Anybody watched Jeopardy lately?

[barrysloate]

Another $80,000 tonight for a 12 day total of almost $852,000. And he was actually struggling early and got a bunch wrong.

[pokerplyr80]

I watched today as well. Assuming this board is anything like the rest of the country, which is also assume isn't always the case, this guy is probably good for ratings. I will probably keep it on the DVR until he loses. I was surprised to see him get a couple wrong, including the first daily double.

[CW]

Yes, a bit of a slow start on Sunday, but ended up being another blowout for James. This was the first episode with James that I was able to watch and it was quite entertaining.

I see what Barry means about him keeping the small talk to a minimum. He's definitely all business, and occasionally seems to interrupt Trebek in an effort to move onto the next answer.

This was also the first episode I've watched since Alex Trebek's cancer announcement, and while his situation is saddening, I give him so much credit for continuing on with his work. It's no doubt that he loves his job and I'm guessing it's the one "normal" part of his day when he can forget about the treatments and can simply be alive. I really hope he can beat this!

And, of course, it seems like Trebek is enjoying James' run as much as anyone, based on Friday night's closing words:

"Go home, enjoy the weekend, but come back again on Monday. I like having you here."

[barrysloate]

Another $90,000 today for a 13-day total of $942,000. Tomorrow he shoots for a million.

[frankbmd]

Barry, thanks so much for your daily reports. Now I don’t have to watch.

[dgtom]

If the categories were:
PSA graded cards
Beckett graded cards
SGC graded cards
1967 Topps Baseball
Sandwiches by State
then I could wipe the floor with that guy! 😆

[CW]

^^^

So, by now it's almost impossible to check out a news or pop culture site and not see an article about Holzhauer. ESPN had an excellent article on James and his history in trivia and sports betting (link).

From that article and others I've read, it's all about the buzzer. Someone even wrote an eBook called Secrets of the Buzzer, to which James attributes some of his success. This online article about James and his mastery of the buzzer was also interesting (link here). A few quotes, in case nobody is in a clicking mood:

It’s not all luck, of course—far from it; you still need the far-flung know-how and the wagering gumption to make it count. But what sets apart the really, truly dominant players like James isn’t just luck, smarts, or betting strategy: It’s the buzzer, and James is very, very, very good at using it.

“He had a lot of questions about the subtlety of the buzzer right away,” says Jeopardy! producer Maggie Speak, who oversees contestant coordination and leads an hourlong group orientation for new players each taping day. “Before he ever hit the stage, it was: ‘Well, what if I do this?’ He had a lot of very specific questions about the timing of the buzzer.”

“And clearly my answers must have helped him,” she says, laughing.

...

The most obvious way you can tell James is good with the buzzer is that he keeps winning. The average Jeopardy! contestant is no slouch: By the time a player is onstage, he or she has passed the show’s famously rigorous entry test twice—once online and once in person. Jennings puts it this way: “Almost all of the contestants know almost all of the answers almost all of the time,” he says. Which is to say that more often than not, all three players know a given clue’s answer, and all three are attempting to ring in—meaning buzzer timing is hugely important. James, who has lately shown off knowledge about subjects including the Book of Daniel and Tammy Wynette, says he took the online tryout test 13 times—every year that it was offered—and had two in-person auditions before he was finally invited on.

“If you put random people up there on Jeopardy!, the most important thing would be who knows the answers,” says Jennings. “But with players that good, buzzer timing really becomes what tends to separate the winner from the non-winners.”

And finally, for those into stats, here's a site that tracks James' progress and compares it to Ken Jennings epic run from years ago.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Barry, thanks so much for your daily reports. Now I don’t have to watch.

The fun is watching. I get a fair number of answers but my old head doesn't work as fast as it used to.

[barrysloate]

And yes, it's clear that being skilled in buzzing in is a huge asset. But I don't believe that all three contestants know nearly all of the answers all the time. Even James failed to ring in at least a dozen times tonight because he didn't know the answer, and if he doesn't the others don't either. That seems like a bit of an exaggeration.