bring both of them back for Thursday night's episode.
'The most important thing is that you come back. People talk about having home-field advantage — if you're the only person coming back. But that's less important than ensuring that you do come back, in my calculations.'
+10
Generous: Chu's most interesting move so far was on Wednesday's show, when he entered Final Jeopardy in the lead and intentionally wagered so that he might tie with another player, Carolyn Collins
'Tonight was my favorite episode of @Jeopardy that I can remember. Doing something nice for someone else is where you can find happiness,' tweeted @averageheather.
'So happy to see someone playing game theory correct on Jeopardy. Totally nerded out after you bet to tie. You're awesome!' tweeted @CraigMacn.
Arthur has revealed that While prepping for the show, he studied the advice of a former college champ, whose The Final Wager website is devoted to analyzing Jeopardy!'s concluding bets.
After hearing that Chu studied his advice, Keith Williams created a YouTube video explaining why he 'always' recommends betting for a tie, for two reasons.
'Tacking on that extra dollar won't help you, but if you're wrong, you could lose a game by a dollar, and there have been several instances where that has been the case,' he said.
'There’s a lot of psychology happening in the background, which is why it’s all very fascinating,' he said.
Chu says that Wednesday night's game even elicited audible gasps from the studio audience, referencing 'tornadic' moments in the game.
'I wasn't expecting people to feel so strongly. I didn't expect it to get so big.'
Arthur Chu will appear again on Jeopardy, Monday, February 24th.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550177/The-30-year-old-mad-genius-keeps-winning-Jeopardy-causes-uproar-fans-unorthodox-game-tactics.html#ixzz2s8NtaFN3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook[IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/01/article-2550177-1B21759700000578-323_634x381.jpg[