Has James Holzhauer broken "Jeopardy!"?

I wouldn't say he "struggled". He just got beat by another very good player; one who will probably go on a nice little run of her own. She's smart and super quick with the buzzer. Emma is a good match for James.

 

"Struggled" was perhaps a poor wording choice.

 

Holzhaur could have won if his final jeopardy wager was higher so IMO it was down to poor betting on his part.

I really enjoyed the game though, it was an edge of your seat watch right through. Emma was a worthy opponent and I hope she now runs with it and exceeds James. I guess we'll see.

 

Whenever a streak like this happens with someone so skilled, you start to think “this guy will NEVER lose, there’s no way!” Even though it would probably happen eventually it’s hard to imagine actually seeing it happen. It happened sooner than I expected at least, that’s for sure. Still a hell of a run, and quite a hefty payday. He almost beat Ken’s record in half the time. That’s insane when you think about it.

 

He didn’t have to miss any answers at all to throw the match. All he had to do was be late on the buzzer, a skill he had above and beyond every previous challenger. Some have said he’s not that kind of player, but what he is is a sentimental guy who many times wagered specific amounts to honor people. Falling short of the money record could have been his way of honoring the current leader. I mean he holds every other record on the show.

 

He came pretty close to losing about a week or 2 ago, I remember James wiping his brow after he won and saluting the guy. So it's not like it couldn't happen. It just was going to take someone special.

That said this makes me wonder how they "add" contestants. Like can they screen someone who clearly seems like they are top notch and "save" them for when they want to put them in the game to face a particular challenger or is it supposed to be some kind of random thing.

 

Yeah that's what doesn't make sense. If he truly lost on purpose because he wanted to leave I get it but why not play at most 2 more nights and break the all time record. Seems like the ultimate payoff for a gambler.

 

No. She bet enough to beat him by $1, if he risked it all. Others have explained his betting strategy: he suspected she’d bet big (he was right) and if she got the answer right she’d win. IF she got it wrong and he got it right, he’d win. If they both got it wrong, he’d be vulnerable to the other guy. So he bet just enough so that if they were BOTH wrong, he’d still finish in first, ahead of the other guy...

Middle guy could have got 22,000. James could have got 46,800. She won with 46,801.
If James got question wrong, he finishes with 22,001, while she would’ve finished with much less...

Edit - in his own words:

“I knew I could only win if Emma missed Final Jeopardy, as there was no way she wouldn’t bet to cover my all-in bet, so my only concern was getting overtaken by third place, and I bet just enough to make sure of locking him out," he said. "Betting big would have looked good for the cameras, but now I turn my straight bet (Emma misses) into a parlay (Emma misses, and I get it right).

By the time Final Jeopardy rolled around, I knew my goose was cooked if Emma answered correctly. It’s a little like needing a team to miss a last-second field goal — nothing you can really do but watch," he said. "I made peace with my fate before the clue for Final was even revealed.”​

 

Well, we'll find out tonight if Emma was that quick or James was being intentionally slow.

 

Just goes to show: Everybody loses in the end.

 

You are correct!! Sorry for some reason I thought Emma low-balled her bet as well to about $2,000 which would have left her vulnerable.

I still hope she carries on to surpass James' run and perhaps Ken Jennings

 

Pages ago I pointed out that it was the Daily Doubles strategy that was his strength.

In yesterday's game, he got unlucky by getting the regular Daily Double as the very first clue, limiting him to $1000. You could see the frustration on his face when that happened. Then the unthinkable happened when she got both of the Double Jeopardy Daily Doubles. That pretty much sunk his strategy - and she was able to play at his level on the remaining standard board clues.

 

I think it goes back to the having a knack for using the buzzer. Given a situation where two (or three) players are equally smart, whoever manages to ring in first will most likely get the question right and gain control of the board, and thus have a chance to find the Daily Doubles. We've heard a lot about how tricky the buzzer can be, and it's probably not something you can practice without actually being on the show. So James had the great advantage of experience in using it for over 30 shows. It's impressive that anybody would be able to get the hang of it so quickly, but that's what all challengers are faced with.

Here's something that would have been interesting. If James had been very to close Ken Jennings' total winnings record, lost the game, but the 2nd place prize of $2000 pushed him past the record. Breaking the record by coming in second (or third)!

 

Not really. As the entire week's games are taped in a single day this was the first game, and it makes sense to do it sooner (or ASAP) than later.

 

James’s final game was taped on March 12, less than a week after Alex Trebek announced that he had cancer. So the timing of the Get Well card was just a poignant coincidence, and not deliberate.

 

I also said on an earlier post here (last week) that Shakespeare wasn't his category.
I mentioned this while talking about an episode last week where he failed to answer any Shakespeare questions.
I guess I could go quote myself.

 

James's explanation of the strategy of his Final Jeopardy! bet (above here in post #358) is exactly what I was going to say, so I won't try to restate it.

But the way this played out shows why it is advantageous to be in the lead when Final Jeopardy question is asked, when it is not a runaway.
If you bet enough and get the question right, you are guaranteed to win.

 

Wow. That’s awhile back. I didn’t realize it was so far in advance.

 

I did not get the sense he was trying to throw the game. (I'm not saying "throw the match" because I get a completely different visual with those words)

Both of these opponents were among the sharpest challengers I had seen in recent weeks. I cannot remember a regular (meaning non-tournament) game in which every one of the questions in the first two rounds (there are a total of 60 of them) was answered correctly except one. You see that a lot in the annual Tournament of Champions, or in those special tournaments where they bring back people like Ken Jennings or Brad Rutter, but very rarely in a regular game.

I have said here before, several times, that I have felt that earlier champions have thrown games, presumably because they had to get out of town for some reason -- or if they happened to live in LA, they had to get to something else (job, or responsibilities, or whatever).

 

Given that ALL of James’ games were recorded before his 1st TV appearance on the show, I am still amazed at the ability to keep the results, of a syndicated game show, “under wraps” for almost 3 months.

Again, Manhattan Project level security here.

Except of course, yesterday’s episode (6/3/2019) which was the worst kept secret ever. And available for free on YouTube this week.

P.S. if a $2.5M prize breaks Sony Pictures Television, they are in much more dire straits than one game show. They will probably make that much, or more, due to yesterday’s episode and all of the fanfare around it.

P.P.S. You can put it on the board that Emma wins tonight. They are not going to let her go out after one game, like the person who beat Jennings.

 

Did anyone find out who leaked the story?

 

Yes. I find it kind of mind-boggling that all 33 of his games were taped before any of them aired. That means that none of his opponents have ever heard of him before the day they showed up at the studio to compete against him.

 

I think the network.....to be sure they got the viewers they had to imply "its happening tonight!"

there was a Shakespeare category last week that he did poorly on....he had to guess even emma might have it (it being final j) so played defense. he looked on edge the whole show, like these weren't cannon fodder players, he knew they were coming for him....he didn't throw it (imo) its every gamblers dream to go on a run like that. ...he played hard the whole time and it was neck and neck at the end. just wasn't his night

 

Isn't there a live audience? I don't watch it, but I'm amazed that there were no leaks until recently. How is that possible?

 

I forced myself not to look at the spoilers here yesterday, because I didn't want to know.
However, the sheer number of them being hidden by the people who run the website made me suspicious that something was going to happen yesterday.
I didn't know for sure (because I didn't open any spoilers) but as mentioned, was highly suspicious.

As a result I made sure I was home to watch this episode. I don't always see every episode. Leaving work late and traffic are the primary reasons why.
When he lost, I had to feign surprise when watching with my wife. She had no idea something was going to happen.
Wasn't fun having to feign my reaction, but on the other hand, I was glad that I saw it on the TV as a first run epidode, rather than later on rerun or YouTube.