# 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:** 58
**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:** [May 6, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1141 "2020-05-06T17:47:54Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Is everyone getting repeats of the GOAT tournament this week? > > I thought enough episodes were taped before quarantine to last through May. ISTR hearing that they had taped some eps with no audiences. I was expecting to see them before any re-runs. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1142 "2020-05-06T19:03:38Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Guess it was _into_ May. Or else they feel more shorter periods of repeats are a better idea than one long one while they ramp up to start filming again and are holding onto the new episodes. Yeah, they still have episodes left, they’re just trying to stretch it out to their normal break. I pretty sure we have a teacher’s tournament yet to air as well. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1143 "2020-05-06T19:30:58Z")
From \*[https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/ge1brk/when\_are\_new\_jeopardy\_episodes\_coming\_back/\*:](https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/ge1brk/when_are_new_jeopardy_episodes_coming_back/*:) (GOAT = Greatest Of All Time tournament) Two weeks of GOAT: May 4-15 One week of no audience taped in March: May 18-22 Two weeks of teachers’ tourney: May 25 - June 5 One more week of no audience taped in March: June 8-12 Those are all the new episodes they have scheduled so far. I don’t think they’ve announced plans for beyond June 15, but undoubtedly there will be extra reruns beyond the traditional August hiatus because they haven’t been taping. Sounds like if season 36 is finished, we will have lost 8 weeks, or 40 episodes. Two weeks of GOAT, and June 15-July 31. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1144 "2020-05-06T20:21:21Z")
Thanks, I guess I won’t be in any hurry to catch up on the episodes I have DVRed. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1145 "2020-05-06T20:28:17Z")
I wish they would show moire older episodes when they have reruns. I really enjoyed watching Ken’s episode from 2004. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1146 "2020-05-07T06:27:12Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I am. Holy crap, Ken Jennings’ first game was in 2004? I don’t even remember the set looking like that. I was surprised too by how it looked. I would have bet that the current look went back longer than it apparently has. I had no idea the episode was coming, and as usual started watching a few minutes in. As soon as I saw there was actually a contestant standing to the \*left \*of Ken, I was like “oh, this poor guy…I hope he got some winnings in before he wandered right into this buzzsaw.” Interestingly, the game was kind of close! Can you imagine if another player had eked out the victory and Ken was stopped without a single win? I wonder how many other people have lost on their first try without anyone (including them) knowing they could have gone on a run if things had broken slightly differently? ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1147 "2020-05-07T11:47:29Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I was surprised too by how it looked. I would have bet that the current look went back longer than it apparently has. > > I had no idea the episode was coming, and as usual started watching a few minutes in. As soon as I saw there was actually a contestant standing to the \*left \*of Ken, I was like “oh, this poor guy…I hope he got some winnings in before he wandered right into this buzzsaw.” Interestingly, the game was kind of close! Can you imagine if another player had eked out the victory and Ken was stopped without a single win? I wonder how many other people have lost on their first try without anyone (including them) knowing they could have gone on a run if things had broken slightly differently? And I thought he kind of got away with one with his answer of “Jones”… I would’ve thought the first name would have been required. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1148 "2020-05-07T20:10:08Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > And I thought he kind of got away with one with his answer of “Jones”… I would’ve thought the first name would have been required. Alex hesitated before accepting it, apparently thinking the same thing, until he or the judges decided that the field female track and field was small enough that ‘Jones’ positively identified her (as Alex said when he accepted it). ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1149 "2020-05-18T21:10:36Z")
Did Alex give a cryptic clue on who might replace him as host on today’s game? ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1150 "2020-05-18T23:58:11Z")
Why did the woman in the lead bet anything at all? She would still have ended up tied for the lead. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1151 "2020-05-19T01:25:05Z")
I have given up trying to figure out betting strategies on some Jeopardy! players. Sometimes it looks like they turn into Wheel of Fortune contestants when they make their FJ wagers. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1152 "2020-05-19T06:34:11Z")
The guy that won was pretty good minus a couple of Daily Double blunders, maybe she didn’t want to risk having to face him again in the next game? I dunno, I couldn’t think of anything else… ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1153 "2020-05-19T07:26:28Z")
She wouldn’t face him again in the next game. Several years ago (I want to say circa 2010?) they changed the rules so that a tie results in a tie breaking tossup. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1154 "2020-05-19T15:12:09Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Did Alex give a cryptic clue on who might replace him as host on today’s game? Are you referring to David Faber (of CNBC)? Do you mean when Alex said that he presented the clues in his category very well. IMHO that’s quite a stretch, but not impossible. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1155 "2020-05-19T15:18:13Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Why did the woman in the lead bet anything at all? She would still have ended up tied for the lead. I hadn’t noticed that at the time, but you’re right. That was a real blunder on her part. In [my appearance in 1991](http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1481), I had the lead going into FJ, and I won by betting in to beat the second-place player’s best outcome by one dollar. I was rather chagrined when one of my poker buddies pointed out that I could have won almost $1,000 more, with no downside, if I had instead bet to make sure I would remain above the third-place player’s bet bet if I got it wrong. Ever since then, I have mentally derided players who make that same mistake. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1156 "2020-05-20T18:56:56Z")
If we’re now watching the “No Audience” epsiodes, they’re disguising the fact pretty well with clever use of “canned applause.” Unlike nearly any earlier episodes I can remember, we haven’t seen a single glimpse of the studio audience during intro’s, outtro’s, or anytime in between. Also haven’t seen a contestant so much as glance toward the audience. And no audience laughter where there might have been before. IF I’m correct, I don’t mind the ruse. Works well enough for me. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1157 "2020-05-20T19:27:49Z")
Yep this week and the week that will air after the teacher’s tournament were no audience. But I don’t ever really notice the audience in Jeopardy. It was more obvious on Wheel of Fortune since the always cut to the winner’s family in the crowd. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1158 "2020-05-20T22:58:06Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > She wouldn’t face him again in the next game. Several years ago (I want to say circa 2010?) they changed the rules so that a tie results in a tie breaking tossup. I guess it wasn’t a mistake after all, then. Or was it? Is it better to be guaranteed at least an even sudden-death confrontation, with the possibility of winning in “regulation” if your opponent gets FJ wrong? Or to guarantee the win if you get FJ right, while still winning if you and he both get it wrong? Watching today’s episode, I wondered if contestants can in real time see their and their opponents’ scores? If so, there was what struck me as a clear error by two contestants, although it required thinking on their feet very quickly: [spoiler]The last clue on the board was for $2,000. The leading player got it wrong, but he still had more than twice what either of the other two had. But either of them could bring their scores to more than 50% of his by ringing in and getting it right. Alex issued his customary invitation to both of them by name to give it a whirl, but they remained silent, ensuring it was a runaway. I suppose if they had absolutely no idea about the correct response and wanted to have a better chance at coming in second (thus making $1,000 more than third place), maybe “clear error” is an overstatement. But especially for the player in last place at that point, it sure seems to me like you ought to ring in, take a couple seconds to furiously run through possibilities in your mind, and throw out a guess. The other thing that pained me today, though not in the same category, was that none of the three contestants knew who Spalding Gray was. ☹ [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1159 "2020-05-21T03:18:45Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > Are you referring to David Faber (of CNBC)? Do you mean when Alex said that he presented the clues in his category very well. IMHO that’s quite a stretch, but not impossible. Yes. Exactly what I was thinking. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1160 "2020-05-21T14:41:09Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I guess it wasn’t a mistake after all, then. Or was it? Is it better to be guaranteed at least an even sudden-death confrontation, with the possibility of winning in “regulation” if your opponent gets FJ wrong? Or to guarantee the win if you get FJ right, while still winning if you and he both get it wrong? Here are the possibility spaces for Megan betting nothing or something. ```auto Megan bets $0, Ben bets $9,400 Ben Right Ben Wrong Megan right Tie Megan wins Megan wrong Tie Megan wins Megan bets >$0 (and <$9,400), Ben bets $9,400 Ben Right Ben Wrong Megan right Megan wins Megan wins Megan wrong Megan loses Megan wins ``` By betting 0, the worst outcome for her is a tie, and the chance at the sudden death round. By betting more than 0, she has one additional chance to win, but also the chance of losing, which is what happened. I would have gone for the tie. Surprisingly, the J!-Archive has not updated its [strategy recommendations](http://www.j-archive.com/wageringcalculator.php?a=18800&b=9400&c=5400&player_a=Megan&player_b=Ben&player_c=Jesse)to reflect the fact that ties now lead to a sudden-death question. > [@](#): > > Megan: Wager $0 to guarantee your return for the next game, or, if you’d rather lose today than face Ben tomorrow, wager $18,800 to maximize your winnings (or $7,999 to keep from dropping into third place). > [@SlackerInc](#): > > Watching today’s episode, I wondered if contestants can in real time see their and their opponents’ scores? Yes, the scores are displayed for the contestants, [off-camera to the left of the game board](https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/behind-scenes/7-things-you-dont-see-jeopardy-set). You can sometimes see them looking there (to their left) to check the scores. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=59)