What is a lot of money?

April 18, 2019 3:06 PM

Last week, James Holzhauer absolutely crushed the single-day winnings record for Jeopardy!

Last night he went 40 for 40, turning in a perfect game and crushing the previous single-day record he set last week. He's on track to break Ken Jennings' all-time winnings in 74 games in just 36 games. Some analysis on how he's doing it.

posted by allkindsoftime (61 comments total)

huh. kinda bums me out that the buzzer timing reaction is so integral, tbh. unless there's some accommodation I'm not aware of for folks like me who have chronic pain / some other form of disability in the arm that would prevent me from shaving thousandths of a second off my buzzing time. Sounds like Jeopardy needs to up the difficulty of the questions to stay relevant as a trivia game that tests knowledge rather than a reaction-time game for able bodied people only.
posted by lazaruslong at 4:08 PM on April 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

We’re regular Jeopardy viewers and have been watching his run. He’s a machine. Very effortless, too. He beats everyone to the button, too. At first, I thought he was one of those cold, personality-free players that everyone can’t wait to see lose. But, he’s grown on me. It’s pretty captivating to watch him crush the game so seemingly effortlessly.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:11 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Alex Trebec makes something like $300K per episode, every episode, FWIW.
posted by klanawa at 4:24 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

In the Art Fleming era, the losers could keep all the money they earned, too.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:26 PM on April 18, 2019

Uh.. more like $30k, not 300.
posted by klanawa at 4:30 PM on April 18, 2019

In the Art Fleming era, the losers could keep all the money they earned, too.

That’s probably the biggest thing that bugs me about the game now. It just seems wrong that one can play hard, rack-up $15,000 in winnings in Final Jeopardy, lose anyway, and be sent home with a paltry $1000. Doesn’t seem right, somehow.

Players on Wheel of Fortune get to keep everything they won. Heck, they give you $1000 even if you won nothing.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:35 PM on April 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

As far as buzzer timing; I know, doesn't that change how you watch it? I think it was Jennings who I saw talking about how folks smart enough to make it to the show likely know almost every answer that comes up, and primarily get separated by buzzer technique.

As far as why they don't just make the questions harder -- I suspect that makes it more alienating to a viewer. It's satisfying to a layman like me to know the answers to some number of questions every round. It's nice that the show makes you feel smart.
posted by churl at 4:39 PM on April 18, 2019 [14 favorites]

Erk, I just realized Jennings' quote about knowing every answer is actually reproduced in this very article! Apologies for redundancy
posted by churl at 4:42 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I did a live audition for Jeopardy last August. After an audition, you're put on a list for 18 months, during which you could get a call to be on the show at any time. A couple weeks ago, my fear was that when I get the call, if I ever get it, Alex might not still be around.

Now I'm just worried that James will.
posted by theodolite at 4:53 PM on April 18, 2019 [28 favorites]

In the Art Fleming era, the losers could keep all the money they earned, too.

But if you wound up in the negatives, they sent a couple guys 'round to your place a couple days later
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:55 PM on April 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

Imagine being the person who beats him though?
posted by supermedusa at 4:55 PM on April 18, 2019

...okay, I haven't watched Jeopardy in a while. When did they get the enormous, sci-fi style set?
posted by tavella at 4:56 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Five years ago, maybe longer?
posted by Thorzdad at 5:03 PM on April 18, 2019

Can more faithful jeopardy watchers illuminate if questions have gotten easier in the last few years? I caught his first win by accident, and now I’ve been following along. I know a solid 90% of the answers immediately, which I say not to brag, but that a few years ago I only knew about half whenever I’d catch the show, and sometimes not even that much.

It is obvious everyone up there knows all the answers to everything, and it’s just about deploying the buzzer at the right time.

James’s odd grimace-smile hybrid is interesting, and makes me wonder if he just feels uncomfortable on camera? I predict he’ll feel like he had his time and move on. Or is that jeopardy sacrilege?
posted by missmary6 at 5:08 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

As far as raising the difficulty, they already have enough infuriating triple-stumpers (like todays episode with nobody knowing the word “woof” as in warp and woof)! Triple stumpers kill tons of time and make the show not fun.

Dunno what the alternative to the buzzer is, but think maybe the wagering rules could use a rethink. James is doing what I would do if I were on jeopardy: bet huge every time you get a daily double because the advantages of a runaway are worth the risk that you’ll go back to 0.
posted by dis_integration at 5:09 PM on April 18, 2019

Sure, a lot of people have tried the same strategy as James. They just haven't had his skill to execute. This analysis shamelessly stolen from Ken Jennings' twitter.

But Jeopardy loves contestants like James. It is great for their bottom line. They won't change up the show to prevent long runs with big winners.
posted by muddgirl at 5:14 PM on April 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Happy birthday bodger.
posted by gwint at 5:18 PM on April 18, 2019

Could someone explain what he's doing different with betting on Daily Doubles? The articles above have references to his Daily Double strategy, but none of them explain!
posted by chrchr at 5:24 PM on April 18, 2019

theodolite, I'm in the pool too. With nerves and all, I don't know how I'd do. So losing to James might almost be a face-saver. ("Oh, you played THAT guy? Tough luck.")

OTOH it is a bummer that second- and third- place prizes barely cover a trip to LA.

missmary6 Lately, difficulty of the board varies for me from day to day. But if you're getting 90% consistently, why haven't you taken the contestant test? Assuming you could translate that to game play (see my comments about nerves, and of course, the buzzer), 9/10 answers in a non-James game wouldn't be bad.
posted by NorthernLite at 5:28 PM on April 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Could someone explain what he's doing different with betting on Daily Doubles? The articles above have references to his Daily Double strategy, but none of them explain!
He spends the initial Jeopardy round picking the bottommost clues to make the most money as soon as possible, then if he finds the Daily Double, he goes all in, doubles his money right away, and is usually uncatchable for the rest of the game. Also whenever he finds a Daily Double in either round, he bets a strange number, like for example $13,567. I believe he said that all of his bets are based on dates that mean something to him.

His unique smile stems from his very strong underbite. A couple of years ago he was on The Chase and also on the show 500 Questions, and since his appearance on both of those, every few months my husband would say, "Wonder when that underbite guy is going to be on Jeopardy" and then there he was, and he is every bit as good as we had hoped.
posted by the webmistress at 5:34 PM on April 18, 2019 [10 favorites]

Can more faithful jeopardy watchers illuminate if questions have gotten easier in the last few years?

It’s not so much that the questions are easier. It’s more that damn near every question has a pretty helpful clue tacked-on. I’m sure they write them like that for the home audience, but it’s kind of disappointing in a way.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:39 PM on April 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

I haven't done any kind of statistical analysis but my impression is that, given that every contestant is knowledge-wise qualified to be there, most contestants woefully under-bet on the Daily Doubles.

Let's say that any contestant has an 80% chance of getting any particular answer right. Daily Doubles aren't any harder than a regular clue, so they have an 80% chance of getting a DD right. Would you take a 50-50 bet with an 80% chance that you will win? A vast majority of contestants won't.
posted by muddgirl at 5:39 PM on April 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

To follow on this point, Ken Jennings talks a lot about how to find Daily Doubles and how to bet on them in this article on former champion Arthur Chu.
posted by muddgirl at 6:02 PM on April 18, 2019

I’m sure they write them like that for the home audience, but it’s kind of disappointing in a way.

Home audience needs a way to follow along and be invested in watching till the end. Since it's TV, it also needs to be fast enough to keep people from getting bored and switching channels.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:06 PM on April 18, 2019

My theory is that he's more willing to bet big on the Daily Doubles than most contestants because he's a professional gambler and he's used to thinking about betting in a strategic way. If you think about it logically, of course his strategy makes sense. But probably most contestants don't gamble very much, and people are naturally risk-averse. If you got to keep the money you won then betting conservatively would be a reasonable choice - a losing total of $10,000 would not be chump change. But since you don't, the only reasonable choice is to try to come out on top, and betting aggressively is the only way to do it. The problem for most contestants is that they act as if the numbers on the scoreboard are actual money, instead of trying to accumulate the most points. Betting "10,000", even if it gives you the best chance of winning - well, maybe in your mind that represents a few months pay, or a car, or a semester of tuition. People who don't ordinarily gamble much will balk, but a pro will know how to calculate the odds.
posted by Daily Alice at 7:57 PM on April 18, 2019 [9 favorites]

For non-sports people like me -- this is probably as close as we get to rooting for a "team," so to speak.

I guess it would be like - maybe? - akin to a basketball fan who gets really excited and cheer-ful when a player for their favorite team is so, so, so good and leading their team to non-stop victories in a championship season.
posted by davidmsc at 11:02 PM on April 18, 2019

phatkitten: "Highly, highly recommend that book, it's one of my all-time favorites!"

I didn't care for it at all, I thought Harris came off as deeply unpleasant.

YMMV, of course!
posted by Chrysostom at 11:03 PM on April 18, 2019

Also, if you have won $0 so far on Jeopardy, betting $5000 on one question is a lot. Once you've already won $100,000 on Jeopardy, betting $5000 on one question isn't as risky for you anymore.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:34 AM on April 19, 2019

Oh man I'm so glad someone asked the question about Jeopardy being easier because damn. I saw that some stuff was on Netflix (Tournament of Champions, I think?) and watched through the series and wow I knew like, almost all the answers? Which is way off from what I expected. Jeopardy used to feel like watching three super smarties with vast stores of esoteric knowledge and lightning fast deciphering / analytical question unraveling skills. Now it just seems like easy questions and it's down to buzzing fast and game theory with bets. Which I get are skills as well, but not the ones I expect to enjoy seeing on display in this particular quiz show.
posted by lazaruslong at 6:20 AM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

It’s not easier we’re just all smarter obviously
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:21 AM on April 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

I have to say that the “triple stumpers” (great term) are overwhelmingly positive for the show, in that once in a while a viewer like me—who doesn’t have a giant throbbing forehead—knows the question and thinks “why, them super-mutant eggheaids [note: pronunciation cue] ain’t smarter’n me!” And actually continues to watch the show. Whereas, on sober reflection, I recognize these contestants are massively ahead of me on trivia knowledge.

As, apparently, are all commenters on Metafilter, since I like to think of myself as a mathematician and it never occurred to me that the dollar figures are NOT “dollars,” but “points” until someone wins. I guess I didn’t even realize the losers didn’t get the amount they’d won to take home. That seems ... about as unfair as life, so there’s that.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:27 AM on April 19, 2019

Backstage scuttlebutt (my spouse was on this season) is that he's kind of a dickhead to other contestants. Very much the "I'm not here to make friends" type.

Now, after each clue is selected, Trebek reads its text aloud. The moment he finishes, a dedicated Jeopardy! staffer sitting at the judges’ table just offstage—Michael Harris, who also serves as one of the show’s writers—manually activates a switch that illuminates blue lights alongside the outer edges of the Jeopardy! board. The moment the “enable light” switches on, the three onstage contestants are permitted to ring in

This was my spouse's major stumbling block in their first game -- ringing in when the light goes on won't work. You really have to time it so you're pressing your button as Harris is pressing his.

For those people who think it's easier now, remember two things:

1. You have heard, and therefore learned, more trivia since "the old days".
2. What used to be "your" pop culture has percolated out into the wide world and become trivia.

posted by Etrigan at 7:06 AM on April 19, 2019 [10 favorites]

Also whenever he finds a Daily Double in either round, he bets a strange number, like for example $13,567. I believe he said that all of his bets are based on dates that mean something to him.

I think this could also be a really clever strategy to confuse the other players when it comes time for Final Jeopardy. If the necessary wager is too complicated to do quickly in your head, you're probably not going to bet the right amount to have a shot at beating the leader, and/or you just surrender and bet it all in the hopes you come out ahead.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:45 AM on April 19, 2019

If the necessary wager is too complicated to do quickly in your head, you're probably not going to bet the right amount to have a shot at beating the leader, and/or you just surrender and bet it all in the hopes you come out ahead.

They get paper and pencil and plenty of time to work out Final Jeopardy bets.
posted by Etrigan at 8:21 AM on April 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

Another childhood myth busted. Thanks, Etrigan!
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:12 AM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Do contestants have to sign some sort of NDA, barring them from revealing game results ahead of the air date? I ask this because, given the lead time from recording to broadcast, one would assume we would know if he’s kept up his winning run and/or how much cash he’s accumulated by now.

Also: Are we into post-Alex’s-health-announcement games yet?
posted by Thorzdad at 1:40 PM on April 19, 2019

I heard that they don’t get paid until their run stops airing on TV. This has occasionally dragged on, over season breaks and tournaments and stuff.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 1:44 PM on April 19, 2019

I haven't been keeping up with Jeopardy like I used to because it's not part of my daily routine anymore, but I like hearing about someone playing well like this.

I do take issue with ESPN's framing of Wednesday's game as a "perfect game" though. A perfect game would mean getting all 61 questions correct. Going 40 for 40 is great, but it's no perfect game.
posted by ob1quixote at 5:16 PM on April 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

I heard that they don’t get paid until their run stops airing on TV.

My spouse’s run aired before the February All-Star Tournament. We’re expecting the check in June.
posted by Etrigan at 6:09 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Do contestants have to sign some sort of NDA, barring them from revealing game results ahead of the air date?

Yes, but the main concern is social and news media. It’s okay to tell family and friends as long as they know not to spread it around too much.
posted by Etrigan at 6:12 PM on April 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

I continue to be surprised at how well spoilers are contained in the social media age. I assume the studio audience is asked to stay quiet re: taping results.

But Jeopardy itself gave too much away in some pre-James promos. Some folks on a message board easily recognized him (from his appearances elsewhere), and they were discussing his prospects two weeks before his first show aired.
posted by NorthernLite at 7:43 PM on April 19, 2019

This was my spouse's major stumbling block in their first game -- ringing in when the light goes on won't work. You really have to time it so you're pressing your button as Harris is pressing his.

This makes me really sad.

I always assumed that the buzzers were active from the first moment Alex started reading the answer and would simply give the first person to buzz the winning buzz. Problem is, at least I figured, that if folks preemptively buzzed in before hearing the full answer (or speed reading it since I never knew if those display monitors were readable to contestants in real time) then they were putting themselves out there for a potential curve ball or modifier to the answer and thus risking going negative.

Knowing that mentally syncing your behavior to a third party is a huge part of strategy, and not just in raw reaction time on the buzzer with I admit is a tough nut to crack and still keep.interesting for a TV audience, is a major bummer.

Oh well, now I have something else to complain about besides every show having a category or two that's basically 'old and rich English folks practicing inbreeding while anointed by God' and/or 'name the play by that one guy that everyone likes for the fifty bazillonth time'.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:59 PM on April 19, 2019

Seriously, I've never studied or really seen Shakespeare, aside from some Midsummer Nights Dream or whatever in middle school plus some stuff Danny Devitto quoted in the movie Renissance Man from the 90s, and I can practically run that category anytime it comes up just from what I've gleaned from so. many. past answers/questions. I can't be the only person that tires of it and I'm far from a devout Jeopardy watcher.
posted by RolandOfEld at 10:09 PM on April 19, 2019

~Oh well, now I have something else to complain about besides every show having a category or two that's basically 'old and rich English folks practicing inbreeding while anointed by God' and/or 'name the play by that one guy that everyone likes for the fifty bazillonth time'.

~I can practically run that category anytime it comes up just from what I've gleaned from so. many. past answers/questions.

Heh. I have a habit of blurting-out an "answer" as soon as the Final Jeopardy category is revealed (right before the commercial break) It's pretty funny how often I actually get the answer right.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:17 AM on April 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

He is really fun to watch, and I can definitely see him being somewhat of "a dickhead" backstage but to be honest I feel I would too? To want to see my opponents more as competition, and less as friendly, nice people I could empathize with. I mean, I feel that would be part of my strategy. Already being somewhat introverted and standoffish anyway, I feel that could work for me.

Something that has annoyed me is the way the default is always male, and if the category is about women, it says so. For example, have you ever seen any of these categories?

Men Authors
Men Scientists
Men in Politics

No, you haven't. But you have seen Women Authors, Women in Politics, etc. We are always "other" on Jeopardy and I dislike it.

Heh. I have a habit of blurting-out an "answer" as soon as the Final Jeopardy category is revealed (right before the commercial break) It's pretty funny how often I actually get the answer right.

Same here - if the final jeopardy category is Presidents I always yell out, "Richard Nixon!" and it's so funny how often over the years the answer has been Richard Nixon. I also remember yelling out "Girl Scouts" as soon as the final category was revealed to be "Non-profit Organizations" and that was right as well.

I yell out during Jeopardy a lot, apparently.
posted by the webmistress at 8:32 AM on April 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

Thorzdad: “Heh. I have a habit of blurting-out an "answer" as soon as the Final Jeopardy category is revealed (right before the commercial break) It's pretty funny how often I actually get the answer right.”

Dad and I made a game of this when we were watching Jeopardy together every night. He got two in one month a year or so ago and called me to tell me about it both times.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:06 AM on April 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I do that too, but I'm hardly ever right. Once not too long ago the category was "Futuristic Fiction" and I shouted out "Brave New World" and it was right. I'm much better at solving Wheel of Fortune puzzles before any letters have been revealed.
posted by Daily Alice at 10:37 AM on April 20, 2019

I can definitely see him being somewhat of "a dickhead" backstage but to be honest I feel I would too? To want to see my opponents more as competition, and less as friendly, nice people I could empathize with. I mean, I feel that would be part of my strategy.

Not just to the opponents, is what I’ve heard, but I’ll leave it there (and there may well be some sour grapes in the stories). Regardless, It’s good for Jeopardy (and for trivia as a whole) to have a long-term champion, whether a nice, funny, charming Ken Jennings or Holzhauer, who’s basically the Brock Lesnar of trivia.
posted by Etrigan at 1:50 PM on April 20, 2019

Hey all you smrat guys, by coincidence LearnedLeague registration happens to be open and some of us can refer you.

Or if you already play and you want to show that you’re smarter than the average smart Mefite, we have a private rundle and I know who at least like 5 of those people actually are.

(MeMail me if you want to do one of those things.)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:06 PM on April 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

(Dammit, I was just coming back to do that too.)
posted by Etrigan at 2:19 PM on April 20, 2019

Can You Answer the Jeopardy! Clues James Holzhauer Couldn’t?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:13 PM on April 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

I always assumed that the buzzers were active from the first moment Alex started reading the answer and would simply give the first person to buzz the winning buzz. Problem is, at least I figured, that if folks preemptively buzzed in before hearing the full answer (or speed reading it since I never knew if those display monitors were readable to contestants in real time) then they were putting themselves out there for a potential curve ball or modifier to the answer and thus risking going negative.

To be honest, cutting Alex off before he finishes reading the answers out loud makes the show choppy. Reading answers completely makes it easier to follow. The show works relatively well as radio as a result. Good points on the potential curve balls.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:28 AM on April 26, 2019

What it’s like to lose to unstoppable ‘Jeopardy!’ champion James Holzhauer
posted by peeedro at 11:50 AM on April 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

538: The Man Who Solved ‘Jeopardy!’
posted by Chrysostom at 9:44 PM on April 26, 2019 [4 favorites]

The 538 analysis is really good. It's not just the hunting for Daily Doubles that's the key to Holzhauer's success; that's been a growing trend for a while. It's also hoovering up the high-value clues so that, when and if he finds the Daily Double, he can maximize his gains. And, as the web mistress points out, the combination of both tactics deprives the other contestants of any opportunity to catch up.

Monday's episode was interesting, in that you could see the limits of Holzhauer's strategy. In Single Jeopardy, he got the Daily Double on his first clue, which limited his ability to run up the score. Then in Double Jeopardy, one of the other contestants, Adam Levin, got a Daily Double, bet big, and got it right. Holzhauer ended up only winning Final Jeopardy by $18. He's clearly beatable, if (a big if) you can halt his momentum.
posted by Cash4Lead at 9:24 AM on April 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

Holzhauer may have proved everyone has been playing Jeopardy backwards
posted by Cash4Lead at 5:54 AM on May 1, 2019

Yes, Holzhauer is executing this strategy better than anyone before him, but he didn't invent it. Arthur Chu was the first to successfully implement this strategy.

You mean the Forrest Bounce, first used when Arthur Chu was 21 months old, which Chu has said he stole, and which Ken Jennings employed a decade earlier than Chu?

Holzhauer isn't quite doing that, though -- part of the point of the Forrest/Jennings/Chu Bounce strategy is the bouncing, which theoretically confuses opponents because they aren't prepared for a new category. But Holzhauer plods along mechanically, often simply going left to right along the bottom of the board, then the second-bottom row, and so on.

Holzhauer is essentially playing the board rather than the other contestants.
posted by Etrigan at 6:43 AM on May 3, 2019 [3 favorites]

Here is an interview with Adam Levin who nearly defeated Holzhauer on the podcast “The Gist”.
posted by chrchr at 9:17 AM on May 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

Jeopardy! champs Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer now facing off on the true mental battlefield: Twitter (William Hughes, AV Club)

What’s most interesting about this friendly little squabble is who appears to have picked it: The social media team of Jeopardy! itself, which released a gambling-themed video (presumably as a nod to Holzhauer’s non-trivia-based day job) that ends with a pointed reminder that he’s still got 53 games more to go before beating Jenning’s legacy. (In terms of length, at least, if not earned cash, where he might surpass the more conservative Jennings in relatively short order.) Both men apparently rose to the bait, and a very gentle war on that most cerebral of battlefields—Twitter—has now begun.

Seems friendly enough, for some higher level social media strategery.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:41 AM on May 6, 2019

May 10: Episode 912: How Uncle Jamie Broke Jeopardy (Kenny Malone, NPR Planet Money Podcast)

Highly entertaining, with an unexpected personal connection.
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:31 AM on May 17, 2019

Jeopardy! was the most watched show in prime time for the week ending May 5th (yes, beating Game of Thrones), Holzhauer's last week before taking two weeks off for the Teacher Tournament.
posted by Etrigan at 10:20 AM on May 17, 2019 [3 favorites]