J! in the Media

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JayK33
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by JayK33 »

colonial wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:29 am https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainme ... se/587878/

This article includes comments from Mark "The Beast" Labbett on playing Holzhauer on "The Chase", what it takes to be a super quizzer, etc.

Also features an interesting fact at the end about JH and "The Chase" ... never heard that story before (if true).
Thanks for sharing this one.
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Re: J! in the Media

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hbomb1947 wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:38 pm An article about James in the NY Post by our very own Vermonter.

https://tinyurl.com/y395yr8s

(contains spoilers for those who aren't caught up through today's show in their viewing)

An interesting note by the author:
In my last match, I briefly thought about risking all of my $12,800 on a Daily Double concerning chemistry, which I considered one of my strongest categories. As Trebek awaited my decision, I realized that such a large bet would be unheard of, so I chickened out and went for $4,000 — and ended up losing as a result.
So even the guy behind "The Final Wager" couldn't pull the trigger on a TDD that he knew was optimal for the situation (acknowledging that he was a bit younger at the time - the match he's referring to was a UTOC game that aired in 2005. http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=185). Of course, it would be an understatement to say that, 14 years later, DD wagers of at least $12,800 are no longer unheard-of. :D I'm sure the 2019 version of Vermonter would have gone all-in without hesitation.
I had a similar situation my last match. Well behind Erin, I got a late round DD with $11k in the bank, and in my cowardice bet $4k on a bottom row “word origins” clue. I had suffered such a humiliating defeat the day before that I couldn’t bear the thought of finishing at $0 again. $11k felt like an astronomical amount of money to bet that I would almost certainly strongly consider now. I got it right but even a TDD wouldn’t have mattered in the end as I got FJ! wrong but I still wonder WHATIFWHATIFWHATIF, if only to have had that moment of glory.
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Re: J! in the Media

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Hyperlink to another interview related to "Jeopardy!" (possibly involving the same being questioned for the interview to which I had posted a hyperlink earlier on this page)*:

https://wgnradio.com/2019/04/25/brother ... ivia-whiz/

(*note: I had found some of the language in the recording of this interview to had been vulgar and had found myself surprised, saddened, and disappointed by whom I had believed to have had been this being using the word "hell" in a vulgar way, especially after having enjoyed the other interview I had mentioned on this page)
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by jeff6286 »

Mario500 wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:43 am Hyperlink to another interview related to "Jeopardy!" (possibly involving the same being questioned for the interview to which I had posted a hyperlink earlier on this page)*:

https://wgnradio.com/2019/04/25/brother ... ivia-whiz/

(*note: I had found some of the language in the recording of this interview to had been vulgar and had found myself surprised, saddened, and disappointed by whom I had believed to have had been this being using the word "hell" in a vulgar way, especially after having enjoyed the other interview I had mentioned on this page)
This being? Is there some reason you won’t use a name?
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Re: J! in the Media

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jeff6286 wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:04 am
Mario500 wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:43 am Hyperlink to another interview related to "Jeopardy!" (possibly involving the same being questioned for the interview to which I had posted a hyperlink earlier on this page)*:

https://wgnradio.com/2019/04/25/brother ... ivia-whiz/

(*note: I had found some of the language in the recording of this interview to had been vulgar and had found myself surprised, saddened, and disappointed by whom I had believed to have had been this being using the word "hell" in a vulgar way, especially after having enjoyed the other interview I had mentioned on this page)
This being? Is there some reason you won’t use a name?
I did not think it was necessary.
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Re: J! in the Media

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Mario500 wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:43 am (*note: I had found some of the language in the recording of this interview to had been vulgar and had found myself surprised, saddened, and disappointed by whom I had believed to have had been this being using the word "hell" in a vulgar way, especially after having enjoyed the other interview I had mentioned on this page)
Damn, some people get riled up by the silliest things.
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gnash
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by gnash »

hbomb1947 wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:38 pm An article about James in the NY Post by our very own Vermonter.

https://tinyurl.com/y395yr8s

(contains spoilers for those who aren't caught up through today's show in their viewing)

An interesting note by the author:
In my last match, I briefly thought about risking all of my $12,800 on a Daily Double concerning chemistry, which I considered one of my strongest categories. As Trebek awaited my decision, I realized that such a large bet would be unheard of, so I chickened out and went for $4,000 — and ended up losing as a result.
So even the guy behind "The Final Wager" couldn't pull the trigger on a TDD that he knew was optimal for the situation (acknowledging that he was a bit younger at the time - the match he's referring to was a UTOC game that aired in 2005. http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=185). Of course, it would be an understatement to say that, 14 years later, DD wagers of at least $12,800 are no longer unheard-of. :D I'm sure the 2019 version of Vermonter would have gone all-in without hesitation. But this does speak to the psychological barriers that so many contestants who aren't professional gamblers face that prevent them from risking large sums, even when they might be tempted to.
I don't know that a TDD would have been optimal in Keith's situation. UTOC had more challenging clues than regular games, he was ahead and was doing better on the buzzer than the opponents. But $4,000 is too small a bet in general.

When I was on the show, I made a strict rule for myself: absolutely no second-guessing the strategy I devised at home. I knew I would necessarily be less rational on the set, so my task was to blindly follow orders given by my at-home self. This proved useful (though not decisive) in my first game. My DD strategy was "based on the comfort with the category, either bet $100 or less or bet at least $5,000 (or TDD if I have less than $5,000)". I found the first DD, wagered 100 and it was a gimme, which upset me enough that I lost concentration and gave a stupid response to the next clue. Fortunately, SJ was almost over so I re-focused over the break. An opponent found the first DJ round DD and I found the last one in a category I liked. I was narrowly leading at the time, and the thought did cross my mind, "I wagered low earlier and I got it, what if now I wager high and miss it?" Fortunately, I had left my free will at home and I just went with the program and wagered $5,000.

(BTW, I would now give my 2008 self two advices for strategic improvement. One is obvious: $5,000 is still too low. (Remember, this was well before Roger Craig's run. Most people considered $5,000 a very big wager at the time.) The other: While I wisely left my on-the-set self only the task of determining whether I liked the category or not, I didn't give myself clear orders as to what to do if I'm on the fence. The proper way to handle this would be "If in doubt, bet big".)
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Re: J! in the Media

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What it’s like to lose to unstoppable ‘Jeopardy!’ champion James Holzhauer (Washington Post, Apr 26th)

I wonder what % of viewers truly believe the game is "rigged". I'm guessing it's not insignificant.

This: "I did not go to “Jeopardy!” expecting to win." I once posted this very question on Reddit (how many people go on J! thinking they can win?), and the overwhelming response was "everybody". Haha, I was right. It's *not* everybody
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Re: J! in the Media

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morbeedo wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:21 pm What it’s like to lose to unstoppable ‘Jeopardy!’ champion James Holzhauer (Washington Post, Apr 26th)

I wonder what % of viewers truly believe the game is "rigged". I'm guessing it's not insignificant.
Read the comments of that recent Variety article. It's brutal. Probably just the vocal minority, but damn.
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Re: J! in the Media

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Le Master wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:32 pm
morbeedo wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:21 pm What it’s like to lose to unstoppable ‘Jeopardy!’ champion James Holzhauer (Washington Post, Apr 26th)

I wonder what % of viewers truly believe the game is "rigged". I'm guessing it's not insignificant.
Read the comments of that recent Variety article. It's brutal. Probably just the vocal minority, but damn.
Haha. It's just this guy Biff. Says James is being fed the answers AND has a photographic memory. You can't have it both ways, Biff!

I was lying in bed the other night thinking, sigh, I could never do as well as James on Jeopardy!, but watching him does inspire me to make the most of my eventual / inevitable appearance ;)
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by hbomb1947 »

gnash wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:17 pm
hbomb1947 wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:38 pm So even the guy behind "The Final Wager" couldn't pull the trigger on a TDD that he knew was optimal for the situation (acknowledging that he was a bit younger at the time - the match he's referring to was a UTOC game that aired in 2005. http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=185). Of course, it would be an understatement to say that, 14 years later, DD wagers of at least $12,800 are no longer unheard-of. :D I'm sure the 2019 version of Vermonter would have gone all-in without hesitation. But this does speak to the psychological barriers that so many contestants who aren't professional gamblers face that prevent them from risking large sums, even when they might be tempted to.
I don't know that a TDD would have been optimal in Keith's situation. UTOC had more challenging clues than regular games, he was ahead and was doing better on the buzzer than the opponents. But $4,000 is too small a bet in general.
Those things are true, but the clue was also in the second row. And as Keith mentioned, it was in a strong category for him.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by gnash »

hbomb1947 wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:46 pm
gnash wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:17 pm
hbomb1947 wrote: Thu Apr 25, 2019 11:38 pm So even the guy behind "The Final Wager" couldn't pull the trigger on a TDD that he knew was optimal for the situation (acknowledging that he was a bit younger at the time - the match he's referring to was a UTOC game that aired in 2005. http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=185). Of course, it would be an understatement to say that, 14 years later, DD wagers of at least $12,800 are no longer unheard-of. :D I'm sure the 2019 version of Vermonter would have gone all-in without hesitation. But this does speak to the psychological barriers that so many contestants who aren't professional gamblers face that prevent them from risking large sums, even when they might be tempted to.
I don't know that a TDD would have been optimal in Keith's situation. UTOC had more challenging clues than regular games, he was ahead and was doing better on the buzzer than the opponents. But $4,000 is too small a bet in general.
Those things are true, but the clue was also in the second row. And as Keith mentioned, it was in a strong category for him.
YMMV, but when I was preparing and following my scores, I didn't find much difference between my get rates in 3rd, 4th and 5th rows. (2nd row was too small a sample to keep statistics on for strategy purposes.) I did find considerable differences between my strong and weak categories, so I decided to make decisions based on the category alone. (BTW, this is a DD strategy only and absolutely does not carry over to FJs.)

And when I said "I don't know" I really meant "I don't know". I never had a reason to prepare for a tournament, and I wouldn't expect the optimal strategy to be the same. Having stronger opponents is a reason to increase wagers; tougher clues are a reason to decrease them.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by AndyTheQuizzer »

morbeedo wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:21 pm This: "I did not go to “Jeopardy!” expecting to win." I once posted this very question on Reddit (how many people go on J! thinking they can win?), and the overwhelming response was "everybody". Haha, I was right. It's *not* everybody
There's a big difference between "I think I can win" and "I expect to win"; chiefly, one is confident, the other is over-confident -- and the latter can set you up for grave disappointment, if not anger, if things do not go your way.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by squarekara »

NPR's Wait Wait. . .Don't Tell Me! panel discusses Holzhauer's streak on today's broadcast. Paula Poundstone recalls her stint on Celeb J!, saying that "trips were taken away from ailing children."
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Re: J! in the Media

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Re: J! in the Media

Post by Volante »

https://news.avclub.com/jeopardy-produc ... 1834356162
Dear readers, please steel yourselves: We regret to inform you that both Kennings and Holzhauer have confirmed that contestants are no longer allowed to wager $69 as their Final Jeopardy bets.
(Direct link to the sourced Vulture article: https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/james-h ... ng-69.html )
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Re: J! in the Media

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OntarioQuizzer wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:20 am
morbeedo wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 12:21 pm This: "I did not go to “Jeopardy!” expecting to win." I once posted this very question on Reddit (how many people go on J! thinking they can win?), and the overwhelming response was "everybody". Haha, I was right. It's *not* everybody
There's a big difference between "I think I can win" and "I expect to win"; chiefly, one is confident, the other is over-confident -- and the latter can set you up for grave disappointment, if not anger, if things do not go your way.
Some people want to be on Jeopardy.
Some people want to play Jeopardy.
Some people want to win Jeopardy.

That's how I consider it.
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Re: J! in the Media

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Volante wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:45 pm https://news.avclub.com/jeopardy-produc ... 1834356162
Dear readers, please steel yourselves: We regret to inform you that both Kennings and Holzhauer have confirmed that contestants are no longer allowed to wager $69 as their Final Jeopardy bets.
(Direct link to the sourced Vulture article: https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/james-h ... ng-69.html )
There goes my $420 bet as a salute to Denver :lol:
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Re: J! in the Media

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James is lucky that nothing important in or to his life happened on the 4th of January or November, or the 14th of any month, in 1988.
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Re: J! in the Media

Post by AndyTheQuizzer »

DBear wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 7:28 pm There goes my $420 bet as a salute to Denver :lol:
AFAIK that number is not banned.
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