# Jeopardy! Contest of the Titans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097 "2020-01-08T00:51:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/1 "2020-01-08T00:51:24Z")
Whom do you think will win the _Jeopardy_! contest between Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer that starts tonight (first one to three wins will be considered the winner)? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/2 "2020-01-08T01:14:42Z")
I’ll take Brad Rutter for one million, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/3 "2020-01-08T01:47:00Z")
I meant to vote Brad, but my hand slipped and I put my vote on James. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/4 "2020-01-08T02:10:23Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I meant to vote Brad, but my hand slipped and I put my vote on James. :smack: The first commercial break is where you’re supposed to work out issues like this. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/5 "2020-01-08T02:19:26Z")
Watched the first night. Rutter wasn’t too impressive. That could easily change as the tournament continues. James? I get the feeling he’s playing conservatively. Waiting for the right moment to make a big daily double run. Ken wants this win. He’s mentioned Rutter beating him before. I voted Ken as mega-champion. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/6 "2020-01-08T02:52:18Z")
I liked the way they cleared the board in the first round without a single wrong response. Very impressive. Unfortunately, they seemed to tire as the game progressed. Neither Ken nor Brad is exactly a spring chicken anymore, but I thought for sure that James would do better. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/7 "2020-01-08T02:56:18Z")
I wondered if they got a break between games. They did seem to struggle in game 2. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/8 "2020-01-08T03:58:47Z")
I thought they said that the person who went first in each game was determined by a coin toss. How do they do that between three people? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/9 "2020-01-08T04:31:11Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I thought they said that the person who went first in each game was determined by a coin toss. How do they do that between three people? They all flip a coin. If they all get the same thing, they flip again. If they don’t all get the same thing, the odd one is the winner. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/10 "2020-01-08T05:17:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Watched the first night. Rutter wasn’t too impressive. That could easily change as the tournament continues. > > James? I get the feeling he’s playing conservatively. Waiting for the right moment to make a big daily double run. > > Ken wants this win. He’s mentioned Rutter beating him before. I voted Ken as mega-champion. I noticed during the special team tournament last January that Rutter didn’t do as well as he had been in the past so even though he’s mostly gotten the better of Ken Jennings in the past (as Ken Jennings, himself, is always so quick to remind everybody) I don’t expect him to this time. Personally, I’m pulling for either Holzhauer or Rutter to win. Since I don’t expect Brad Rutter to win this time - Go, James Holzhauer! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/11 "2020-01-08T07:05:07Z")
I’m not watching, but I suspect James will crush them. He’s not necessarily smarter, but his strategy is unmatched. Fuck 'em all, I say. I’d rather watch _Law & Order_ re-runs. Haven’t these guys got enough money already? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/12 "2020-01-08T10:46:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I liked the way they cleared the board in the first round without a single wrong response. Very impressive. > > Unfortunately, they seemed to tire as the game progressed. Neither Ken nor Brad is exactly a spring chicken anymore, but I thought for sure that James would do better. This is exactly my take. I didn’t vote because I already knew who won round one when I saw this thread. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/13 "2020-01-08T12:39:22Z")
This poll needed a end date on it before the first matches were played. Did I read right that this is Brad Rutter’s first loss to human players? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/14 "2020-01-08T14:07:18Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > I noticed during the special team tournament last January that Rutter didn’t do as well as he had been in the past so even though he’s mostly gotten the better of Ken Jennings in the past (as Ken Jennings, himself, is always so quick to remind everybody) I don’t expect him to this time. Jennings would have won their most recent match had he not made a mistake on the final Final Jeopardy (the answer was something like, “The two Secretaries of State who never married,” and I think he said James Buchanan and Madeline Albright instead of Buchanan and Condolezza Rice. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Did I read right that this is Brad Rutter’s first loss to human players? Yes, you did, although I don’t remember whether he finished ahead of or behind Jennings in their match against Watson. And I for one am still waiting for any of these players to go up against Kevin Ashman. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/15 "2020-01-08T15:08:40Z")
While it’s not exactly fair to keep the voting open after the first show has aired, I just picked Holzhauer because I commented as such to my brother last night before the first match. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/16 "2020-01-08T15:10:08Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wondered if they got a break between games. > > They did seem to struggle in game 2. I suppose. Maybe they just didn’t know the answers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/17 "2020-01-08T15:26:49Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > They all flip a coin. If they all get the same thing, they flip again. If they don’t all get the same thing, the odd one is the winner. :smack: Of course. My brain was running on little sleep yesterday, and all I could come up with was scenarios where there was a flip between two people, then between the winner and the third person. Which didn’t seem fair, and how do you determine who flips first? (With another coin toss, of course! It’s coin tosses all the way down!) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/18 "2020-01-08T15:46:27Z")
Like most ToC, it looks like this one is going to come down to the Daily Doubles. James probably would’ve won if Brad hadn’t grabbed all the DDs. Brad probably would’ve won if he had gotten any of those DDs right. Ken’s strategy is pretty simple: just answer all the damn questions right. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/19 "2020-01-08T17:34:17Z")
I like the point system. Ken got 1 point for winning last night. Whichever player gets 3 points wins the tournament. That means Holzhauer can’t win the whole thing with one of his crazy daily double streaks. He may get 95k. But it’s still only 1 point for winning that night. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097/20 "2020-01-08T17:40:33Z")
I \*want \*Ken Jennings to win. I \*believe \*James Holzhauer, with his betting strategy & near-perfect memory recall, will win. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-contest-of-the-titans/846097.md?page=2)