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This is the Jeopardy! Thread of Encompassment [RIP Alex Trebek]


Captain Ron

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This was an interesting read:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-man-who-solved-jeopardy/

He talks about having a strategy to find the DDs but to be sure he's built up some bankroll first.  If you look at the DD heat map, you can kind of see how he's doing this:

roeder-jeopardy-3.png?w=1150

He tends to work the board from bottom top, right to left.  That gives him a better shot to build up more bankroll to bet with.  The only thing he could change would be to clear out the top row first...there's not much money there but still it's a free $1000 or $2000 more money to bet with basically no chance of hitting the DD.  

I don't ever remember seeing a DD on the top row but apparently it's happened 8 times.

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Currently watching, heading into FJ, so I guess something strange could happen, but today’s opponents are complete morons, yet since he missed picking both Double Jeopardy’s, his margin of victory could be one of his lowest. Guy in stall 2 is really stupid, and the woman may have Tourette’s 

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Currently watching, heading into FJ, so I guess something strange could happen, but today’s opponents are complete morons, yet since he missed picking both Double Jeopardy’s, his margin of victory could be one of his lowest. Guy in stall 2 is really stupid, and the woman may have Tourette’s 
How are you ahead of the national cast?
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Easily could have lost today.  He picked the DD as the first clue of single jeopardy and missed.  Was in 2nd, 200 behind 1st and 200 ahead of 3rd, at the first commercial break.  Was up 1200 after SJ.  In DJ he hit the 1st DD with a 15000 to 9000 lead and bet 10000 and change.  Had he missed that one he would have been in trouble but he did get it right.  The guy in 2nd place hit the 2nd DD and almost doubled up.  At the end of DJ, Holzhauer only led 33517 to 27000.  Both got the FJ right and he won it by $18.

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Second place only gets $2000 regardless, correct? 

Quote

Holzhauer finished with $54,017, just ahead of Levin, who racked up $53,999, the highest non-winning total in show history, according to thejeopardyfan.com.

 

And this is rather sick. 

Quote

Holzhauer has been correct on 17 of his 18 Final Jeopardy! attempts.

 

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Not sure how they stay so secretive about the show's results with 150 or so people in the studio audience.  I get that contestants keep their mouths shut but seems like someone else would divulge some shit about the results. I'm probably missing something though.

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based on this article, it looks like the other Jeopardy players are going to start imitating James as soon as they can.

Turns out the guy that lost by $18 was an alternate contestant and got to watch 5 of James' games before playing against him himself,  and he noted the playing style immediately, and began playing that way himself, which is why he gave James a run for his money.

Yes, James is still great on the buzzer, and he still answers a shitload of questions correctly, but the players are already alternating their strategy..... which could mean that Jeopardy will be forced to change the game, because as several articles have noted, James' run is really fucking up their budget....  which is fine right now because he gets lots of eyeballs to watch so they are making up the money in ad rev... but once he's gone, the formula to average a payout above $30k or more every game has been written

  https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/jeopardy-james-holzhauer-adam-levin-strategy

But the professional sports better

nearly took a loss earlier this week after he won by a measly $18. Brandeis College sports information director Adam Levin finished with $53,999 to Holzhauer’s $54,017.

So what was Levin’s secret, when other contestants say playing Holzhauer is like running “headfirst into a buzzsaw”? It turns out Levin had an advantage going into his game. From The Boston Globe:

Levin had a slight edge that day: Because the show tapes five episodes in one day, and selects 12 contestants to come to the set for 10 spots, Levin was one of two extra contestants called in on Tuesday, Feb. 26. He ultimately wasn’t selected that day, meaning he was able to watch Holzhauer play five games before facing him in competition.

“I was able to note what he was doing and see how he was playing differently than ever seen before, and I was able to process that,” he said.

When Levin arrived to play in the first taping the next day, he was prepared.

Levin added that he changed up his strategy because of his scouting, following the way Holzhauer would start at the bottom of categories and betting heavily on a Daily Double — he nailed a $12,000 bet on one in the Double Jeopardy round to keep it close.

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Eh, it’s not really a new strategy. You see it in the TOC.

The fact that the bottom row is 5X the value of row 1 has been known since the first board was presented in S1E1. The fact that the real prize is properly wagering on double jeopardy squares and FJ is where the show got its title.

We’ve seen the hunter and peckers trying to find DJ squares for years. We’ve seen some bottom up players over the years. The Final wager has documented how poorly some otherwise quality players utilize game theory on DJ and FJ for years.

There are not many people who can put together great strategy, great trivial knowledge, great buzzer time, and great wagering. That’s what makes them great champs.

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21 hours ago, Llano Estacado said:

Eh, it’s not really a new strategy. You see it in the TOC.

The fact that the bottom row is 5X the value of row 1 has been known since the first board was presented in S1E1. The fact that the real prize is properly wagering on double jeopardy squares and FJ is where the show got its title.

We’ve seen the hunter and peckers trying to find DJ squares for years. We’ve seen some bottom up players over the years. The Final wager has documented how poorly some otherwise quality players utilize game theory on DJ and FJ for years.

There are not many people who can put together great strategy, great trivial knowledge, great buzzer time, and great wagering. That’s what makes them great champs.

Being able to come up with the correct question 99% of the time helps a great deal with the wagering, but a lot of it is confidence.  Being a professional gambler really helps with that.  Holzhauer understands the odds and is accustomed to risking it all, or most of it.  I remember a situation early in his run where one of his opponents was sitting at about $10,000, to his $30,000 when she landed on a Daily Double.  This was more than halfway through Double Jeopardy, so it was essentially a do or die scenario.  She risked $1000.  I see that sort of thing regularly.  It may be coincidental, but it is most often a woman doing it.  Finishing with a respectable dollar amount seems more important to some than actually trying to win.  Weird.  

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This was more than halfway through Double Jeopardy, so it was essentially a do or die scenario.  She risked $1000.  I see that sort of thing regularly.  It may be coincidental, but it is most often a woman doing it.  Finishing with a respectable dollar amount seems more important to some than actually trying to win.  Weird.  


Yep. I loathe when the 2nd or 3rd place contestant finds a DJ late and doesnt wager enough to be prevent the runaway victory.
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4 hours ago, Llano Estacado said:

 


Yep. I loathe when the 2nd or 3rd place contestant finds a DJ late and doesnt wager enough to be prevent the runaway victory.

You get to keep the money even if you don't win, right?  Seems fairly practical to walk away with a nice chunk of change rather than risking it all for some small chance to beat out the leader. 

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No, I thought that earlier too. Second gets $2000, third $1000. 

Quote

Non-winners receive consolation prizes. Since May 16, 2002, consolation prizes have been $2,000 for the second-place contestant(s) and $1,000 for the third-place contestant. Since the show does not generally provide airfare or lodging for contestants, cash consolation prizes alleviate contestants' financial burden.

 

That’s fucked up about the airfare & lodging. 

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