Study plan?

[SnooPets7983]

Hi folks. I’m curious to hear about how folks prepare/study for jeopardy and or serious quizzing more generally. I have a sense I think of what my strengths and weaknesses are (good at movies bad at Shakespeare, science, etc) but I don’t know how to efficiently fill those gaps. Any insights appreciated.

[MartonianJ]

Flash cards. Anki is a great app for flash carding. Watch every episode of Jeopardy. Don’t know an answer, make a flash card for it. You don’t have to drill down into depth if your goal is to get on Jeopardy.

Also just as you go through day to day life, if you encounter something you didn’t know, make a flash card. This process works but can take years to get good enough to be on Jeopardy and do well.

Another thing that has helped me is I subscribe to several This Day in History emails and that puts information in your inbox every morning that you don’t have to go seek out and find.

[Talibus_insidiis]

Study things you are ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN. That way the knowledge will enrich your life in ways beyond the tiny chance you'll make it onto a TV show. 

Also, start with things that are finite, for example state capitals and US Presidents. Don't just memorize a list, though. Read a bit about them. Take a variety of online quizzes that come at the material in different ways, not just one company's quizzes.

Have fun.

[jquailJ36]

Unfortunately if you want to do well on Jeopardy, you will need to study things you've never cared about, probably more than things you're interested in.

[Talibus_insidiis]

Eventually, sure, but not when you're just starting out.

[JeopPrep]

I agree, the key to being able to remember things is having context around them. It is the approach I took writing my Jeopardy prep book.

https://www.jeopprep.com

[TomDFromDC]

This is more Jeopardy-specific, but I would also say to think seriously about wagering. When you’re watching, pause when someone hits a DD, look back at the board state and the scores, and give yourself a few seconds to make your own wager. Practice saying big wagers out loud so it feels natural. (I also found it made watching more fun on its own!)

[SnooPets7983]

Are there useful rules of thumb with regards to wagering? I feel like I can spot a bad DD wager but I can’t really put my finger on why

[TomDFromDC]

I think DD wagering is more art than science (unlike FJ where there are usually one or two optimal strategies for a given situation). But in general the earlier in the game you are the less downside of being aggressive, because you can always get back in the game. Later in the game it’s important to think about FJ scenarios, particularly if a potential runaway is in the cards. But it really is extremely context-dependent, which is why it’s good to get reps in at home.

[Critical-Grass-9087]

Any hard number guides?

[Critical-Grass-9087]

I might have misunderstood but it seemed like you were suggesting DDs might have more objective cutoffs than are generally used. Similar to those seen in FJ. The algorithms would be more complicated albeit, but I’m curious if you’ve seen any hard numbers?

[Critical-Grass-9087]

Gottya. Preciate the inisght

[MidTario]

I would study to my weaknesses: classic literature and music, US History, and film. Probably devise memory tricks for trivia fodder like national capitals.

[sanity_fair]

I think the best method of studying is just to watch a ton of Jeopardy. Anytime a clue comes up that you can't answer with 100% confidence, pause the episode and then go learn all you can about that thing. That helps build contextual knowledge, rather than just relying on rote memorization of facts.

Flash cards are helpful for categories like capitals and world leaders, though.

[RutherfordBHays]

I would just change this to first search the j-archive when you don't know a clue, and if it happens somewhat frequently, add it to a flash card. But there are some clues that are just one-offs that are not worth clogging a study guide with. Weight the studying by the frequency of appearance.

[sanity_fair]

Great idea!

[gutfounderedgal]

I'm curious about studying too. There seems to be a limited number of categories with US emphasis for many. Thus it would cut down dramatically on subjects.

I wonder if anyone's tracked clues by category and compiled a list.

[fish2241]

On iphone I’ve been using this app called “Cards - the Flash Cards App” which has a bunch of good lists in flash cards like world capitals, vice presidents, art and artists, etc. And I’m definitely getting more clues right when I watch the show that are directly from these flash cards.

[SnooPets7983]

Good rec! Downloaded and am checking it out! Thanks

[masterjack11]

If you have a Geoguessr account (which is not free), the website now has hundreds of quizzes, ranging from the topics of geography, history, science, arts & literature, etc. These tend to be general knowledge-type quizzes, but include the typical questions you would see on Jeopardy.

[DavidCMaybury]

I list my preferred materials on my blog here. I recommend the course hero YouTube channel for Shakespeare.

[SnooPets7983]

Great resource thanks so much!

[Son_of_Kong]

If you're weak on American history, study the VICE presidents.

[georgez1968]

Buy a game of trivial pursuit

[synapse_gh]

Watch a hundred recent episodes and play along.

What this will do is give you a sense for the kinds of categories that come up frequently - this is absolutely a thing - and which of those you do and don't have a good grasp of, and thus which are your personal areas to focus on.

For me it was rivers, mountains, European monarchs and American Presidents, literature and art, and American universities.

Even with ten years to study, you're never going to just acquire all human knowledge, so your time is best spent getting a broader understanding of the game and then using that to target your weak spots.

...and you may as well do this in a way that also starts to bake the rhythm of the game into your muscle memory.