# 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:** 30
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/581 "2019-06-04T22:37:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Thanks, I was just about to ask if anyone had a spoiler. [This site](https://thejeopardyfan.com/) usually has results up before noon CDT. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/582 "2019-06-04T23:51:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > He had $0, could only bet $1000, so after the $1000 daily double, he only had $1000, just like a regular $1000 clue. Ahh, yes of course! Oops! :smack: Thanks for that correction, **pulykamell**. But my point is that he did not get the usual sling-shot boost from the first round’d DD. Thanks again for that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/583 "2019-06-05T00:03:49Z")
In a ESPN interview, James said that she just kept beating him to the buzzer. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/584 "2019-06-05T00:19:14Z")
Emma Boettcher hadn’t seen James play. Her episode taped before his had aired on television. It’s interesting that she had independently developed a similar game strategy. She’s off to a good start. I wouldn’t draw too many comparisons to James until she wins at least 10 games. Her winnings today were quite good, but less than what James usually raked in. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/585 "2019-06-05T00:31:18Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Ahh, yes of course! Oops! :smack: Thanks for that correction, **pulykamell**. But my point is that he did not get the usual sling-shot boost from the first round’d DD. Yes, clearly, that was part of the perfect storm of events to bring James down. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/586 "2019-06-05T02:32:32Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Emma Boettcher hadn’t seen James play. Her episode taped before his had aired on television. It’s interesting that she had independently developed a similar game strategy. Are you sure she hadn’t seen him play? That contradicts what Alex explicitly said. I did clock that she noticeably bristled when Alex stated the assumption that her “bet the farm” DD move was in imitation of James. She obviously wants to get credit for knowing what’s up on her own. > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > In a ESPN interview, James said that she just kept beating him to the buzzer. Yeah, that’s certainly how it looked. Here’s a different take on the buzzer thing. If they are going to make that aspect so important, why not let the audience see what they are doing? Maybe have it be something where you have to slap two big buttons a couple feet apart in quick succession. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/587 "2019-06-05T02:39:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [This site](https://thejeopardyfan.com/) usually has results up before noon CDT. Ack. [Let’s try that link again](https://thejeopardyfan.com/). > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > In a ESPN interview, James said that she just kept beating him to the buzzer. I suppose it depends on what values of “kept beating him to the buzzer” means. James still had buzzed in first the most. He was first on the buzzer 42.11% of the time; Emma was first exactly one in three times (33.33%), and Jay was 24.55% of the time. So, perhaps she “kept beating him to the buzzer” as in, he couldn’t completely dominate buzzer play like he has before (his average was 57% first on the buzzer overall), but he definitely beat her to the buzzer most of the time. That said, he didn’t beat _both_ of them to the buzzer most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/588 "2019-06-05T02:47:47Z")
I wonder how much Jay, clearly a strong player himself, affected all this? In theory, you would think that a better path to beating James would be to be good like Emma but then have a weak third player. But I guess it all depends on whether Jay beat James to the buzzer on crucial clues where James was faster than Emma. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/589 "2019-06-05T03:09:35Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Are you sure she hadn’t seen him play? That contradicts what Alex explicitly said. > > I did clock that she noticeably bristled when Alex stated the assumption that her “bet the farm” DD move was in imitation of James. She obviously wants to get credit for knowing what’s up on her own. > > Yeah, that’s certainly how it looked. > > Here’s a different take on the buzzer thing. If they are going to make that aspect so important, why not let the audience see what they are doing? Maybe have it be something where you have to slap two big buttons a couple feet apart in quick succession. The press is reporting her episode taped before James episodes had aired. Maybe she was in the audience and saw a game during taping? > **[How Emma Boettcher Beat James Holzhauer on ‘Jeopardy!’ (Published 2019)](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/arts/television/emma-boettcher-jeopardy.html)** > > The 27-year-old librarian from Chicago dethroned Holzhauer before he was able to beat Ken Jennings’s record. > [@](#): > > Before Emma Boettcher arrived at the “Jeopardy!” studio in California on a Tuesday in March, she hadn’t heard of James Holzhauer. > > Boettcher, a 27-year-old librarian at the University of Chicago, did not know that the contestant she would soon face had already won 32 games, amassed $2.46 million and established himself as one of the game show’s greatest players of all time. Games are prerecorded, usually five in one day; Holzhauer’s first win would not air until April 4. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/590 "2019-06-05T04:08:38Z")
Thanks to those who explained James’s FJ betting strategy. Still not sure I get it, but what the hell, I’m mathophobic. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > Are you sure she hadn’t seen him play? That contradicts what Alex explicitly said. > > I did clock that she noticeably bristled when Alex stated the assumption that her “bet the farm” DD move was in imitation of James. She obviously wants to get credit for knowing what’s up on her own… Agreed on both counts. But she otherwise looked like she was playing like James tonight - going along the bottom rows and then jumping around looking for DDs. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/591 "2019-06-05T04:31:03Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I did clock that she noticeably bristled when Alex stated the assumption that her “bet the farm” DD move was in imitation of James. She obviously wants to get credit for knowing what’s up on her own. Clearly she didn’t think highly of what Alex said. But then again Alex says some awkward things when social visiting with the contestants. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/592 "2019-06-05T06:29:24Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > **If you’ve watched many episodes of Jeopardy** , you know that the ‘standard’ bet for the money leader entering FJ is to bet enough to cover the amount that is twice the current total of the second-place contestant. And, indeed, that’s what Emma bet. And James surmised that she would bet that amount. So he bet small, hoping that she would bet big and miss, and thus he would win the game. > > Had he bet all of his bank in FJ, and missed the question, he would have forfeited any chance of winning the game. His bet at least gave him an opportunity for the win. I was \*\*\*on \*\*\*Jeopardy! ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/593 "2019-06-05T07:55:23Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I was \*\*\*on \*\*\*Jeopardy! **Railer13** is still right, though. James’ betting strategy was correct. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/594 "2019-06-05T10:52:01Z")
Emma Boettcher won’t last very long. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/595 "2019-06-05T11:09:01Z")
[Moderating] > [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > I wished that he had beat Ken’s winnings total. Sorry to see him go, he was nice to look at! She is nice looking too but I like men! 🙂 Wonder if Jeopardy will like more million dollar winners…if she is that good. I think sometimes the double jeopardy spots are in place when they want them to be. The reason we are discussing Holzhauer is because of his knowledge and reflexes. He’d still have done well on Jeopardy no matter how he looked (as, for that matter, would Boettcher). So comments like this (directed towards either sex) aren’t really appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/596 "2019-06-05T11:24:18Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Emma Boettcher won’t last very long. Then again, who does? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/597 "2019-06-05T13:07:47Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Then again, who does? James did a man’s job! ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/598 "2019-06-05T13:58:47Z")
Reading through James twitter timeline is interesting. > ---
**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:** [June 5, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/599 "2019-06-05T13:59:49Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > If you’ve watched many episodes of Jeopardy, you know that the ‘standard’ bet for the money leader entering FJ is to bet enough to cover the amount that is twice the current total of the second-place contestant. And, indeed, that’s what Emma bet. And James surmised that she would bet that amount. So he bet small, hoping that she would bet big and miss, and thus he would win the game. > > Had he bet all of his bank in FJ, and missed the question, he would have forfeited any chance of winning the game. His bet at least gave him an opportunity for the win. He also bet the amount he did so that if Jay, the third-place player, bet everything (he didn’t), James would remain above that total, and so come in second instead of third, which he did. It earned him an extra $1,000. Peanuts in the face of nearly $2.5 million, but a grand is a grand. I’m annoyed at people, including reporters, like the one in the article **Darren Garrison** linked to, who say that James’ FJ bet was “uncharacteristically low,” as though it were a mistake or a sign that he was throwing the game. It was only uncharacteristic because he had almost always had a commanding lead going into FJ, and had rarely if ever been in second place. It was precisely the correct bet for his position: 1. If both he and Emma were right, he couldn’t win, because Emma would bet enough to beat his all-in bet, which is exactly what she did. 2. If he was right and Emma was wrong and bet as expected above, he won. 3. If he was wrong and Jay was right, he definitely got second instead of third. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/600 "2019-06-05T14:22:55Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Then again, who does? Honestly, the most shocking stat I discovered during James run is that in the 16 years since they removed the 5-day cap, only 8 players have won 10 or more games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=31)