# 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:** 173
**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:** [November 23, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3447 "2021-11-23T18:28:27Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I got yesterday’s FJ correct, but it was more or less a semi-educated guess. > > Category was 20th Century Presidents, and the clue was > > “He won an election in which both he & his Democratic opponent were from Ohio & both were wealthy newspaper publishers.” > > The answer is Warren G. Harding > > I thought I remembered that he was from Ohio, so that was my guess. I had no idea that he was a newspaper publisher, and I certainly didn’t know who his opponent was. My thoughts were basically the same, but I was also pretty sure it was Harding just because there weren’t that many Republican presidents in the 20th century. I also could not associate any of the others with newspaper publishing, so I was left with Harding by default. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3448 "2021-11-23T18:49:25Z")
I take that back. Turns out there were 11 Republican presidents in the 20th century vs 7 Democrats. I think the figures are a bit skewed, though, since FDR was elected four times. Two terms were covered by FDR and Truman, and another two by Kennedy and Johnson. Carter served only one term. Of the Republicans, McKinley and TR covered two terms, as did Harding and Coolidge and Nixon and Ford. Taft, Hoover, and Bush Sr all served only one term. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3449 "2021-11-23T22:00:11Z")
I just threw out Garfield since I had no idea. My husband, who is from Ohio, said yeah - he’s from Ohio! Turns out he was 19th century. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3450 "2021-11-23T22:59:55Z")
New record low total? Brian ---
**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:** [November 24, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3451 "2021-11-24T00:47:28Z")
Ken was diplomatic about his suckitude. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3452 "2021-11-24T00:52:25Z")
Tuesday’s FJ was easy for me. “Capital Cities” - "This city has the Rideau Canal, and a festival called ‘Winterlude’:. What is Ottawa? The two eligible contestants both got it wrong (one guessed Paris, the other Amsterdam). I’ve never seen a final score as low as -$6400. A record? (no - not a record. It’s [$7400](https://theweek.com/news/1003057/jeopardy-contestant-breaks-the-record-for-lowest-score-in-the-shows-history), set back in July). ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3453 "2021-11-24T00:59:14Z")
I was thinking Amsterdam - you know Hans Brinker and all that. Brian ---
**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:** [November 24, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3454 "2021-11-24T01:01:32Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > New record low total? He started selecting the highest-value clues, and when that didn’t work, he switched to a different category and selected the highest-value clues there. He knows you don’t have to start at the bottom of the board, right? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3455 "2021-11-24T01:44:26Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Tuesday’s FJ was easy for me Proof once again that we USAmericans don’t know a thing about Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3456 "2021-11-24T03:39:53Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > Tuesday’s FJ was easy for me. “Capital Cities” - "This city has the Rideau Canal, and a festival called ‘Winterlude’ … Easy for me, also. Of course, I am a Canadian. I’ve heard, but cannot confirm, that Alex stipulated that at least one clue or response in every game had something to do with Canada. Since I saw nothing in the actual game that fit those parameters, I figured that FJ would. And when I saw the category, I immediately knew what the proper response would be. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3457 "2021-11-24T04:26:02Z")
What is the customary minimum standard for making a Tournament of Champions? Obviously Amy Schnieder, having now won five games, will be there. But they need 15 players; do they have 15 5-time winners every year? That would surely be LESS likely in years when you have one or two really long running champs. How many 3 or 4 game winners typically get to go? (I’ll put money right now on Matt Amodio.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3458 "2021-11-24T04:35:57Z")
My understanding is that they don’t have a ToC every year; just when they have enough. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2021, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3459 "2021-11-24T05:06:29Z")
I think it’s the other way around; they have a Tournament of Champions every year and take the 15 most successful players of that year. I don’t know how they determine “most successful”; probably the most wins. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3460 "2021-11-24T06:17:52Z")
Fun fact; the TOC format (fifteen players; five games select five winners and four wild cards, playing three shootout semifinals to select 3 players for a two day championship) was Alex Trebek’s idea. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3461 "2021-11-24T12:19:28Z")
If they have less than 15 five day winners, I think they go to highest winners among 4 day champs. (repeat as needed). Are there enough episodes to have more than 15 five day champs? Brian ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3462 "2021-11-24T13:37:30Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > New record low total? Close, but not quite. The record lowest score is -$7,400, set by Patrick Pearce back in July. It was LeVar Burton’s first episode as guest host, and Matt Amodio’s fourth game. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3463 "2021-11-24T17:09:58Z")
It feels like the frequency of players ending in the red has increased lately. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3464 "2021-11-24T17:14:51Z")
I think there is more of a gambling approach now, after some successful contestants seem to have proven that it is the dominant strategy (I’m not convinced, but this is hard to prove one way or the other) ---
**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:** [November 24, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3465 "2021-11-24T17:15:45Z")
As I said, I think this guy’s mistake was starting with the most difficult clues first. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2021, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/3466 "2021-11-24T19:58:55Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > If they have less than 15 five day winners, I think they go to highest winners among 4 day champs. According to [jeopardy.com](https://www.jeopardy.com/contestant-zone/toc-tracker), beginning on January fifth of this year, any contestant who wins at least FOUR games is eligible for the TOC. But, here’s a quote from the site: > \*All 4-time and over winning players starting from 01/05/21 will be eligible for a future Tournament of Champions > > Presence on this list does NOT guarantee an invitation to compete in the Tournament of Champions. Other eligibility rules apply and final selection is up to the producers’ sole discretion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=172) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=174)