Jeopardy! recap for Mon., Apr. 9 – Please welcome today’s contestants:

– Sameer, a freelancer from California, boasts two letters of recommendation from Jeopardy! champs;
– Ariana, an associate teaching professor from Pennsylvania, whose pre-school daughter responds in the form of a question; and
– James, a professional sports gambler from Nevada, explained some of his unusual wagering amounts. James is a three-day champ with winnings of $133,451.

Well, it was just a matter of time before we saw a game in which James completely crushed it from beginning to end, hitting all three DDs and wagering freely to build an incredible total of $72,600 going into FJ. Left to battle for the balance were Sameer at $7,000 and Ariana with $6,400.

DD1, $1,000 – PAIL AIL – Malarial and iron deficiency are 2 types of this condition that can lead to paleness (James won the “window maximum” of $1,000.)

DD2, $1,200 – AMERICAN HISTORY – In 1904 Oklahoma City policeman Joe Burnett killed Ed O’Kelley, who had killed Robert Ford, who had killed this outlaw (James shoved all-in for $14,600 and was correct.)

DD3, $800 – INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN – In Andalusia Arabic calligraphy represents this style named for medieval visitors from Africa (James won $25,000 from his score of $46,800.)

FJ – PHYSICS TERMS – Ironically, it’s a metaphor meaning a huge step forward, but this 2-word process only occurs on a subatomic scale

Everyone was correct on FJ, with James adding $38,314 to win with $110,914, destroying the previous one-day mark of $77,000. James now has a four-day total of a mind-boggling $244,365.

Triple Stumper of the day: No one heard of the idiom that states “a cat with gloves catches no mice”, which means being polite will get you nowhere.

Strategy corner: Late in DJ with one DD remaining, both Sameer and Ariana both had control but chose clues in the same category in which the first DD was located instead of shopping elsewhere.

Also, James has set the clue selection pattern for all serious players to follow: in round one, go straight to the bottom of categories to either find the DD or build up cash quickly to have wagering stakes for when you do find it. Then in DJ, shop in the third and fourth rows of categories where the DDs are more likely to be found, rather than going straight to the toughest clues in the bottom row.

This day in Trebekistan: After FJ, Alex commented, “Is it too soon to start thinking about Ken Jennings comparisons?” Maybe let James qualify for the Tournament of Champions before putting that expectation on him.

Correct Qs:
DD1 – What is anemia?
DD2 – Who was Jesse James?
DD3 – What is Moorish?
FJ – What is quantum leap?