# The Jeopardy thread \[was James Holzhauer\]\[contains spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [April 17, 2019, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696 "2019-04-17T21:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 140
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2784 "2021-09-23T16:50:31Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Let me clarify: it’s not that they missed one movie question, IIRC they all missed them all. Like the time when they famously had one game with a football category and no one got a single answer. They made a joke out of it. > > I’d think the general category of movies is something most people pick up just from osmosis, just from going, so that it wouldn’t be a total stumper. (for the record, I think I only got three that game) [They missed three out of the five](https://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7148). I thought it was a difficult category. The category was Movie Series By Sequel. It wasn’t just a generic movie category; you had to identify the movie series by the names of one of the later movies in the series. You think people are going to pick up on the fact that _The Golden Army_ was the subtitle of a Hellboy movie simply by osmosis? The only ones I knew were _The Force Awakens, Rogue Nation, and Parabellum._ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2785 "2021-09-23T18:40:55Z")
Yeah, I only got the first one. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2786 "2021-09-23T19:43:17Z")
I’m sick of Matt, and I’ll be glad when he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2787 "2021-09-23T19:46:32Z")
I’m always sick of champions who go on for weeks. Amodio seems like a nice guy and good for him, but the idea of one person winning every day for a year terrifies me. > [@Arcite](#): > > I thought it was a difficult category. I got four out of five but that’s reading them; I didn’t see this episode live. It’s way easier to get these reading them, and even then “The Golden Army” totally stumped me. Even knowing it’s a Hellboy movie I have no memory whatsoever of a movie called that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2788 "2021-09-23T19:53:25Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I doubt he knows the question immediately, but by buzzing in before anybody else, he buys himself a little time to think about it, without worrying about anybody else buzzing in. A couple of his questions tonight stood out: Ken Jennings and Holzhauer did that too, and Jennings openly said so. He didn’t pause as obviously as Matt does, but Jennings was the first contestant to clearly dominate at least heavily in part due to understanding that _buzzing in first is the most important skill there is_. Holzhauer practiced buzzer use for months. You have to be good at trivia games, but that physical skill is enormous; if Jeopardy was played in turns, it’d be a totally different game. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2789 "2021-09-24T00:26:14Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > I just think the contestant should say something that acknowledges they’re betting it all, because that fact is significant to the game (if they get it wrong, they go back to zero) and **their score is not displayed on screen when they’re stating their wager.** My bolding there. This seems like an odd choice; many who watch at home would enjoy the chance to ‘think along with the contestant’ in their wager-amount. I suppose the producers believe that getting as tight a shot of the contestant’s face as possible (which doesn’t allow inclusion of their current dollar-total, as it’s too far down on the podium) is what’s most important. But I know I’d prefer to see the number, as I don’t necessarily keep a running total of what each player has while watching the show. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2790 "2021-09-24T03:08:33Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I’m sick of Matt, and I’ll be glad when he’s gone. I like Matt; he’s a lot more likable than he was at first. I’ll miss him when he’s eventually gone. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2791 "2021-09-24T03:21:51Z")
I’m excited that Matt may break James Holzhauer 32 game win streak. James plays at a entirely different level for winnings. We may never see another champion earn so much per game. James recently pointed out the difference. (it was a playful jab) I don’t believe he was being a jerk. > ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2792 "2021-09-24T03:35:08Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > He can be beaten. It probably won’t be an exceptional player. Just like it happened to James and Ken. > > That’s my thought. Matt will trip up on something, big time, and an unexceptional contestant will beat him somehow. He tends to be rather conservative in his FJ wagers when he has a clear victory, but a little more of a risk-taker when there is somebody within winning distance. > > He showed something interesting tonight (well, he has all along, but it was quite noticeable tonight), which may play into the above: I doubt he knows the question immediately, but by buzzing in before anybody else, he buys himself a little time to think about it, without worrying about anybody else buzzing in. A couple of his questions tonight stood out: > > “What’s … [long pause] … Kurtz?” > > “What’s … [long pause] … inertia?” > > Anybody else noticing this habit of his? I’m not up to caring about the pause yet. I haven’t finished hating him with the fire of a thousand suns for “What’s.” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2793 "2021-09-24T04:41:12Z")
Apologies if this has already been explained, but is there some reason they can’t say Matt Amodio’s school is Yale? It’s always “a PhD student from New Haven, Connecticut.” ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2794 "2021-09-24T04:52:25Z")
Mayim mentioned Yale in the contestant chat segment just this past week. But as for the contestant introductions, isn’t this just Jeopardy convention? The guy on the right tonight was introduced as “an undergrad student;” they didn’t say at what school. Contestants are always introduced as an “ophthalmologist” or “an electrical engineer,” not “an ophthalmologist at the Mayo Clinic” or “an engineer at Raytheon.” ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2795 "2021-09-24T04:54:02Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Mayim mentioned Yale in the contestant chat segment just this past week. But as for the contestant introductions, isn’t this just Jeopardy convention? I guess I missed that. It just felt like it was some sort of secret. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2796 "2021-09-24T14:59:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > James recently pointed out the difference. (it was a playful jab) I don’t believe he was being a jerk. I think he was. (If you didn’t click the link, the tweet shows pics of James and Matt with their 23-day winnings: almost $1.8 million for James, $826K for Matt.) He’s saying he’s the ideal thing as advertised and Matt is the less-than-ideal reality that you end up with. Dick move, IMHO. Although I was impressed as hell with James’ incredible knowledge base and game play, I always thought he was probably something of a jerk in person, and doing his best to appear like a nice guy on the show. Matt is either a nicer guy, or playing one better than James did. I tend toward the former. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2797 "2021-09-24T15:00:52Z")
Yesterday’s game was relatively close. For much of the game, the other two were within striking distance of his total. By the way, his total is at $955,201 and that dollar at the end bothers me. I wish he’d bet enough to get a round number. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2798 "2021-09-24T15:10:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I wish he’d bet enough to get a round number. Ha! I said that last night, too. Must be my inner-Monk coming out. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2799 "2021-09-24T15:13:18Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Although I was impressed as hell with James’ incredible knowledge base and game play, I always thought he was probably something of a jerk in person, and doing his best to appear like a nice guy on the show. James didn’t bother me personally, but I’m a bit mystified by people who say they genuinely liked him or that he seemed like a “nice guy” or whatever. He seemed like much more of a socially awkward robot that Matt ever has been. Awkward, forced facial expressions, curt speech with a limited emotional range… as much as I hate the phrase “on the spectrum,” (a _person_ isn’t “on the spectrum,” a person _has_ autism spectrum disorder,) I feel James met the description of what people who say that are getting at much more than Matt does. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2800 "2021-09-24T15:13:33Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Dick move, IMHO. I always thought Holzhauer was “on the spectrum”, too, so maybe he genuinely thought what he said was funny, just gentle ribbing. (In person, maybe; in a tweet, where you can’t judge emotion, a dick move.) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2801 "2021-09-24T15:35:21Z")
James is that awkward on The Chase, too. He’s supposed to act like a dick (in a joking way) on that show, however. Matt just seems gentler, and less condescending. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2802 "2021-09-25T02:44:47Z")
I think it would be unfair during his run. But I would really appreciate a rule change that you have to use an interrogative that matches the answer and that you have to include the appropriate article. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2021, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/2803 "2021-09-25T07:08:13Z")
Those were conditions in the original UK run. Your response had to be gramatically correct. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=139) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=141)