Posted on 06/04/2019 7:13:04 AM PDT by EdnaMode
For weeks, the “Jeopardy!” phenomenon James Holzhauer had been unstoppable.
He set the record for the most money won in one episode, holds the second spot on the list, and the next 14. Eleven times during his winning streak, he went a whole game without buzzing in incorrectly. For fans, the question was not whether he would surpass the $2.52 million Ken Jennings won during his record 74-game winning streak in 2004, but when.
The correct response:
What is never?
In the prerecorded episode that aired on Monday, Holzhauer’s “Jeopardy!” reign came to an end with his 33rd game, a tantalizing $58,484 shy of Jennings’s mark. The number of the day turned out to be $22,002, the amount that separated him from the winner, a librarian from Chicago named Emma Boettcher.
The surprising end caused even the famously dispassionate host to practically lose his composure.
“What a game!” Alex Trebek exclaimed after Boettcher’s final score popped up. “Oh my gosh!”
Holzhauer walked over to give Boettcher a high-five.
“Nobody likes to lose,” Holzhauer said in an interview. “But I’m very proud of how I did, and I really exceeded my own expectations for the show. So I don’t feel bad about it.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Yeah, if you finish well in the Tournaments you make good coin.
I’ll never get invited back to one of those because I disdn’t win 5 times.
Oh, well.. :( lol
Yep, James was hoist with his own petard. His usual method of winning was to poach all the big $ questions where the Daily Doubles reside, leaving the two challengers scraping for the small money leftovers. This time it happened to James. While I was kind of sad to see James go before he could clear $3 mil, I was rooting for Emma. I, too was getting tired of watching James win so effortlessly. FWIW, Emma has a similar cold-blooded/no personality style like James. She may stay for awhile.
You nailed it.
The dirty secret about Jeopardy! is that everyone who gets on the show is smart enough to know 80-90% of all the questions. They’ve passed all the tests - they’re all smart and knowledgeable.
The difference between winning and looking like a fool is your speed/timing on the button, who gets the DDs and when, and whether you get tripped up by a wonky category or answer you don’t know in Final Jeopardy.
James had an over 90% correct response rate and was fearless with wagering and looked for the DDs right away. That’s a recipe for big money and staying power.
It might just be me but he looks just the slightest bit Japanese. I once worked with a Federal agent who was half Japanese and he resembled Holzhauer a lot.
Incorrect... Emma had MORE money than James before the Final Jeopardy question. NO WAY he could catch her if she got the answer and bet enough.
-—Incorrect... Emma had MORE money than James before the Final Jeopardy question. NO WAY he could catch her if she got the answer and bet enough. ——
Right. The wagering strategy is completely different if you’re second going into the Final rather than first.
“It might just be me but he looks just the slightest bit Japanese. “
https://heavy.com/news/2019/04/james-holzhauer-family/
“James Holzhauer Grew Up Watching Jeopardy With His Grandmother, Who Moved to the United States From Japan to Help Raise Her Grandchildren “
I’m sorry that you didn’t recognize my sarcasm. I was responding to that individual who posited that Mr Holzhauer threw the match. The secrets to his success was his ability to control the board and hit the Daily Double, at which time he would wager big.
The only Daily Double he got was the first clue, when he didn’t have a grubstack to wager.
Sorry, but I am not buying your argument that the Jeopardy! folks were trying to protect Ken Jenning’s record. Cui bono?
BTW, congratulations on getting the last clue. I narrowed it down to Marlowe and Ben Jonson but picked the wrong one.
Not knowing much about game shows, but remembering something about about Sajak and Trebek being right of center, is that the reason why? Or is it something different?
Thanks.
I have my doubts about the Daily Doubles. They can easily be programmed to come up whenever they want. With the style James employed (And Emma copied), the DD's have a LOT to say about who wins.
That said, my suggestion about 'rigging' was more to imply: They made it VERY hard for him to break the record by recruiting not one, but TWO exceptional players. Still, James would likely have won if he'd had better luck with the DD's.
I've always dreamed about being on the show, but have never tried. I fear that I'd look like a fool in the TV lights.
Maybe you can answer a question my wife and I have: What is the deal with the timing of pushing the button? Are you not allowed to buzz in while Alex is still reading the question? How do you know WHEN you can push? Is there a visual aid of some kind?
Are you not allowed to buzz in while Alex is still reading the question?
Correct
How do you know WHEN you can push?
There is something on the board that lights up (not visible to the viewers)
Is there a visual aid of some kind?
Yes
https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/behind-scenes/how-does-jeopardy-buzzer-work
Well, if you’re there long enough, eventually someone (or two) is going to show up who’s better than you. Just the Law of Averages.
I’m also pretty sure the DDS are fixed before the game starts, They’re almost always in the bottom half of the board (with a few exceptions). All 3 players know that. That’s why James always went there first.
-——Maybe you can answer a question my wife and I have: What is the deal with the timing of pushing the button? Are you not allowed to buzz in while Alex is still reading the question? How do you know WHEN you can push? Is there a visual aid of some kind?-——
There’s a light that goes all around the game board. the contestants and studio audience can see it, but the TV audience can’t. That light goes on when Alex is finished reading, and that light is a signal to the contestants that the buzzers are activated.
Your timing has to be very good. You need to mentally read the question faster than Alex does; think of the response; then wait to see the light and press your thumb/finger. If you’re too early, you’re frozen out for a quarter of a second, which is an eternity, and more than enough time for the other two contestants to buzz in. You can really look bad if you continually press the button early.
Yep.
I was on the show and no idea how the buzzers actually worked until I appeared.
You have to wait for the white neon ring to light up, then you can answer.
We asked why they set it up like that.
Because the viewers at home would not have a chance to read and guess if someone buzzed in after two seconds.
I notice that the buzzers also now have an exposed button.
On my game, in 1989, it was still recessed.
Much superior nowadays.
——Even if Einstein wanted to waste his time and brain power learning trivia, being able to ring in on time and spurt out the correct answers on a clock is entirely different from researching and developing theories over years and years.——
Right. Either your brain works a certain way that makes you good at Jeopardy!, or it doesn’t. You can’t really train yourself for it if your mind doesn’t already work that way. Meaning: Retaining facts you may only be exposed to once or twice, and being able to recall those things immediately.
One of my successful Daily Doubles involved identifying the father of Hester Prynne’s baby in “The Scarlet Letter”. I got it right, even though I hadn’t read the book since 9th Grade. Don’t ask me how I remembered the man’s name. I just did. Shrug.
“Because the viewers at home would not have a chance to read and guess if someone buzzed in after two seconds.”
I believe that is the main ingredient in the shows success. I suspect that the majority of viewers shout answers at the TV and the fact that they can say the answer before the contestants does gives them a feeling of success.
Well I suspect they would train their brains a little differently. Or their brains would develop differently.
LOL Ok.. it makes more sense that way. Sometimes, a "/sarc" helps to avoid collusion. :-)
I was guessing at Marlowe. Just something I thought I remembered from a book I read last year. Although I despise English Lit, in general, my sister learned through family research that we are descended from Sir Thomas Wyatt (who, was a rather miserable poet). The book she sent me also had a chapter about Marlowe.
My goofy brain works much the same way. I am often able to quickly recall very strange things that I might not have seen in decades, I always say: I have an innate ability to remember useless crap.
However, I also tend to get "over-excited" under pressure, and fear I would not be able to quickly read the clues faster than Alex. If you can't do that, you have no chance.
It's easy on the couch.... where I routinely CRUSH everyone! :-)
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