# 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:** 99
**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:** [March 13, 2021, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1961 "2021-03-13T08:27:20Z")
My first thought was Manassas, but I doubt US presidents would commemorate a Union defeat (First Bull Run). Antietam came in second. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1962 "2021-03-13T15:45:55Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Now that would be an interesting choice of host. My only worry would be that he might ad-lib a little too much. From all that I’ve watched Mike, I think he’s enough of a professional to handle it properly. Would do it better than Guy Fieri:stuck\_out\_tongue\_closed\_eyes: Katie has done a pretty good job, now that she’s lost the bubblies. Read somewhere on the interwebs that folks were putting together a petition to have LeVar Burton as the new host. The more I think about it, the more I dread Aaron Rogers hosting. It’ll be interesting to watch. I’m hoping my first thought isn’t “He should have stuck to football”. Anyone that’s interested in Jeopardy! gets a pass, at least to start with 😆 ---
**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:** [March 13, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1963 "2021-03-13T20:33:56Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I was so mad at that second place guy Exactly right. He did what second place usually does…bet almost everything, even though that doesn’t increase his chances to win. He only wins if first-place misses the answer, so he should make a bet that will still beat 3rd place, even if he (second place) misses the answer. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1964 "2021-03-15T22:02:47Z")
I’m surprised the older guy got FJ. Isn’t it “Young Adult” material? NTTAWWT. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1965 "2021-03-18T01:12:54Z")
This may have already been discussed upthread, but does anyone else find it really annoying that pretty much all contestants these days have seemingly adopted James Holzhauer’s strategy of hunting for the Daily Doubles, starting at the bottom/middle of each category and jumping from category to category, instead of just running straight down one category at a time? It makes it much harder for me to get the clues in which the name of the category itself dictates something specific about the correct response–examples from last night’s show include “Historic Henrys,” “Starts and Ends with ‘E’,” and “\_\_\_ of the \_\_\_”–because I can’t keep track of which category we’re in. With this practice having become the norm, one wonders how much longer the writers will continue to bother writing the clues to flow sequentially down each category, and whether they’ll start putting more Daily Doubles in the low-dollar-value places. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1966 "2021-03-18T03:15:37Z")
I know the phrase, but wouldn’t have guessed which part was the correct response. My daughter is a big fan of the series (we saw the movie together), but I don’t remember much about its details. “Panem et Circenses” was the title of a second-season _ **Star Trek** _ episode. Like on _ **Seinfeld** _, most of my knowledge of culture and literature comes from watching television or reading comic books. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1967 "2021-03-18T05:09:48Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > does anyone else find it really annoying that pretty much all contestants these days have seemingly adopted James Holzhauer’s strategy of hunting for the Daily Doubles, starting at the bottom/middle of each category and jumping from category to category, instead of just running straight down one category at a time? Yes. It drives me nuts. Especially when the most entertaining category is left unfinished because of it. Personally, I hope the writers start making even more categories that need to be done in order. Go back to the never-really-common-but-occasional-until-recently gag of having each clue in a category lead directly into the next one. Active punishment. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1968 "2021-03-18T06:49:19Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Yes. It drives me nuts. Especially when the most entertaining category is left unfinished because of it. I’m not fond of it either. I understand what the players are trying to do, and they are playing by the rules, but it’s just not as much fun (for me, anyway) when they don’t start at the top and head down. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1969 "2021-03-18T20:20:23Z")
I’d be happy simply if they showed the category on the screen somewhere, when the contestants are jumping around. I feel really foolish when I answer, say, Charlottes’s Web when the category is “Words that end in Y”. Yes I was wrong, sure, but I didn’t have to be THAT wrong! 🙂 ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1970 "2021-03-18T21:52:27Z")
Today’s question asked about energy use. 3 contestants were wrong with kilowatt,megawatt, gigawatt. Katie said they wanted kilowatt hours. The _ **first contestant’s answer** _. 😏 Who on earth includes hours? Technically it is kilowatt hours, but everyone abbreviates it as kilowatt. That’s just too nitpicky. It hurt the game by costing three contestants money. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1971 "2021-03-18T22:33:59Z")
killowatt and killowat-hours are two different units (kW is power, kW-h is energy = 3600 Joules) Picky, but an important difference. It is like saying an acre is 43,560 ft instead of 43,560 ft^2 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1972 "2021-03-18T22:38:17Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’d be happy simply if they showed the category on the screen somewhere, when the contestants are jumping around. I feel really foolish when I answer, say, Charlottes’s Web when the category is “Words that end in Y”. Yes I was wrong, sure, but I didn’t have to be THAT wrong! 🙂 Yeah, I did that the other night with the “Starts and Ends with ‘E’” category. Must have blurted out two or three responses that did not start and end with “E.” ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1973 "2021-03-18T22:52:42Z")
I think that’s why contestants jump from category-to-category now. Someone upthread said they’re searching for Daily Doubles, but you’re just as likely to find them by going sequentially through a category as opposed to jumping around. Changing categories might keep the other contestants a bit disoriented, though, as you were. I’ve always wondered if it makes more sense to select your favorite category first, or to save it for later. I’d feel much more comfortable with Aviation than with English Monarchs, for example. I don’t want any of the Aviation clues to left over at the end of the round, but the show has been pretty good about using all the clues. So, assuming I get control of the board, do I go for the Aviation questions as soon as I can, or do I save them for later and, if I’m lucky enough to get a Daily Double in a category I’m good at, I have a larger bankroll to wager? ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1974 "2021-03-18T23:02:41Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > killowatt and killowat-hours are two different units (kW is power, kW-h is energy = 3600 Joules) > Picky, but an important difference. > > It is like saying an acre is 43,560 ft instead of 43,560 ft^2 > > Brian I didn’t know that. I needed to know the difference. Thank you ---
**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:** [March 18, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1975 "2021-03-18T23:09:13Z")
Before someone corrects me, a kWh is 3600 kiloJoules (1MJ) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2021, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1976 "2021-03-18T23:10:04Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve always wondered if it makes more sense to select your favorite category first, or to save it for later. I think it’s good to focus on the clues you’re more likely to know first, as you keep control of the board and get an earlier bankroll in the event you stumble on a daily double. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1977 "2021-03-19T00:39:23Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I think that’s why contestants jump from category-to-category now. Someone upthread said they’re searching for Daily Doubles, but you’re just as likely to find them by going sequentially through a category as opposed to jumping around. Changing categories might keep the other contestants a bit disoriented, though, as you were. I agree the main point of jumping from category to category is to confuse your opponents, but they definitely are hunting for Daily Doubles as well. (This was widely discussed as one of the keys of Holzhauer’s strategy during his run, but just quickly searching right now I can’t find any interviews where he himself admitted to this.) That’s why they so often start with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th clues down, and only pick the top two clues when there are no others left. It’s really annoying when they do that in a category with a “gimmick” to it that’s _not_ obvious (like having a letter or word in quotation marks.) Often Alex/the host will not explicitly explain how the category works, just kind of wink and say “you’ll see how that works.” Like the very first time they ever featured “Before, During, & After.” If you’ve never seen it before, and you don’t have the benefit of seeing another contestant get one right, or having the host reveal the correct response after no one gets it… it’s much more difficult to get clued in on your first try when you pick one of the three most difficult clues in the category to start rather than the easiest. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1978 "2021-03-19T02:47:42Z")
Constantly jumping categories confuses viewers at home. I can’t keep up with the gimmick categories. Like Words that end in “ant”. It used to be easy to follow when contestants went down the row. There was a rhythm that made it easier to think of words that fit the questions. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2021, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1979 "2021-03-21T23:25:49Z")
I watch the show on my DVR when I get home from work. I have a fantasy of getting on as a contestant, but a physical infirmity has made it unlikely that I can pass the online test. But if I did get on, I wonder if I would need to break my long-standing habit of shouting at the DD-chooser to “BET IT ALL!”, which I do when sitting in front of the TV (and deriding them as a coward when they don’t). I saw someone do it on a Celebrity Jeopardy! once, but if it’s not permitted in regular season play, I suspect I’d do well to train myself to not do it. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696/1980 "2021-03-21T23:52:53Z")
Could have sworn at least one of Jennings, Holzhauer, and Rutter did that to another on the Greatest of All Time tournament. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=98) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-jeopardy-thread-was-james-holzhauer-contains-spoilers/832696.md?page=100)