Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 20, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category U.S. Presidents) for Monday, November 20, 2023 (Season 40, Game 51):
7 U.S. Presidents were born in the state of Ohio, beginning with this man who entered West Point in 1839
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Deanna Bolio, a community outreach supervisor from Campbell, California |
Kevin Hirsh, an attorney from Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
Verlinda Johnson Henning, a human resources & leadership consultant from Memphis, Tennessee |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today’s game sees the return of Second Chance competition winner Deanna Bolio; she faces off against Verlinda Johnson Henning and Kevin Hirsh.
By virtue of having played most recently, I think Deanna has to be considered the favorite in this one—both Jilana Cotter and Hari Parameswaran were very competitive in their respective Champions Wildcard appearances, and it stands to reason that Deanna is likely to be just as strong. If things don’t work out that way for Deanna, though, both Verlinda and Kevin are very capable players who can get a victory and advance to the semifinals.
If you’re looking for a quick rundown of what happened last week, I write a weekly recap column for Geeks Who Drink’s Questionist, released every Sunday. Yesterday’s column was titled “All Twisting, All Turning”. Questionist also has a newsletter that you can sign up for!
One further note: There was an article this weekend by Radar Online, aggregated by Apple News, with commentary on the Jeopardy! hosting situation. I read it so you don’t have to: the article cites the National Enquirer as its chief source. We all know what that means—the National Enquirer has not suddenly become reputable in 2023; it’s the same publication it has been for the last thirty years. Thus, we can safely say that any hosting commentary that cites Radar Online can and should be safely ignored.
I’d also like to invite everyone to weigh in on something I asked about on Saturday in my Weekly Thoughts column, especially the point surrounding “negative statistics” and whether I should be more willing to cover negative statistics after what happened last Wednesday on Celebrity Jeopardy!
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Ulysses S. Grant?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Over a span of just over half a century between the Civil War and just after World War I, an incredible 7 different U.S. Presidents were born in the state of Ohio: Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren Harding. (An eighth, William Henry Harrison, was born in Virginia, but his home state was Ohio in the 1840 election.)
Unless you have an encyclopedic knowledge of Presidential birthplaces, the best way to get to the correct response on this Final is to ask yourself, “Why is the show taking pains to include West Point here?” In this case, it’s certainly because of Grant’s military accomplishments; he served as a commanding general of the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, leading the Union to victory before becoming President in 1868.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, November 20, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: 1 Man, 1 Career, 1 Team; All God’s Creatures; Wars By Battle; Stupid Answers; Opus & Opera; A Little “Deb”ll Do Ya)
Thanks to 14 correct responses and a Daily Double, it was Deanna who took control of this game after the interviews! Verlinda and Kevin were tied after 30 clues.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Deanna 6 correct 1 incorrect
Verlinda 3 correct 0 incorrect
Kevin 4 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Deanna is now being approached with others’ random facts.
Kevin was jet-lagged in New York when he got this Call.
Verlinda has played lots of trivia recently.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Deanna 14 correct 3 incorrect
Kevin 6 correct 0 incorrect
Verlinda 6 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Deanna $8,200
Kevin $2,400
Verlinda $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Etched In Stone; Movie Sequels; A Matter Of Taste; People In Their Element; There’s Always Next Term; Lesser-Known Ancient Romans)
Double Jeopardy! saw Deanna parlay both Daily Doubles into an even bigger advantage—some incorrect responses in the second half of the round didn’t keep her from sewing this one up before Final.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Deanna 25 correct 6 incorrect
Kevin 11 correct 2 incorrect
Verlinda 10 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Deanna $19,800
Kevin $8,000
Verlinda $6,800
Verlinda and Kevin were correct in Final today, but Deanna’s runaway means she advances to the semifinals!
Tonight’s results:
Verlinda $6,800 + $6,800 = $13,600 (Who is Ulysses Grant? Thanks J! :))
Kevin $8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000 (Who is Cleveland Grant?)
Deanna $19,800 – $79 = $19,721 (Who is Tyler? Hay) (Semi-Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) OPUS & OPERA $400 (clue #27)
Deanna 5000 +2600 (Verlinda 2400 Kevin 2200)
2) A MATTER OF TASTE $2000 (clue #12)
Deanna 13400 +3400 (Verlinda 3600 Kevin 3200)
3) THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT TERM $1200 (clue #14, $20000 left on board)
Deanna 17600 +2600 (Verlinda 3600 Kevin 3200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 92
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Verlinda 1 3 1 4 5 2 1
Kevin 3 5 2 4 3 4
Deanna 3 4 1 2 5 3 3 4 5 4 5 2 5 2*
DJ! Round:
Verlinda 3 2 3 1
Kevin 4
Deanna 1 2 3 2 5 4 5* 2 3*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Deanna 3.26
Kevin 3.57
Verlinda 2.36
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Deanna $14,800 Coryat, 25 correct, 6 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Kevin $8,000 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Verlinda $6,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 2 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $29,600
Lach Trash: $16,800 (on 14 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,600
Lead Changes: 1
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Verlinda Johnson Henning, career statistics:
45 correct, 5 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities)
24.56% in first on buzzer (42/171)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,500)
3/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,933
Kevin Hirsh, career statistics:
45 correct, 6 incorrect
6/7 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (39/171)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,500)
3/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,867
Deanna Bolio, career statistics:
102 correct, 18 incorrect
10/12 on rebound attempts (on 28 rebound opportunities)
33.68% in first on buzzer (96/285)
7/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $17,400)
1/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,520
Andy’s Thoughts:
- After watching this, I think that even the Second Chance winners coming up in December and January have to be considered favorites to advance in Champions Wildcard.
- Today’s box score: November 20, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Deanna $19,800 Kevin $8,000 Verlinda $6,800)
Verlinda: Stay above $2,400 for the best chance of finishing second. Limit your bet to $4,400 or less. (Actual bet: $6,800)
Kevin: Standard cover bet over Verlinda is $5,601. (Actual bet: $8,000)
Deanna: Limit your bet to $3,799 or less. (Actual bet: $79)
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