# 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:** 154
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3066 "2021-10-12T14:02:57Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > “A million and a half” is a perfectly good alternative to “one and a half million.” Agree to disagree. Try writing it that way in a contract. 😛 Also, pet peeves don’t _have_ to be unassailable. 😛 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3067 "2021-10-12T14:25:47Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Totally off topic, but in today’s DJ, the DD answers were 800 dollars and 1200 dollars. Not sure if I’ve seen both DD’s be less than 1600 bucks. If the contestants go DD hunting as a rule, then I am fine with this. Place them randomly, including the first row. They were kept out of the first row in order to keep them from being found too early, but with DD hunting I think that changes. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3068 "2021-10-12T14:26:08Z")
If I said I ate “a cheesecake and a half,” would you think I ate one cheesecake and fifty cents? The “half” refers to whatever I mentioned a full one of earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3069 "2021-10-12T14:29:47Z")
> [@Jay\_Z](#): > > They were kept out of the first row in order to keep them from being found too early, but with DD hunting I think that changes. I really don’t care where the DD’s are placed, although I think at least one of them should be lower on the board where the supposedly harder answers are located. ---
**Author:** ![ryan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3da27b/32.png) [@ryan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3070 "2021-10-12T14:37:43Z")
So ten and a half means 15? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3071 "2021-10-12T14:43:53Z")
I can tell you that if you don’t understand or accept that “fourteen million five” means $14,500,000, you’re not going to survive in corporate or investment finance. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3072 "2021-10-12T14:45:29Z")
Us big shots round it off to the nearest million. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3073 "2021-10-12T14:55:47Z")
The New York Times has an article here [Matt Amodio Streak Over](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/arts/television/matt-amodio-jeopardy-streak-over.html?smid=url-share) (it’s a “gift” link so should be readable). They mentioned it was the first episode without Mike Richards as Executive Producer. I makes me wonder if they “tweaked” a few things to challenge Matt’s domination, such as: - Scatter the Daily Doubles around more randomly versus being able to expect them in the $1600 row - Find the best contestants from the current pool based on their test scores - Find contestants who were very quick on the buzzer, so that Matt didn’t get to every answer - Choose categories that benefit the new players and would be hard for Matt; I doubt they’d do that deliberately I’m sure these things could just happen by chance, but perhaps??? I’ll miss Matt a little, and I feel sorry for the middle player. It was indeed an exciting game; between the second and third players it was coming down to who got the final bunch of answers (and strong FJ betting). ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3074 "2021-10-12T15:14:44Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I really don’t care where the DD’s are placed, although I think at least one of them should be lower on the board where the supposedly harder answers are located. I’d actually be open to have the game format be more variable, with there being AN AVERAGE of three Daily Doubles per game. But it can vary between one and five, and their placements between Single and Double Jeopardy can also vary. It’s a game, and all games involve some degree of luck. I want a more varied game, and Jeopardy needs more variety in the game format. Right now I’m a bit bored with the static nature of the game itself, and people spending oodles of prep time in solving the unchanging game format. Change it up. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3075 "2021-10-12T15:31:00Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > The New York Times has an article here [Matt Amodio Streak Over](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/arts/television/matt-amodio-jeopardy-streak-over.html?smid=url-share) (it’s a “gift” link so should be readable). They mentioned it was the first episode without Mike Richards as Executive Producer. I makes me wonder if they “tweaked” a few things to challenge Matt’s domination, such as: I really, really doubt they would do any such thing, as that’s the kind of stuff that triggered the [quiz show scandals in the in 1950s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s_quiz_show_scandals). ---
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3076 "2021-10-12T15:33:26Z")
Toward the end, I suspect Matt was counting on the other two contestants betting big, getting the response wrong, and cancelling each other out. He just never dreamed he’d get it wrong instead. I’m not sure Poland was ever even “annexed” the way Austria and Czechoslovakia were. It was invaded, overrun, dismembered, and occupied, and the areas formerly belonging to Germany were “restored:” to the Reich. But “annexed”? I don’t think so, and I doubt Hitler and his crew did either. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3077 "2021-10-12T15:47:35Z")
Okay, if you think “fourteen billion five” means $14,000,000,005, you’re going to get canned. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3078 "2021-10-12T19:58:58Z")
Quick question, can the contestants see a count down clock after buzzing in? Ken and Matt often buzzed in and paused before answering. Confident they’d know the answer. I can’t recall anyone timing out before answering. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3079 "2021-10-12T20:13:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I can’t recall anyone timing out before answering. That happens sometimes - one contestant today took too long and Bialik said something like “Ooh too much time”, and the next person buzzed in. I don’t know if contestants can see a per-answer timer though, as it’s a pretty short time. Did anyone hear what ‘condition’ the guy with the long hyphenated first name was born with? I couldn’t understand a word he said. I deleted my recording before I thought to go back with closed captioning turned on. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3080 "2021-10-12T21:44:38Z")
In case it’s bugging anyone- it’s Sabu he looks like. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3081 "2021-10-12T23:47:13Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > Did anyone hear what ‘condition’ the guy with the long hyphenated first name was born with? I couldn’t understand a word he said. I deleted my recording before I thought to go back with closed captioning turned on. Tetragametic chimerism—basically he is his own dead twin. 🙀 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3082 "2021-10-12T23:47:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Quick question, can the contestants see a count down clock after buzzing in? The lights on their podium go out in sequence, and they have to respond before the last one goes out. I don’t know whether the contestants can see those. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3083 "2021-10-13T00:14:17Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > He had an amazing run, but I’m excited to see new people. Yeah, me, too. As others have said, it was a shame that he faced TWO good players–the woman who came in second could have had a long run of her own, I suspect. But those are the breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3084 "2021-10-13T01:30:04Z")
Wow, that guy on the right tonight was an embarrassment. An affirmative-action contestant if there ever was one. Was he high? He didn’t seem to know when it was appropriate to talk and when it was not. And what’s with the name? Who names their kid Robinson-Gissette? He should have given a nickname so Mayim didn’t have to say 5 syllables every time she called on him. For those of you who glory in Jeopardy as a “bastion of hard science,” [he describes himself as a medium and astrologer.](https://www.instagram.com/cruzralek/?hl=en) ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3085 "2021-10-13T02:04:37Z")
What is a thread shit? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=153) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=155)