# Jeopardy! Top Ten Winning Streaks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2011, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611 "2011-12-28T07:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/41 "2011-12-29T21:36:25Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > A slight hijack, but didn’t want to start a new thread. > Is Alex really that smart and knows all the answers? > He just seems so smug when he states, “No, it was, of course, Zyrtogluus the 3rd who invented rock, paper, scissors in 12 BC.” As if we are all idiots for not know that, geez… I always think it’s odd when someone gives an obscure, but wrong, answer to which Alex says “No, so close, you were thinking of the one in the 12th century, you had to go back just little further to the 10th century.” I mean, I’m sure after all his years he’s probably picked up a fair bit of knowledge and if he enjoys this kind of stuff he probably get’s sidetracked looking things up on the internet the night before the show since I’m sure he’s given words he has to learn how to pronounce, but some of his smarts seem a bit to random and obscure for him to just happen to know unless he either just happened to be researching it or he has a cheat sheet on his podium. (Maybe he does “For this question, if the contestant says “Solaris” then smile and say 'Ooooh, so close, you had a 50/50 chance but picked the wrong one, the correct answer is Holland Car, but you were in the right country, they’re both made in Ethiopia”) ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/42 "2011-12-30T03:02:49Z")
I know Jason from the competitive Scrabble scene\*, although not real well and I’m inactive there now so it’s been a couple of years since I last saw him. I can’t say he reminds me of James Gandolfini, but I’ve never watched the Sopranos and it’s been a while since I’ve seen any movie he’s been in. This is typical of Jason: the one day on Jeopardy!, he mentioned that he was going to use some of his winnings to replace an orange vuvuzela he had lost\*\*. His trademark is wearing orange clothing at Scrabble events–orange pants, shirt, possibly shoes. He has a small posse that has sometimes done this as well. As far as I know he’s always been scrupulously nice to everyone during tournaments and other related events, during and after hours. * * * \*I’m undefeated lifetime against him. 😃 The competitive Scrabble scene in North America is pretty small, less than 2000 core players, but is almost as prolific on a per capita basis at producing Jeopardy contestants as the SDMB – two others that I know of have been on the show in the past 2 years. Also, one of the founders of the J! Archive is a tournament Scrabble player. \*\*He didn’t have to use any of his winnings, because he just got one as a gift in the past day or two from a Scrabble director who had been watching his run on Jeopardy! ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/43 "2011-12-30T04:39:18Z")
Re. the streak: From the looks of it, 7 wins is on the cusp between “very nice run” and “turning into a juggernaut”. I think 2nd all time would be amazingly extraordinary even if he never sniffed Jennings’ record. There’s so much luck involved and so many things that can go wrong, and unlike the NBA playoffs, one loss, for any reason, and it’s all over. Should be fun to watch. Re. the NFL FJ question: If this were about Dave Brown or a rushing record or the '83 draft, I can understand how catching the games with the guys every Sunday _might_ be an advantage. But “the same first three letters”? This is just one of those weirdo trivia questions, like which which President served two nonconsecutive terms. I doubt that even Chris Berman ever gave this much thought. The challenge was how quickly they could sift through 32 choices, nothing more. Re. Alex Trebek: I’ve heard all sorts of accusations about how arrogant or condescending he is. I’ve never seen it (and trust me, I’m _very_ familiar with arrogance and condescension). I honestly think that joshing with the answers is just his way of having fun. This is an extremely straightforward game show with no gimmickry; I think just about any host would be unbearably bored if he wasn’t allowed a bit of showmanship. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/44 "2011-12-30T04:48:52Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > I know Jason from the competitive Scrabble scene\*, although not real well and I’m inactive there now so it’s been a couple of years since I last saw him. I can’t say he reminds me of James Gandolfini, but I’ve never watched the Sopranos and it’s been a while since I’ve seen any movie he’s been in. If you (or anyone) examine the pictures in a Yahoo! Image search on Gandolfini, you won’t find more than a very few (10 at most) that combine the specific looks that Gandolfini shares with Jason, but perhaps the closest of those ten that I think captures most of the resemblance I see is [this one.](http://www.filmweb.no/bilder/multimedia/archive/00154/James_Gandolfini_154069n.jpg) There’s just something about the eyes and the teeth and the facial hair… Does that seem reasonable to anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/45 "2011-12-30T05:04:55Z")
Re: Alex Trebek I don’t find him smug or arrogant or condescending. I do think it is funny that the only way he gets any camera time during the actual game is when all the contestants either don’t answer or answer wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/46 "2011-12-30T05:10:05Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Re: Alex Trebek > > I don’t find him smug or arrogant or condescending. I do think it is funny that the only way he gets any camera time during the actual game is when all the contestants either don’t answer or answer wrong. I agree. Trebek is as effective on a consistent basis as any host on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/47 "2011-12-30T05:19:24Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > On Jeopardy, you can’t make assumptions about what people will know based on their gender. Based on a quick scan, it appears you _can_ assume that a many-game winner is much more likely to be male than female. Surely this has been looked into? Is there some sort of bias at work in contestant selection? ---
**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:** [December 30, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/48 "2011-12-30T05:31:40Z")
Better than 2/3 of all contestants in the regular season seem to be male (non-scientific, but my impression is certainly that all-male batches are more common then having 2 or more women - kids, teen, and college tournaments seem to invert that). I suspect it’s more who’s applying than any bias in the selection, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/49 "2011-12-30T14:54:30Z")
Once they get out of their fancy booklearnin towers, them womenfolks is too busy in the kitchen cookin’ the dinna’ and makin’ babies, doncha know? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/50 "2011-12-30T14:58:36Z")
There were definitely more men than women at the auditions I went to. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/51 "2011-12-30T16:05:32Z")
Nice jinx, GreenElf. Did not notice the Gandolfini resemblance at all. Jason got lucky on Wednesday’s episode and it must have used up the rest of his Jeopardy! karma. Definitely seemed more rattled when he was playing in competitive games the final two days. Felt bad for the lady who misspelled the correct Final Jeopardy answer which cost her the game. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/52 "2011-12-30T16:11:21Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Nice jinx, GreenElf. Did not notice the Gandolfini resemblance at all. Jason got lucky on Wednesday’s episode and it must have used up the rest of his Jeopardy! karma. Definitely seemed more rattled when he was playing in competitive games the final two days. Felt bad for the lady who misspelled the correct Final Jeopardy answer which cost her the game. I agree on that spelling boo-boo. She (of the ones I have seen in similar situations) deserves a do-over. How many such things have there been in _Jeopardy!_ history? Not many, right? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/53 "2011-12-30T16:27:43Z")
Sadly, that’s standard Jeopardy practice…miss a significant letter or syllable and they’ll rule against you. I think it might pay to write your answer in a legible scrawl instead of neatly printing if you are uncertain about its exact spelling. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/54 "2011-12-30T16:51:03Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I think it might pay to write your answer in a legible scrawl instead of neatly printing if you are uncertain about its exact spelling. What if they allowed contestants to speak their FJ answers as well as write them? Are contestants dinged if they mispronounce a response? ---
**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:** [December 30, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/55 "2011-12-30T16:58:53Z")
In Double Jeopardy, yes, depending on the mispronunciation. They’ll let it slide if you turn a vowel into a schwa or something like that (sometimes), but if you make an a an o, you’re screwed. Likewise if you add or remove an s. If they’re not quite sure what you said, they’ll ask for clarification. Some contestants realize their mispronunciation at this point and probably thank God for their second chance. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/56 "2011-12-30T17:13:42Z")
I think I once saw somebody lose because they answered “Who is Sally Fields” instead of “Who is Sally Field” - insult to injury is that, of course, that also gives one of your opponents the answer, so you lose money AND they gain it. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/57 "2011-12-30T17:36:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I think I once saw somebody lose because they answered “Who is Sally Fields” instead of “Who is Sally Field” - insult to injury is that, of course, that also gives one of your opponents the answer, so you lose money AND they gain it. That happens all the time. Sometimes there are three choices, and the contestant who guesses last gets it right. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/58 "2011-12-30T18:49:16Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > Nice jinx, GreenElf. Did not notice the Gandolfini resemblance at all. Jason got lucky on Wednesday’s episode and it must have used up the rest of his Jeopardy! karma. Definitely seemed more rattled when he was playing in competitive games the final two days. Felt bad for the lady who misspelled the correct Final Jeopardy answer which cost her the game. But wasn’t she a _librarian_, for God’s sake? She also got the title of the “Very Hungry Caterpillar” wrong. Kind of like a physicist answering “E=MC cubed”. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/59 "2011-12-30T19:07:09Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > But wasn’t she a _librarian_, for God’s sake? She also got the title of the “Very Hungry Caterpillar” wrong. Kind of like a physicist answering “E=MC cubed”. I’m sure it’s quite different up there on stage - not exactly like being at home on your couch. (Plus, not all librarians are children’s librarians.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611/60 "2011-12-30T19:39:19Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I think I once saw somebody lose because they answered “Who is Sally Fields” instead of “Who is Sally Field” - insult to injury is that, of course, that also gives one of your opponents the answer, so you lose money AND they gain it. Have they gotten that strict? I could see if getting an answer wrong like that caused it to not fit the category (“five letter last names” or some such) but I’ve never seen a error that minor cause the answer to be wrong otherwise. > [@Zsofia](#): > > Plus, not all librarians are children’s librarians. Concur. With bells on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jeopardy-top-ten-winning-streaks/607611.md?page=4)