Jeopardy! Discussion
04-10-19 | 07:04 AM
#201
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
James Holzhauer has been winning big and set a record last night.
Of course, the most impressive part is not his winning total, but the fact that Holzhauer was so confident in the Final Jeopardy category*, he was able to make his record-breaking sum a number that looked like his daughter’s birthday (11/09/14).
04-11-19 | 07:07 AM
#202
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Unfortunately I didn't get to watch that episode until last night so social media spoiled what was gonna happen, but at least I didn't see the total before watching the episode. Holy shit did he demolish the old record! The old record was only 77,000 which was set by Roger Craig back in 2010, which wasn't a huge jump over Ken Jennings' record of 75,000 back in 2004
Kind of nice that since this is probably Trebek's last season that it's gonna go out with a bang, between it being the 35th season, they had the awesome All-Stars tournament and now this new legendary champion.
Kind of nice that since this is probably Trebek's last season that it's gonna go out with a bang, between it being the 35th season, they had the awesome All-Stars tournament and now this new legendary champion.
04-11-19 | 07:40 AM
#203
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I've been watching this guy all week. The gambling mentality makes him really fun to watch. I don't know if he'll have the longevity of Jennings because that's incredibly difficult to do but I do think he'll make a serious run at most total money made. IIRC, Jennings made $2.5mm in his initial run - this dude is already at $300k.
04-11-19 | 07:54 AM
#204
DVD Talk Hero
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I watched that episode. When Trebek announced that Holzhauer was close to the record winnings, I turned to Mrs Danger and said, "He's going to bet $30,000 to put his winning over $100,000, so his record will be out of reach forever." It turned out I was low.
Holzhauer must play high-stakes cards, as well as being a professional sports bettor. His body language is completely controlled, and his face is relaxed and confident unless he deliberately changes his expression.
I wonder if he's going to play until he gets tired of it, and then deliberately cash out.
Holzhauer must play high-stakes cards, as well as being a professional sports bettor. His body language is completely controlled, and his face is relaxed and confident unless he deliberately changes his expression.
I wonder if he's going to play until he gets tired of it, and then deliberately cash out.
04-11-19 | 08:36 AM
#205
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From: Directionally Challenged (for DirecTV)
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Last night was the first time I watched Holzhauer. He only won $50-some thousand. 
He is great on the trigger - times it perfectly. The female competitor was trying to buzz in on almost every question and he beat her to the punch nearly every time. He loves going all-in on the Doubles.
Love that he's a professional sports gambler. It's fitting.
He is great on the trigger - times it perfectly. The female competitor was trying to buzz in on almost every question and he beat her to the punch nearly every time. He loves going all-in on the Doubles. Love that he's a professional sports gambler. It's fitting.
04-12-19 | 07:48 AM
#206
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
He actually could have won 131,199 if he would have bet to cover (he had 72600, second place had 7000, so he could have bet up to 58,599 so that if he got it wrong he would have ended with 14,001) but he chose to end with 110,914 because it's his daughter's birthday (11/09/14)
04-12-19 | 07:54 AM
#207
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I'm such a Jeopardy nerd that I actually laughed out loud when I saw this meme
(The 'unmasked' James really being Watson, the computer that beat Rutter and Jennings on Jeopardy back in 2011)
(The 'unmasked' James really being Watson, the computer that beat Rutter and Jennings on Jeopardy back in 2011)
04-12-19 | 08:13 AM
#208
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
The problem with the Watson matches is that Jeopardy! questions were tailored to its capability so word play, puns, etc., were not asked that humans could figure out. 
https://mindmatters.ai/2018/12/1-ibm...uter-overlord/
The IBM (Watson) team was afraid the JEOPARDY staff would write clues with puns and double meanings that could trick Watson. That, in of itself reveals one big difference between humans and computers. Humans can appreciate puns, jokes riddles and sarcasm because we understand words in context. The best that current computers can so is check whether the pun, joke, riddle or sarcastic comment has been stored it its data base. ( The AI Delusion(Oxford, 2018), p. 8)
So, as he recounts, the Jeopardy staff agreed to select clues randomly from a stockpile that had been written but never used. That was a fair solution. But in making the request, IBM was tacitly admitting that Watson could be easily fooled by an ordinary level of complexity.
So, as he recounts, the Jeopardy staff agreed to select clues randomly from a stockpile that had been written but never used. That was a fair solution. But in making the request, IBM was tacitly admitting that Watson could be easily fooled by an ordinary level of complexity.
04-12-19 | 11:47 AM
#209
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
If he does end up in the Ken Jennings / Brad Rutter level of dominance, I wonder which of the 3 would be left out of any potential future matchups with Watson. With all that said, he'll probably lose tonight, lol.
04-18-19 | 06:58 AM
#210
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
re: Jeopardy! Discussion
James did it again, he set a new record of $131,127! In between his first and second record breaking totals, he also got $89,158 and $106,181 which means he now has the four highest one-day totals.
Also, this was his tenth win, which now puts him at the 8th most games won. And with his current winnings of $697,787, he is fourth in the list of contestants who have won the most money on Jeopardy (including stuff like tournaments).
FYI I'm using this awesome leaderboard at The Final Wager to compare these stats (although it's a week behind so it doesn't have James' most recent stats, which I got from the last game review at The Jeopardy Fan)
Also, this was his tenth win, which now puts him at the 8th most games won. And with his current winnings of $697,787, he is fourth in the list of contestants who have won the most money on Jeopardy (including stuff like tournaments).
FYI I'm using this awesome leaderboard at The Final Wager to compare these stats (although it's a week behind so it doesn't have James' most recent stats, which I got from the last game review at The Jeopardy Fan)
04-18-19 | 11:20 AM
#212
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
It was fun to see him go all-in on single jeopardy on Tuesday, get the wrong answer and go to zero, and still win six figures.
Do you think this player was one of the surprises that Alex was talking about?
Do you think this player was one of the surprises that Alex was talking about?
04-18-19 | 11:32 AM
#213
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
04-18-19 | 06:27 PM
#214
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From: Conducting miss-aisle drills and listening to their rock n roll
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
This guy is killing it. I’m glad it’s being discussed here. He has a wild “all in” gamblers mentality, but he backs it up with smarts. He knows his shit.
04-18-19 | 10:32 PM
#216
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
I get bored when contestants are this dominant.
And it has nothing to do with him always starting at the bottom. And by nothing, I mean a lot.
And it has nothing to do with him always starting at the bottom. And by nothing, I mean a lot.
04-19-19 | 10:42 AM
#217
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
04-19-19 | 12:06 PM
#218
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Yeah, to be dominant, you have to be the one finding/controlling the daily doubles, which he has been doing very successfully.
04-19-19 | 12:33 PM
#219
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
As far as I can tell he's combined three strategies into this dominant force. Obviously starting at the bottom helps (as long as he gets it correct) with an early lead. But where he builds the lead is the daily double. He just owns it. No chump change wages. HeHputs seriouslyscoin on the line which puts him ridiculously in front.
Last but not least is maintaining the lead. He does this by never buzzing if he doesn't know the answer. So he's never losing money. Last night he was 100%. Not a single wrong answer. Meanwhile the lady buzzed at least once when she didn't know an answer and boom, she's down money. People buzzing to buzz is pretty common, but I haven't seen him do that.
Last but not least is maintaining the lead. He does this by never buzzing if he doesn't know the answer. So he's never losing money. Last night he was 100%. Not a single wrong answer. Meanwhile the lady buzzed at least once when she didn't know an answer and boom, she's down money. People buzzing to buzz is pretty common, but I haven't seen him do that.
04-19-19 | 02:00 PM
#221
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
Contestants are free to choose, so all the power to him. I just won't be disappointed when he eventually loses.
I preferred the '5 time champion' days.
04-19-19 | 05:49 PM
#222
DVD Talk Legend
04-19-19 | 06:02 PM
#223
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
More than 90% of them are in the bottom three rows on the board, and they appear most frequently in the second from the bottom row (around 40%). In terms of the entire board they are not actually random.
04-19-19 | 06:03 PM
#224
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Jeopardy! Discussion
^seems like they're generally in the bottom half of the board so he manages to hit them early since he's working his way up the board.
04-19-19 | 06:09 PM
#225
