I was inspired by another friend's blog to restart mine for the umpteenth time. I've never been very successful at maintaining these, but like I say everytime, I'll try to update this. Here's a repost of my Jeopardy entry that I made many moons ago. I'm really, really proud of this level of analysis:
When watching Jeopardy once, I wondered what the maximum winnings a person could make were. For the most part, it's simple addition, but there are a few factors that come into play. They all revolve around the daily doubles. First, you have to assume that the one Daily Double in the first round and then the two Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy are picked as the absolute last squares on the board. Secondly, the only issue I'm struggling to find an answer on, is the placement of the Daily Doubles. Now, I can never remember seeing a Daily Double placed in the 200 or 400 squares (400 and 800 in Double Jeopardy), but just for the sake of the MAXIMUM amount ever, I'll assume that it can AND does happen in all three cases here.
So, assuming the player picks the Daily Doubles last, makes them TRUE Daily Doubles (wagers all the money), answers every single question correctly, and wagers all the money for Final Jeopardy* you will have a maximum as follows:
There is $18,000 up for grabs in the first round (200 + 400 + 600 + 800 + 1,000 * 6 columns) and $36,000 in Double Jeopardy. Assuming the Daily Double in the first round is in the 200 spot, that puts you at $17,800 before the Daily Double and then once you finish the first round, you have $35,600.
After Double Jeopardy, including your total from the first round, but before the two Daily Doubles here, you'll have $35,600 + $35,200 ($36,000 - 400 - 400) giving you $70,800. Each Daily Double will double this, so you go to $141,600 then $283,200 and then winning Final Jeopardy will give you $566,400.
The reason I included the asterisk was to bring up an interesting point I found during my research. Would Final Jeopardy happen if the other two contestants were at $0 (in this case)? The answer is yes (and it has happened before), so that part remains in the calculation.
Just for fun, I also calculated the maximum amount for a more "typical" game of Jeopardy. The only change here is that the Daily Double amounts fall in more reasonable squares. In the first round, the square is in an $800 spot and in Double Jeopardy, the two squares fall in a $1,200 spot and a $2,000 spot. The more realistic (if you can even say that because no one will even come close to this amount) would be $537,600.
A few other pointless Jeopardy facts:
-In seasons 1-6 of Jeopardy, the maximum amount a contestant could win over the course of his stay was $75,000. If this amount was exceeded, the difference would go to charity.
-This amount was increased to $100,000 until season 14 in which it was increased to $200,000.
-Starting in season 20, the winnings cap was eliminated completely. At this time, the rule stating a contestant would be "retired" after 5 straight wins was eliminated too.
-Before the 5-day rule was eliminated, any contestant that was "retired" would receive a new car in addition to the money earned. This was in effect from season 14 to 19.
-After the 5-day rule was eliminated, Ken Jennings set records for consecutive appearances (75), most total winnings ($2,520,700 over that time), highest single-day total ($75,000 and he also holds 12 out of the top 15 spots on that list) and is second on the list for highest winnings on any game show in history ever ($3,022,700). The record holder for the last record was also a Jeopardy contestant. Brad Rutter won all of his money in the "Tournament of Champions," defeating Ken Jennings in the finals.
