ALBANY, N.Y. - If you know how to figure your Coryat score; can argue the pros and cons of the Shore's Conjecture versus Boyd's Rule; and were crushed when Pat Roche, a trainer from East Greenbush, N.Y., defeated six-time champion Larissa Kelly, a grad student from El Cerrito, Calif. (whose six-day cash winnings totaled $222,597) with his blistering run of the "Football Coaches" category, then it's safe to say you are a "Jeopardy!" fanatic.

That is, you're probably addicted to watching the syndicated television game show, beloved by brainiacs, now coming up on its 25th season under the command of host Alex Trebek. And more than likely, you've thought about trying out to be a contestant on the show.

As I discovered when I was invited to New York City to audition for the show after passing an online test, a lot of people believe there is a science to preparing for and selecting "Jeopardy!" categories.

For instance, at J-Archive.com, a repository of every fact and statistic of every game since 1983, you can compare the success and failure of various lines of attack and follow the ups and downs of players' scores throughout an episode.

The archive is particularly valuable for its glossary of "Jeopardy!" terms, referring to strategies named after the contestant who first used them (or who should have).

For instance, Boyd's Rule -- named for four-time champion Anne Boyd, who lost with a correct answer but a wager of $0 -- suggests a player with a leading score going into Final Jeopardy should bet enough to cover a doubled score by her closest-trailing opponent.

Shore's Conjecture, proposed by two-time winner Bob Shore on the SonyPictures.com "Jeopardy!" message board (where fans go for heated discussions of the show and its players), contradicts Boyd's Rule, with a flurry of algebra that would make any 10th-grade math teacher proud.

The Coryat score, developed by two-time champ Karl Coryat, is the standard for comparing your score at home against the players on TV. Coryat's Web site, www.pisspoor.com/coryat.html, also offers valuable advice on contestant prep. For instance, the list of things "you absolutely must know" include state and world capitals, U.S. presidents, state nicknames and Shakespeare's plays.

He also notes phrases that are dead giveaways: "Anytime they ask for a European Duchy, it's Luxembourg. A 'nonsense poet' is Edward Lear. An 'ode poet' is almost always Keats. A 'Round Table wit' is surely Dorothy Parker."

But contestant wannabes aren't the only ones looking at "Jeopardy!" minutiae. Economists study game shows -- among them "The Price is Right," "The Weakest Link," the Italian version of "Deal or No Deal" -- for insight into how people make decisions when the stakes are high.

An oft-cited study from the March 1995 issue of American Economics Review, found that "Jeopardy!" players' abilities to choose the best strategic response declined as the game became more complicated, but bounced back as weaker players were weeded out.

But even a game like "Jeopardy!" isn't just an intellectual exercise. Just like in baseball, timing and "swing" help contestants beat their opponents to the button on their signaling devices. That takes good coordination, reflexes and positioning; as expert Coryat advises, keeping your finger hovering just above the button yields the best results.

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