Who here has tried out (or gotten) on Jeopardy?

[ClaytonN]

I just applied for the college tournament. I hope I get an audition.

I have to get on this show. I would dominate.

Anyone else tried for Jeopardy?

[Dead]

You won't get on,

and you won't dominate.

My brother has the same aspirations. But he is a dumbass, and he won't get on either.

[ClaytonN]

[ QUOTE ]
You won't get on,

and you won't dominate.

[/ QUOTE ]

If I get on, I will pwn this thing. Enough said.

[Dead]

Dude, you're not as smart as you think you are. I'm not saying that you're stupid, but if you think that you can compete with the uber nerds that dominate college Jeopardy then you are sorely mistaken.

[ClaytonN]

I have played Team Trivia since the age of 9, at least 2 days a week. I'm the uber nerd you speak of.

Anyways, we're going off topic, who has tried out for Jeopardy?

[ThaSaltCracka]

College Jeopardy isn't all that hard, good luck man.

[ClaytonN]

[ QUOTE ]
College Jeopardy isn't all that hard, good luck man.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's mostly luck, it's kind of like a lottery, initially anyways. Especially with the college tournament.

Same crap happened to me with teen tournament. I couldn't get past the lottery thing.

[Jurollo]

A professor I had for account made it into the final tryout quiz thing a few times, he was a walking encyclopedia of useless knowledge and said it was damn near impossible to get on it. That being said, you def have a better shot going for a college episode.
~Justin

[Talk2BigSteve]

[ QUOTE ]
I just applied for the college tournament. I hope I get an audition.

I have to get on this show. I would dominate.

Anyone else tried for Jeopardy?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was in the Scholar's Bowl in both High School and College and I think I could do well. It really all depends on the catagories. I have watched on days where I knew everything, Like the Final Jeopardy Question where Ken Jennings lost, My mother works for H&R Block so I got that right off the bat. Then there are days where I feel like a total dumbass watching the show.

I know one thing though, I could kick the kids asses on the High School show!!!!

Living, Learning, and Laughing.
Big Steve /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[JoeC]

Is 18 too old to be on the teen tourney? God i would kick (or would have kicked) ass on that thing. Haven't seen too much college but I'd love to go on that too.

[antidan444]

I couldn't get on Jeopardy! in a million years ...

But an editor (Bob Fleenor) at the paper I work for was a 5-day champion (back before they eliminated the 5-day limit) and recently was part of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions (lost in his first-round matchup).

He's not really a genius, he just has a knack for remembering lots of crap.

[ClaytonN]

Yes 18 is too old, 17 is last year you can do it. I tried 2 years straight, heard nothing back from them.

They make the initial process so damned hard, and then a quarter of the contestants just freak in front of the cameras and the lights and do terrible. That's the only explanation I can figure for the guys who do awful on Jeopardy.

I was in academic bowl junior year, but senior year it got in the way of broadcasting the sports show, so i quit.

[Sponger15SB]

[ QUOTE ]
Is 18 too old to be on the teen tourney? God i would kick (or would have kicked) ass on that thing. Haven't seen too much college but I'd love to go on that too.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, you wouldn't.

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
College Jeopardy isn't all that hard, good luck man.

[/ QUOTE ]

The college edition is a friggin joke. I was pwning that in high school.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
College Jeopardy isn't all that hard, good luck man.

[/ QUOTE ]

The college edition is a friggin joke. I was pwning that in high school.

[/ QUOTE ]me too, but I went to a good HS. Most of you guys on here are morons, and when I say most, I mean Dead.

[Dead]

TSC, you are in a dead end job with no future. I would not talk. And you aren't half as intelligent as you seem to think you are.

[bball233]

Not trying to attack you this time.. just curious, how old are you and where are you from? HS? College? Working? I'm sure you've said all this before, sorry haven't followed the hating dead thing until now

[youtalkfunny]

A former champion wrote a book that focuses on things you NEED to know before going on Jeopardy. If I was going to try out for Jeopardy, I'd find it. For example, he lists about 100 things you need to know about opera, or about cooking, or poetry, or all the other catagories that they use over and over, and keep asking the same questions about--the next time they DON'T ask a Wagner question in the opera catagorie, will be the FIRST time.

Obviously, for things like US history, there's a lot more than 100 things you need to know. But he still gives you a solid foundation in questions they like to ask.

Other chapters include a great treatment on "how much should I bet?". So many contestants get on that show, and they're brilliant, but they make dumb bets. I can't remember precisely what he advised, but I do recall that I agreed with it 100% when I read it.

The book is called "How to win on Jeopardy", or "How to get on Jeopardy, and win", or something like that.

(Back when Regis was handing out $32,000-$250,000 to everyone who showed up to play, and we were all dialing that phone number once per day to try to get on, I got my name picked to play the second-round phone game. I was five questions away from a plane ticket to NYC to play. But those five questions turned out to be too tough--much tougher than anything ever asked on the show. I watched the episode that I "would" have been on. I got the first "fastest finger" question a full second faster than the guy on tv did, and if I was presented with the same questions he was--why wouldn't I?--I would've won $250,000. Now THAT'S rabbit hunting.)

[Dead]

[ QUOTE ]
Not trying to attack you this time.. just curious, how old are you and where are you from? HS? College? Working? I'm sure you've said all this before, sorry haven't followed the hating dead thing until now

[/ QUOTE ]

College during fall and spring, and during the summer, working(night shift).

[jedi]

I tried out for Jeopardy! twice, and both times the test was uber-tough. It's 50 questions covering nearly every concievable subject.

I've been on Win Ben Stein's Money, On the Cover, ESPN's Trivial Pursuit and The Inquizition, and they were all cakewalks compared to the Jeopardy tryout.

[mmbt0ne]

My mom always signs me up for these things, but I never get picked to tryout.

If I do, I'll prove once and for all GT > UGA,

[youtalkfunny]

Oh yeah, do us all a favor--if you're in second place going into Final Jeopardy, DON'T MOVE ALL-IN! I see otherwise brilliant people do this all the time, and it drives me nuts.

One other thing--if you find a Daily Double in a catagorie that you know ANYTHING about, bet it all! Watch closely, and you'll notice that the contestants on that show hardly EVER miss a Daily Double. If I'm in a bar, and Jeopardy comes on TV, I offer all comers a prop bet where the contestants have to go 3-for-3 on the Daily Doubles. I win that bet 80%-90% of the time.

If you find the last Daily Double as time runs out, and you know this will be the last question, or close to it--and if you're in a close game--bet it all! Give yourself a chance to make it a runaway going into Final Jeopardy. You have a unique oppurtunity to win the game, RIGHT NOW, one question settles it. And like I said, contestants almost NEVER miss a Daily Double. This is your chance to take the bats out of your opponents' hands. You all get a chance to bet big on the last question, but in this case, only YOU get a chance to end it now. What more could you ask?

[PokerFink]

FWIW, here is some info on Jeopardy coming from a close family friend.

My father, who is extremely smart and consistantly better than the contestants on jeopardy has a friend Bill who was on the show. Bil is even smarter than my father, and my father has said that Bill consistantly whips him when they watch jeopardy together.

Bill was on the show and got absolutely DESTROYED. He coulden't buzz in in time, so he never had a chance. He answered something like 8 questions the entire time.

About 95% of the game is being able to buzz in at the right time, since most of the time all 3 contestants (or atleast 2/3) know the answer to the question. My father is absolutely terrified of going on the show, since he doesn't want to look like an idiot the way Bill did.

So just because you know the questions when they air the episodes on TV doesn't mean you will do well. The test is notoriously much harder than the actual questions on TV (making it hard to qualify), and buzzing in is most of the game anyway.

[ClaytonN]

[ QUOTE ]
A former champion wrote a book that focuses on things you NEED to know before going on Jeopardy. If I was going to try out for Jeopardy, I'd find it. For example, he lists about 100 things you need to know about opera, or about cooking, or poetry, or all the other catagories that they use over and over, and keep asking the same questions about--the next time they DON'T ask a Wagner question in the opera catagorie, will be the FIRST time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, my weaknesses are Opera and the Arts. My strengths are history, sports, linguistics, sciences, pop culture.

[ QUOTE ]
So just because you know the questions when they air the episodes on TV doesn't mean you will do well. The test is notoriously much harder than the actual questions on TV (making it hard to qualify), and buzzing in is most of the game anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I learned this in Academic Bowl. There are some kids I played against who were just insanely good with the buzzer.

Sometimes the optimal strategy is the buzz 1 or 2 seconds before the answer develops in your mind. You just have to have a "go" button in your brain and push it when it feels right.

[Brain]

Not yet, but thank you for reminding me to check their audition schedule.

[somethingstupid]

Awesome man. If you make it on, slap Trebec in the face and tell him he's a pussy. And also tell him hi from Teresa.

[iMsoLucky0]

[ QUOTE ]
Awesome man. If you make it on, slap Trebec in the face and tell him he's a pussy. And also tell him hi from Teresa.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL. That struck me as funny for some reason. I guess because the "tell him hi from Teresa." part. It's funny, because the poster said it like it would actually happen (after the first part of the sentence being a joke). LOL

I'm stoned.

[felson]

I tried out for it about four years ago when they sent the bus down to San Diego. They rented a ballroom at the Westin downtown and put up a screen where they flashed 50 Jeopardy "answers," with categories, in white text on blue background, just like on the show. You write down the "questions" on a sheet of paper (you can omit the "What is ..." part) and turn it in. There's no penalty for guessing.

Afterwards you wait while they score it up. During this time you fill out a form with your personal information and also some bits of info about yourself for Alex's small-talk part of the show.

If you score > their predetermined cutoff value, then you have qualified to appear on the show. They call your name and you go up to the front where they have 3 buzzers set up, just like on the show. They called my name. Around 10% of entrants get this far, they said.

Then you test your buzzer skills just as on the show for about 5 minutes (in groups of three). From this point, they're not screening for trivia knowledge anymore. They said several times that it's important to choose another category/dollar value as soon as you get an answer correct, because they want to keep the show moving. I forgot twice, though, and they had to remind me during the session.

Then they ask a couple getting-to-know-you questions ("what would you do with the money if you won?"). And then they tell you that you could be called at any time during the rest of the season, but that if you don't get called and want to be on next season, you have to retry. And then you go home.

I never got called for the show. I'd like to think it's because I kept forgetting to call for the next category. But part of me knows that I'm just not as sexy as Ken Jennings.

[Prevaricator]

All the pop culture questions they put on that show to try and appeal to the young, hip generation really dilute the intelligence factor of the show. I'd expect that for college jeopardy this would be even more so. By the way, where do you go to school? And how does Jeopardy select which schools it takes from?

[Yeti]

What's your specialist subject, foods that start with the letter Q?

[Uethym]

I have taken and passed the audition test three times, but have never been called to be on the show. Living in Southern California at the time probably didn't help, since more than half of their applicants are local and they want a better geographic spread of contestants. I also know three people who have made the show, including one two-day champion to the tune of $50,100.

The test is 50 questions from 50 different categories. The questions are displayed on a screen ala Final Jeopardy and read by the announcer. They go *fast* -- one every eight seconds -- so don't screw around. You can make notes in the margin, though, if you think you'll come up with the answer later. On my first test Question 4 was "Other than Esther, this niece of Naomi is the only Old Testament book named for a woman." I remembered it around question 40. You don't have to write your answers in the form of a question.

There are certain things you can always expect. There will be 1-2 questions about presidents (their term in office, their vice-presidents, where they are from, etc). There will be 1-2 questions about state and world capitals, plus 1-2 about geography (what sea does the Vistula flow into, what country owns Easter Island, etc). There will be 4 wordplay categories (Before and After, Crossword Clues "S", etc). So you really can study for it. Look for books or websites by Michael Dupee, he lays this out very well.

You need 35 to pass. They don't tell you your score. From notes I've taken and smuggled out, I estimate that I've scored 39, 41, and 38 on my three attempts; whether that's why I've never made the show, I'm not sure. I've had people swear to me that they've gotten 35 and not been told they passed, on the theory that if too many people pass they arbitrarily bump up the pass threshhold, but I have no proof of that.

Those who pass fill out forms, get their picture taken, play a 12-question mock game, talk about themselves for a minute, then leave and wait a year hoping for a phone call. Hope you have better luck than me.

[Dominic]

I was on Jeopardy about 10 years ago....won twice, then choked.

[sfer]

Not me, but my college roommate was on Jeopardy.

[ClaytonN]

Is it Ruth? I swear I haven't googled anything.

It would have been nicer had they asked for Esterh's name instead.

I go to UGA, btw... in the fall

[jakethebake]

lots of people.

[TheJunkyardGod]

Screw Jeopardy, I want to appear on Wheel of Fortune. I would kick that shows ass.

[antidan444]

I've always debated which show I would kick more ass on, Wheel or Price is Right. If I figured out the wheel in time to avoid all the bankrupt/lose a turn spaces, I would pwn that game, but I think there's less luck involved in pwning Price is Right (well, other than getting called to contestant's row during the first half of the show).

Yep, these are the kinds of stupid things I think about.

[TheJunkyardGod]

oh dude, I think of game show theory all the time.

Price is right seems harder because
1. You need to get picked out of the crowd, unless thats predetermined you could just be wasting your time.
2. You don't know what game you're gonna play, it could be something easy like "name the price" and you could kick it's ass if you're good at that type of thing. But you could end up having to play plinko or that baseball game with the red discs.

The trick to wheel of fortune, from what i've seen, is not to get greedy and go for more spins when you know the puzzle. I see so many people try to shoot for that jackpot ticket and end up hitting the lose a turn or bankrupt. Also, during the lightning rounds never try to solve the puzzle unless you're positive because then you're just giving it away to the others.

[antidan444]

There's really only two games on TPIR I would hate to have to play (Three Strikes, which you mentioned, and "Lucky 7s" in which there is little margin for error. The rest (even some of the more challenging ones, like That's Too Much or the one where you draw from a deck of cards and have to get within a certain dollar amount to win a car) are ones I think I have a good shot at winning. The trick is getting picked, and picked early enough where you have an opportunity to put in the last bid of a round (which is such a huge advantage).

I agree in general with you about Wheel, but I do think it would be possible to figure out how hard to spin the wheel to make it go a certain distance. If you can get to that point, you have a huge advantage in the later rounds if you can figure out a big puzzle early and just run the board (or run it until you hit something sizable).

OK, hijack over.

[trevorwc]

[ QUOTE ]
I have to get on this show. I would dominate.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why don't you just show up at the basketball court in the back of the studio lot, bet the guard that you can make a hook shot from half court, and when you drain it, you're in!

[Yeti]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I have to get on this show. I would dominate.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why don't you just show up at the basketball court in the back of the studio lot, bet the guard that you can make a hook shot from half court, and when you drain it, you're in!

[/ QUOTE ]

ni han.

[youtalkfunny]

I think, from watching the show, that "Wheel of Fortune" tryouts consist of finding the dumbest people.

[JDErickson]

No Whammies, No Whammies

[TheJunkyardGod]

[ QUOTE ]
I think, from watching the show, that "Wheel of Fortune" tryouts consist of finding the dumbest people.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which is why I would do so good! Seriously if these people need to spin the wheel when they have I-DI-N- when the clue is "Location" then it just means Tons of cash for me.

[youtalkfunny]

In the example provided, I would need to keep spinning, to try to figure out that second letter.

[TheJunkyardGod]

Well, it appears I missed a letter. Thats why I don't have Vanna Whites job (that, and only about 1/3 as hot)

I meant to spell Indiana, but missed that first A. The point of the story is that the lady on the show needed to keep spinning when those letters were out and ended up missing, and the next guy had to buy an A before he guessed it.

[ltb]

I tried out in 2000 and was on the show in early 2001.

It's not as hard as you may think...