‘Jeopardy!’: Contestant Blunders Final Jeopardy Win With Low Wager

Isaac Rouse May 9, 2023, 7:45 pm

4-day Jeopardy! champion Hannah Wilson had to go against project manager Joe Forti and copy editor Raquel Matta to secure her total winnings of $124,801. However, a close game ended abruptly when a contestant didn’t wager as much as they should have.

Going into Double Jeopardy, Hannah had $13,200, Raquel with $3,200, and Joe at $2,200. When the game hit its second Daily Double, Raquel was able to answer the question, “The mysterious Anne Catherick strongly favors a certain color in this novel by Wilkie Collins,” correctly under the Novels category.

She made a true Daily Double, multiplying her score to $11,200 against Hannah’s $16,000. Although Raquel got the third Daily Double, she answered incorrectly but was able to cobble her score to stay in the game as the trio headed into Final Jeopardy. Hannah was still in the lead with $26,000, Raquel in second place at $14,400, and Joe with $5,800.+

Jeopardy! Inc.

In the Actresses & Their Roles category, “She made her big screen debut as a teen named Laurie in a 1978 film & in 2022, she played that role for the 7th & last time.” Only Raquel and Joe got the answer, Jamie Lee Curtis, correctly. However, Raquel didn’t bet as much as she should have in her position, only wagering $8,000, leaving Hannah to win after only betting $3,000 to win with $23,000 for a five-day total of $147,801 and a spot in the Tournament of Champions, as host Mayim Bialik pointed out at the top of the show.

“There ought to be a support group for contestants who play brilliantly against ToC-bound champs and then lose in FJ because of wagering issues,” the top comment on the Jeopardy subreddit reads. Many couldn’t fathom why Raquel didn’t go all in the way she did during her Daily Double.

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“I had hoped to post before the comments came in, because I have known for more than 2 months there would be…..questions,” she said of her episode on Reddit. “No, the $8,000 was not a “nice round wager.” I have known about wagering strategy for years,” she continued. She went on to say she thought she only had to bet $8,000 minimum to get over, but made a mistake doing her mental math, miscalculating she needed $8,800 minimum. “I was thinking. I didn’t even realize what I had done until the end when Hannah’s response was revealed. “Did I win? No, wait…oh ****,” Raquel ended.

Folks on Twitter had the same sentiment as the top comment, entirely blindsided by the low wager. “These contestants don’t know how to bid,” one user exclaimed. “How stupid was that bid?” another user stated.

Read some of the reactions below.

These contestants DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BID!!! #Jeopardy

— Opinion 123 (@motivate51) May 9, 2023

How stupid was that bet? #Jeopardy

— Summer (@NoAlmonds) May 9, 2023

Foolish Final Jeopardy! bidding takes down another potential champion.

— Matthew Livaccari (@vivelorange) May 9, 2023

I’m sorry first off how did Hannah get that wrong? And what type of bet is 8000 when she only had to bet about 2000 to beat you. Idiotic final jeopardy bet. #Jeopardy https://t.co/xlxJOZLwwN

— MrBobDobalina (@patnice56) May 9, 2023

RAQUEL WHAT HAVE YOU DONE #jeopardy

— tony the turkey (aspiring alpha male) (@EmilyWOFfanpage) May 9, 2023

Bad bet on jeopardy cost middle person the victory.
WWST?

— John Lynch (@JohnLynch0404) May 9, 2023

RAQUEL WHY DID YOU NOT BET IT ALL?!? #JEOPARDY

— Zeke 🇺🇸 (@flippedhatnupe) May 9, 2023

Wow, talk about a horrendous Final Jeopardy bet! Pleased with the result. Math is fundamental. #jeopardy

— James Lewison (@squand4) May 9, 2023

That might have been the worst final jeopardy bet I have ever seen that was not part of a classic tv show. pic.twitter.com/Sjc2Ie6p4w

— Seth Jonas (@sethjonas) May 9, 2023

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