Has James Holzhauer broken "Jeopardy!"?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by guy incognito, Apr 22, 2019.

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  1. Al Kuenster

    Al Kuenster Senior Member

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV - US
    Well Emma is done she went up against two good opponents last night.
     
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  2. daca

    daca Currently on Double Secret Probation

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    She was who we thought she was, and James let her off the hook. That’s why he took the podium. If you want to crown her ***, then crown her! But she was who we thought she was and James let her off the hook!



    Maybe she should have hung out on the Steve Hoffman Music Forums and then she would have learned about getting caught between the moon and New York City, the big lake they call Gitche Gumee, and that this land is your land, and this land is my land.
     
  3. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    Just want to point out that the 5-day champion rule (one can only be champion for 5 days) did not go by the wayside until 2003.
    Who's to say that some of the champions before that time couldn't have made a run like Ken Jennings or James Holzhauer, if they weren't episode-limited?

    I don't think it was an accident that we didn't see someone like Ken Jennings until shortly after the 5-day rule went away.
    Because of the 5-day rule, it might be better to only talk about champions of the last 15-16 years, rather than the last 35 years.
     
  4. bcaulf

    bcaulf Forum Resident

    Yeah that’s a good point, I forgot to factor that in.
     
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  5. Gill-man

    Gill-man Forum Resident

    Location:
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    I’d certainly be interested to hear more from former contestants regarding work conflicts. I know reality shows like Big Brother pay a stipend to compensate a bit for work missed (Big Brother contestants are on the show in real time though and can miss anywhere from one week to a few months). Shows recorded months prior to airing have more secrecy concerns.
     
  6. JAuz

    JAuz Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Wouldn't you only have to take 1 week off for a lengthy 25-game run? Win 5 games and you're done in 2 days.

    Or is taping 5 shows a day a relatively new practice?
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2019
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  7. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    Yes, I would, too. Everything I say on here is just based on my own impressions. I have no inside info.
     
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  8. Jay_Z

    Jay_Z Forum Resident

    As you said, Jeopardy! is not real time.

    Again, they shoot the series in 10 episodes over 2 days. Then a two week break until another 10 episodes. So assume you are scheduled in for the Wednesday, or second day of taping. You get out to LA Tuesday so you can rest up. You win all of the shows you play on Wednesday. Now you can take the red eye and work the next day if you really have to.

    So you go out for the next taping and win all 10 shows. Now you have won 11-15 shows, which is a superlative performance. You took off Monday-Wednesday for those shows. You have one more taping two weeks hence. You come back out, lose on a show taped Tuesday and come back.

    This requires a total of 7 days off from your work. With days in between where you can work. Only two contestants have required more than three tapings to get in all of their shows. You need 7 days off over the course of a month, spread out. For what is a lifelong dream for many, that they can plan for.

    The show tapes for most of the year. The producers might even be able to be flexible with contestants and schedule them for a time of year when their work is not so busy. If you work 70 hours a week 12 months a year, you are probably not trying out for the show anyway.

    I'm sure there are people who need to drop out of the tapings. I'm sure the show has alternate contestants for each set of tapings for such a purpose. But these dropouts are never on the show or are on a later show.

    I vaguely recall one champion who did not appear on the next show. I believe they came back and played at a later date. An illness or death in the family could certainly cause this sort of cancellation.

    I'm sorry, this question is being asked because viewers are watching a contestant on Tuesday the 5th and the same contestant on Friday the 15th and can't shake the impression that the show is shot in real time. It is not.
     
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  9. The woman that dethroned James only lasted three days as champion.
     
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  10. Mirror Image

    Mirror Image 200 Years Of Anton Bruckner

    Location:
    United States
    I was interested in Jeopardy when Holzhauer was on there racking up big money night after night, but when he lost, I simply lost interest. I’m not a huge fan of game shows, but will freely admit that Holzhauer was one of the most exciting contestants on any game show I’ve seen. The way he went for those difficult questions first and wagered so much money in the Daily Doubles made him unstoppable until he lost to some woman who didn’t even make it much longer after she won against him.
     
  11. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I've been a regular watcher of Jeopardy! for all of my adult life and that will continue.

    Most champions only win 3 or 4 games. It is unusual for anyone to get up to 10.
    As I've said several times, Holzhauer was a special breed. He had a special brain, I wonder if he has some visual memory skills. But I also note that he had all the time in the world to prepare.

    I'm more a fan of the knowledge part of it, then I am of the contestants -- unless I have a connection to one of them -- which has happened -- -someone in my high school class was on there a few years ago.
     
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  12. Veggie Boy

    Veggie Boy still trudgin'

    Location:
    Central Canada
    I am a regular watcher too but the "must-see" aspect has been significantly reduced since Holzhauer's loss.

    I would PVR Holhauer episodes if there was a minute chance I wouldn't be home when Jeopardy was scheduled to air.
     
  13. I'll keep watching because it's my anti-dementia medication. Half an hour of trying to guess answers before the contestants do keeps the neural pathways nice and squeaky clean.
     
  14. daca

    daca Currently on Double Secret Probation

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    James Holzhauer didn’t break Jeopardy!, but he did break Season 35. You, like most people, have indeed lost interest. Virtually all contestants have regressed to the Jeopardy! mean. Pick a category, answer $200, $400, etc. all the way down the board.

    BORING!*

    However, tune back in this September when Season 36 starts. I think you will start to see people play the way James did.

    You got”Holzhauered” will enter the Jeopardy! lexicon.

    This came to bite the champ in the posterior this past Tuesday:
    • The champ had an $8800 lead, with 1 category on the board, 5 clues left, and 1 Daily Double on the board.
    • The 3rd place challenger starts with the $400 question, which the champ gets. He has a $9200 lead now.
    • The champ *skips* the $800 question and goes to the $1200 question. The third place challenger answers correct.
    • The $1600 is answered by the 2nd place challenger. Champ up $7600. Two clues left.
    • The $2000 goes unanswered. And the final $800 clue (by default) goes to the 2nd place challenger, who wagers $8000. He was correct. And now has a $400 lead going into FJ!
    • All three get Final Jeopardy! correct and the champ is dethroned.

    *Even though playing straight down would have worked here, Holzhauer would have weeded those DD’s out.

    My prediction for the future of Jeopardy! are contestants trying to emulate James. Play loose and fast in SJ, eliminate the DD’s in DJ as soon as possible and try to have a runaway going into FJ!
     
  15. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Yeah, that makes sense. The contestants who played on episodes shot before JH's run aired won't have the knowledge of what he did, whereas those who compete after his run aired will know his style, and some will try to emulate it.

    Be interesting to see how it plays out and if that style will work well for others!
     
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  16. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    I fully expect lots of people to try Holzhauer's strategy and fail miserably. He didn't miss many answers for what he buzzed in for, and that will always be the most important thing.
     
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  17. Jim Pattison

    Jim Pattison Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kitchener ON
    I agree. I think that most of the contestants we see next season will have carefully studied all of Holzhauer's games and will try to emulate his strategy. Of course, his success was due to a lot of things, including his reflexes on the buzzer, his wide range of knowledge - even for a Jeopardy! contestant - and his willingness to make big wagers on Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy. I'll be very surprised if many people are able to successfully duplicate his results.

    Edit: Oatsdad and jupiter8 just made the same points I made while I was typing my response.
     
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  18. Strummergas

    Strummergas Senior Member

    Location:
    Queens, NY
    Not liking the current champ AT ALL. Reminds me of every bro-********* currently infesting Brooklyn. Can't watch again until he loses.
     
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  19. Remember that the episodes currently airing were filmed months ago, before the world had seen Holzhauer's run.

    By next year, you will see far more contestants employing Holzhauer's strategies. He's opened up the idea of Jeopardy's significant financial rewards if you prepare hard enough.

    You are going to see a new breed of "professional" Jeopardy players copying him unless the producers actively prevent it.
     
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  20. bcaulf

    bcaulf Forum Resident

    Well said. As I probably mentioned here already I'm not really a Jeopardy fan, but when my girlfriend moved in with me I had to start sitting through it because she's a Jeopardy fan. (I just wouldn't get into it or pay much attention). I did, however, start paying attention during James' run. It was so fun to watch every night and once he lost the feeling that his run was taken for granted ("he's not losing any time soon!") set in. I too have started losing interest and going back to not really caring about watching, and there's still a felling that something is missing, like a small void, but I'm now a fan of James and I sure will tune in for TOC!
     
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  21. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I also watched that show, and my recollection is that BOTH DDs in Double Jeopardy! were $800 clues.

    We will have to see if I am proved wrong, but I think that even though many people may try to emulate Holzhauer, few will be successful. The unique things that Holzhauer did that would need to be emulated by future champions --- fast buzzer response, AND being able to dominate the board, keep control, and hit the DDs. This means very little weak categories.

    My recollection of this season (35th season), even prior to Holzhauer, there seemed to be a lot of five- or six-day champions, much more than I remember from previous years.
     
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  22. daca

    daca Currently on Double Secret Probation

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    You are wrong. I watched the game. One was an $800 clue, which was the clue that allowed Emma back into the game as she made it a true Daily Double of $7,600, got it right and put her in the game.

    The other DD in Double Jeopardy! was a $2000 clue, that Emma found, made a modest wager, and also got right.


    This is a recency bias, there are anywhere from 8-12 5 game winners in a season. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But with the added attention to Alex (GET BETTER ALEX!) and the interest in James, there probably have been slightly more 5 game winners in Season 35 as compared to the past.
     
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  23. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    Maybe we are talking about different shows. I'm not talking about Emma. Emma won on a Monday, and stayed a few days, but didn't make it to the end of the week. She lost on Thursday or Friday. She definitely didn't lose on a Tuesday ---- this past Tuesday or the one before it (see next paragraph to see why I am talking about days of the week)

    In your prior post which I quoted, you mention this past Tuesday. Emma was long gone by then, she was gone by the end of the previous week (i.e., she lost about 1o days ago, as this is written).

    The game I am thinking of occurred during this past week. I don't remember what day it was. The Double Jeopardy round played out similar to the way you described, which is why I initially believed we were talking about the same show. But I could be mixing up two shows.

    Anyway, I stand by my statement, that there was a recent show in which both Double Jeopardy DDs were $800 clues.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2019
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  24. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    I noticed there were several in close succession (maybe not in a row) right at the beginning of this season, with one a holdover from the end of last season (side note -- -how'd you like to be that person? There is one holdover every year -- whoever wins the last show of the season)

    It sounds like you have access to statistics (if you're stating 8-12 per year) -- maybe you can check my statement.
    I am only giving my impressions.
     
  25. daca

    daca Currently on Double Secret Probation

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    We are apparently talking about different shows. I thought you were referring to the “game” where Emma “beat” James.

    Also, the game reference in my post where the challenger got the DD on the last clue, both of the two Daily Doubles were not in the $800 clues.

    It can happen, and I think you are right, that sometime later that week there were two DD’s in the $800 clues. Don’t remember right off hand, but I do recall it.

    It just wasn’t in James v. Emma or the “Chump” blowing it, allowing the DD to be the last clue of Double J!
     
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