James Holzhauer is on track to be the highest winning Jeopardy contestant of all time. How is he doing this? James is professional gambler and his game-play strategy proves it. Cheddar explains how James is controlling the Jeopardy board.
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All technique aside he has to be exceptionally knowledgeable for it to work out.
Exactly
True. In the episode I watched he said he learned everything by going through the children's section of the library.
6:50 the video mentions this as well
@@adamamango very briefly like its a passing thing. I think the approach to the video was wrong. In my opinion it should have started with him being exceptionally knowledgeable and then look at scenarios. Traditional approach and money made vs his approach and money made.
Manick N EXACTLY. Technique doesn’t matter in a knowledge game if you don’t have that necessary knowledge to win. He’s still human, so he’ll screw up eventually. Until then, I’m going to continue enjoying his reign.
James must be from the generation that played jeopardy in school. You _always_ start from the bottom.
Ashley Marie We had a rule that you had to play the clue before to get to the next one. In other words, in order to play the $400 clue, you had to do the $200 first.
@@jackshayne1634 that rule truly limits the game. Terrible
Jack Shayne stupid rule!
Alessio Sangalli Not really. Moving from top to bottom allows the teacher to see where the class most needs review. By forcing the class to move in one direction, she can better understand when a majority of students are getting questions wrong and focus her review efforts there.
@@jackshayne1634 not at all. It just gives you that impression but it breaks the game and dumbs it down.
Imagine studying for months only to get in the same game as this guy
Imagine how many people called in sick...to Jeopardy after seeing him on tv
But he studied for over a year to prepare
that would be my luck... LOL
@@sdazzle2460 he studied for 7 years
lmfao rip. lvl 100 vs lvl 10 x'D !
He’s been donating money to charities in Nevada left and right. Great guy
Those aren't charities in Nevada. They're casinos.
@@Ken.- only gamblers?
You can't prove he's done any such thing
@@Ken.- it's not that it wasn't obvious, it just wasn't funny
He just donated to Alex for his cancer
Usual contestant: "It's already an honor just to be here. I'll go with the motions" James: "I want...MONEY"
James Holzhauer goes to Alex Trebek "Now gimme my money biatch!!" xD One smart German mofo for sure :)
An "honor"? It's a game show about making money.
He deserves it tho cause he’s extremely good at answers and he has the strategy
Here let me just not play this game to the best of my ability because apparently that makes me greedy
" I don't want the money" - said no game show contestant ever.
Dear god, the fact that Alex is a factor, by how he speaks... That's some meta level game design right there
I don't get it, wdym?
@@jaiminnimavat8493 the way the game host speaks. When he adds extra syllables to a word, it messes the contestants up from buzzing in.
@@diegouy8277 reminds me of when to floor it when approaching a stale red light that you know is about to turn green. In my town we have a countdown timer for the pedestrian walkways and I noticed there is 4 seconds between the time it says stop for the light to turn green. So now when approaching a red light at an intersection which I know is about to be green I know there is a 4 second lag (much like the 'ki-cka') to account for before hitting gas.
@@jaiminnimavat8493 .
and that all depends if he had a good night sleep, making james conrey the deciding factor
He has a math degree. He's ruthlessly applying game theory and probability to Jeopardy. It's beautiful.
let's not go that far, he's simply answering more questions correctly than the other contestants
@@thisperson2517 No he is not. Everyone that wins at Jeopardy does that. This guy brought something new. The results speak for themselves.
I'm going to have to rewatch all his episodes because I SWEAR he said he dropped out of college to gamble professionally.
...men...see what they find beautiful? lmao
@@thisperson2517 so you don’t watch jeopardy. Got it lol.
That last sentence was prophetic. He truly did change the game - about 50% of players hunt for daily doubles now, and we've had an enormous stretch of super champions just in the last year alone. James really changed jeopardy from a game show to a sport, almost singlehandedly.
Yeah. I personally find the game alot more interesting when played this way.
Took people long enough to figure out this was the best way to play the game lol. Tetris masters are much more impressive than that!
I don't even watch jeapardy but this was very interessting
i thought for a long time it was an old timey british contest
It isn't even aired in the UK
cyrilio I was just about to say the same thing, spot on
This is cool! Good luck to James.
Same
Imagine signing up for jeopardy and then ending up going against James
That would put someone in the position of actually having the opportunity of being the one to _beat_ James. So, intimidating maybe, but can't imagine it wouldn't be the ultimate test of oneself.
@@GoldenfoxxPrime I agree - you either win huge or lose to only the very best.
IIRC they only shoot for so long each month, so I’m sure it’s reassuring to see two people go in, then the same people come out all day before you go in
uhu.. :'( too sad for words
I think I could beat him. But I don't want to play him.
“Working from the bottom of the board up” High School Student: Could this man be one of my people?
I remember in high school how everyone always started at the bottom, idk how it took people this long to figure that out in the real thing
Because the staff members on the show, when coaching contestants, actively request that they start from the top and move down. Most people, due to social pressure, will follow that request. James dgaf.
@@GoddoDoggo Also the questions on the top are a lot easier
The stakes are higher right? If your playing at school you probably don't win anything or just a small treat. So the risk is gone. Also I suspect most times you'd play jeopardy in high school, at least in my experience, is as an alternate format to study for a quiz. So instead of six wildly different categories that you don't know before hand you have 6 sub categories of one topic which you studied for. And since you have a better chance of knowing the topic why not go big? But I still agree it's weird that it has taken so long for someone to use the strategy James is, considering how much money and time is spent studying and breaking down the game with people even doing stuff like datamining.
Because starting at the bottom makes it very difficult to understand the clues, besides the fact that you have to answer in a question form, almost none of the question they ask you are simply “what is blank” they are very complicated questions that are easier to understand when you don’t to figure as difficult of trivia along with figuring the question format
@@j.a.6310 You underestimate how motivated some people are by meaningless competitions.
The name of the game is Jeopardy, not Trivia Relaxation Hour. An aggressive play style sounds pretty natural for a game like that.
Hahaha exactly
I'm pretty sure I would watch a show called Trivia Relaxation Hour.
@@roomdog40 me too, actually :D
Exactly he's playing to win as much money as possible...they make it sound like thats a bad thing
Look, had they NOT lifted that 5-game limit, he wouldn't be here right now. And neither would another Jeopardy! great in Ken Jennings.
how to be james holzhouer: step 1. know the answer step 2. all this other stuff.
Don't you mean "know the questions"?
@@danielfronc4304 Both. Since a question is the answer. 😉
@@JustTheHighlights Ah-Ah-ah, not at all. If he knew what the answer was, then there'd be no point in the game's host providing it. Besides, it's the writers who formulate the answers. What wins a contestant the dollar value and control of the next category and answer is providing the proper question. I've been watching this game since its inception in the 1970's with Art Fleming hosting it. "I'll take The Jeopardy Game Show Construct for $100. Alex". And the answer is, "Not at all". What is "Does Just The Highlights have the faintest idea of how this game works?". Bing! I'll take Infantile Rejoinders for $100. Alex. "What is..."
@@danielfronc4304 You absolutely decimated this poor man.
@@danielfronc4304 That was quite the response! 😀 The joke I was trying to convey was that his answer to the given problem must be in the form of a question. Therefore a question is the answer.
I’ve met him in real life, he’s a really quiet guy. I honestly couldn’t really converse with him because he’s so reserved. His personality on the show/tv is quite the opposite of how he actually is. But regardless, he’s brilliant
noice
Tbh, he might just be that way around people he's just met! a lot of people only open up once they get to know folks
A lot of these game shows require a little personality to even get in despite how smart or good someone might be.
The most brilliant people are often the most quiet/introverted.
@@r0zugorudooften? Maybe; as a rule, no lmao. Also, how are we quantifying brilliance here? Arbitrary sentence.
His success with the Daily Doubles is the most impressive thing about him. After all, a contestant only buzzes in for a regular question if they think they know the answer but the Daily Double question (albeit in a known category) is given only after you have placed a bet.
it's really a straight forward and brain-dead strategy and i'm surprised with all the geniuses that have been on the show, no one's done it before. historically daily doubles get answered correctly around 80% of the time. any professional gambler would empty his bank account for an 80% chance to double his money. most casinos tilt the odds in the house's favor by single digits for most games, so a +30% chance in the player's favor is practically high way robbery for a pro gambler like james. even if he's wrong he still has a good chance of making a comeback with his aggressive play.
@@oldfrend it's more like 70% of the time but your point stands for sure
He simply discovered the metagame behind it all.
Knowing the precise mechanics in a game makes you a better player - that's true for all games.
Joshua Levy aaaaaand also his crazy trivia knowledge. Very few have such a vast repertoire and recall
My friends are nototorious for doing this lmao. We used to play with casual game game then it became super competitive once we found out the statistics, general practices that pros do. It's fun still just a different kind of fun.
Yep. He broke the meta.
Do that in a casino and you might find you’re suddenly missing your kneecaps. Do it in Jeopardy and you revolutionize the game to the point where people think you’re a trivia god. I just wonder when more people take on his strategies how the game will change and if it will be for the better.
They should have a month where they only bring on contestants who lost to James
No.... The "30th" person in line should be learning his techniques to counter him when they come on.
Dude are u joking that’s just regular jeopardy
I agree! Every contestant knows their chances of winning are next to none. James has had a couple of close calls, so even if he didn't win, he still takes a huge win to his bank. In fairness, allow those folks to return to the show. I'm sure they've picked up on tips on winning the big money.
So just everyone who played when he played
Or just a day where the 3 contestants to beating him get to have a play-off.
Never watched Jeopardy until James. He's got me mesmerized.
Yeah, he was like a machine!
same
Hes the Michael Jordan of Jeopardy lol
James's Jeopardy playstyle seems genuinely more exciting to watch and if it forces others to play that way it will only improve the show's entertainment value and ratings.
It depends what parts you find exciting. They mention that in many games his opponent's are unable to catch him at the end because of his extreme lead, so if you value a nailbiting finish you could legitimately argue he is at least reducing the excitement of if not 'ruining' the game.
@@colinpetersen1173 Ok Boomer.
@@colinpetersen1173 nah
No she makes sense everybody could watch jeopardy for different reasons. If you watch it to play along it’s no different but if u watch it to see the race of a player catching up, it wouldn’t be so fun watching James games but non the less really cool that he’s that good of a player
Pick two Mongolian Yak herders as opponents. Make all questions about herding Yaks.
When they have had very educated non-Americans on, it seemed like the bias towards USA popculture made it very hard for them to win -- definitely an American game.
@@jeffmiller6954 yeah considering it's in America I don't exactly expect to have an equal chance playing at Chinese Jeopardy making references to ancient poetry and grass script.
James would end up teaching them shit they didnt even know xD
I'd give James a 40% chance
He'll still get them all right! Lol
This is why Vegas kicks out card-counters. James is too smart for the game, what a tank, I hope he keeps it rolling for a long time
he just uses game theory similar to what Ken Jennings did
concars1234 are winners ever retired in this game? If he never loses how long can he continue on with the show?
I wonder how much of a ratings bump they get from these winning streaks and if this translates into more profit than loss.
@@outlawjodiewales9295 Jeopardy did away with the five day limit a long time ago. James can keep going until he loses.
nancy warner or retires
Watching James was great. Now that he is gone, I feel like my team just lost the Super Bowl.
He just won the super bowl.
What is I am feeling sad?
Me too. I'm still weeping.
As a 49er fan, I feel ya
So how much did you wager?
I've never understood why more people don't play as aggressively as James. But if you don't possess the trivial knowledge it's game suicide. The first day I saw him I was thinking "now this is how to play this game"
I saw him at about 900k, just watching him, thinking "wtf?"
As of the last game, he's at over 1.7 mil
I watch him since day 1 and I am still thinking wtf. It is really rare just to see someone hit double digit win streak.
@@stephenhousman6975 He's really smart and knows everything
I never watch jeapordy but it was on during one of his first games and I was amazed. It was like he knew the answers before the questions were asked.
@@ryanelgar2299 No, he knew the answers after they were asked.
It's not like he's normal player that just figured out a secret code to break Jeopardy, he's as good as Ken Jennings with a gamblers mentality that answers more questions correctly than the other contestants.
Ken Jennings barely won most of those games, James dominated most of his wins.
Well this theory was put right to bed with the GOAT tournament. KEN JENNINGS IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!
0.126 seconds is an absurdly fast reaction time. It's a little easier because they can anticipate when the question will end but that's still really good
They are not "anticipating" when a question (answer) will end. They are watching a series of lights that are lit when a producer presses a button AFTER Alex finishes the "answer". Eventually, a returning player becomes very synchronized with Alex's voice and the producer's finger. A returning champion has a tremendous advantage at the beginning of each new game. Watch how often a returning champion gets the first answer/question right. Of course, it helps that THEY also picked the category...ALL things that can rightfully add to their dominance unless a challenger is REALLY on the ball and ready to go IMMEDIATELY!! (All J! contestants are smart...not ALL are prepared to play the game the way it MUST be played if you want to win...)
I noticed that aggressive button pressers usually get frustrated they aren't buzzing in first
Imagine you are trying your hardest and you keep losing to someone who looks like they aren't even trying.
@@kaldo8907 it's part of the strategy, make them so mad that they start being bad
"For one, he starts from the bottom of the board" Me only knowing jeopardy through class: "Wait, you're not supposed to do that?"
Lol right? Every time I’ve played a version of jeopardy you start at the bottom and hunt for the daily double
Ikr. Every time I play Jeopardy my class allows goes for the bottom to get the most points.
It tends to make for bad television. Once 98% of the money is taken, the tension is gone and nobody cares who gets the last few $400 clues. The Jeopardy! staff wants that to be the exciting part of the show, not an anti-climax.
We always do this too, but the issue is we don't know the answers bc our teacher sucks
relatable af
Doesn't do much good to buzz in if you don't know the answers! Let's face it, the guy is brilliant!! Congrats, James, on your win over 2 million today, May 24, 2019!
Yeah but he was in serious Jeopardy the day before though. Pun absolutely intended.
Ken used to buzz in before he knew the answer because he was so smart. But this guy is incredible
Doesn't do much good to know the answers if you can't buzz in. Let's face it, the guy is skilled as he is brilliant.
I don't know man. Can't shake off this feeling that he's cheating......
After 30 appearances, his AVERAGE is higher than the previous SINGLE DAY record. He broke it.
I used to watch sometimes. Since James, I won't miss it. Jeopardy was always a great game but James has added a ton of excitement to it. I can't believe all of the crybabies who say he's ruining the game. They're probably the ones who think everyone should get a trophy. Just because he plays the board a little differently doesn't mean he's breaking any rules - he's not. Go James!
He's going to lose tonight ...and try not to be a crybaby about it
. Haha I think I can handle it. 😄
deejo 2 did he lose? I know it’s a lot later but how long did he end up going?
Matteo Giampietro He lost a bit short of Ken Jennings earnings. All in all, I think he won 32 games.
Absolutely. Anyone who complains about a game show is probably a loser. I got kicked out of a full contact Karate tournament for hitting a guy " too hard" when I was 18. The punch was legal and it was the Black Belt division. Afterward his buddy is telling me that I should be more sportsman like as a Black Belt I shouldn't be as aggressive. I'm like I'm a White Belt I bet my instructor I could beat any Black Belt here with just Boxing. Then he got super pissed. I'm like I just beat 2 Black Belts today with like 6 weeks of training in Kempo, if you want to fight too. My whole school ended up getting kicked out, but it was an eye opener for those guys I bet. My point being there is always someone who thinks the traditional way is always the best.
RIP Alex Trebek :(
James: I'm about to end this game's whole career
more like help it, the way he plays is high stakes and exciting
@@justfantastic2877 It was a joke in that they lose more money obviously...
@@fondren001 probably make a lot more in ratings. and James probably still makes less than trebek.
From Quora: "His last contract was signed2in 2015 for 10 million dollars annually. They actually tape a weeks worth of shows in a day. They tape twice a week. So, in one week they tape 10 shows in just two days. When broken down, Alex makes $37,037 per episode." So James is making more per episode than Trebek at the moment. $78k average. Holy smokes.
I think he actually broke the game now future players will try to study and mimic the same strategy
The people going against him had to watch him win for like 20 days, knowing they have no chance lmao
Lol
They actually make 5 episodes a day but release 1 every day a couple months later
@@flexroland Yep, episodes are filmed a few months before they air. The contestants first know how successful James has been in the meeting room before going on stage, when a producer tells the other contestants how much the champion has won. Ken Jennings's run lasted long enough that challengers already recognized him from television by the time they met him.
@@porsche911sbs yes, right now you watch the other contestants try to play against him using the normal top down strategy and they fail. To win Austin's James, you would have to be someone that's seen him play on TV and figured out how to copy him well enough to beat him with the buzzer.
Everyone’s reign comes to an end someday. They probably want to be known as the dragon slayer
I mean, he’s a full-time professional gambler.
Professional gamblers either A: cheat within the rules or B: lose.
@@JoshSweetvale Cheating within the rules is just finding loopholes
@@gandangamberify No.
Yes idiot
wrong. pro gambling is real. all about pushing odds over time.
I’ve never seen someone go so in-depth for jeopardy
His job is pretty much to play jeopardy
Lol
ztheg well I mean when he gets over 50k a game
He actually made a joke saying that it was
picture this: alex trebek's final episode of jeopardy james vs ken vs austin winner takes alex's spot as host of jeopardy
Brad is the best ever. Why include Austin instead of him? He's whooped Ken time after time and won millions more than him, despite not having the privilege of slaughtering regular opponents for dozens of shows in the regular season.
Ken would be destroyed, James vs. Watson 1v1
neosapiens I know brad personally, he’d be a TERRIBLE host, he’s so annoying and weird
I agree with the others, Austin is a really likable guy and fun to watch and may have the chops to bet a lot, but he's not won nearly enough to be successful against James. Brad has a better shot, but I agree with Logan - I am honestly thinking the only player to beat James is Watson.
I want Trebek's mustache
So one could say that he "started from the bottom." Now we're here
There it is.
What is a Dad Joke?
Canadian actor turned rapper makes THIS claim in his 2013 single of the same name...
James has been a huge thrill to watch regularly on Jeopardy. He is truly a phenomenon with his memory and depth of knowledge over a really really wide range of topics. He's a one of a kind beast
I remember him winning by only 18 dollars this one time live and it was scary awesome
I'm guessing he missed the final jeopardy, and the 2nd place contestant doubled his/her money?
@@joshodom9046 James was ahead by about $6000 going into Final Jeopardy. They both got the Final Jeopardy question right.
I could be wrong, but didn't James start out the episode with getting his first question/answer wrong and being $1000 in hole immediately? That was a sign to me that this particular episode was going to be different. This episode happened before the recent 2-week break for the Teacher's Tournament.
@@ZJCitricAcidGraf.E.T. I think you're right
search "james holzhauer almost loses"
ive always been annoyed that people didn't pick high dollar answers right off the bat. glad to see he did that. holy shit that's a lot of money
It seems obvious that you'd want to accumulate as much money as possible, collect all the high-tier rewards you can, not waste time on idle game host chitchat. I've always (mistakenly) assumed that the winning players aren't playing stupid strategies - that there must be a reason (in the rules) they work their way up through the low-tier trash - but I've also never been interested enough to bother studying the rules in detail, lol.
It's interesting to know now that the behind the scenes they actually tell the contestants to start at the top. That explains a helluva lot about the way people play this game. I wonder if they tell people on The Price is Right that if they're selected to run like batshit crazy fools up to the contestant's row and never stop acting like a kid on a sugar high afterward, too.
Alex gets annoyed when they do start with the highest ones
LOL. WHY? Let him be annoyed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There's actually some strategy in saving the high-dollar answers for later. If you have confidence in being able to rack up money and control the board, the later in the round you get the Daily Doubles, the more betting capital you have. To use an extreme example, if the very first "Answer" you picked was a hidden Daily Double, then the most you can bet is something like $1000. But, if the Daily Double was the very last "Answer" left on the board, and you had $10,000, you can bet up to $10,000. So you want to get the DD early, but not too early, if you want to make huge cash. If you want to win with no regard to your winning total, you probably just want to get the DD to make sure your opponent can't cash in on it.
James is super smart and seemingly humble and kind, that's quite the combination. Winner Winner all around. Congratulations James, you made Jeopardy fun again.
There were three fun things about watching James "The Buzzsaw" Holzhauer. The speed at which he took out the board was always a blast, no matter what the categories were. The second thing was "The Push", when he would bet sometimes literally everything with a pantomime of pushing a stack of poker chips. ALWAYS satisfying. And the third thing was the thrill of finally seeing him beaten by other great players, like Ken Jennings, the man who got me interested in Jeopardy from a young age moreso than my school teachers.
If i knew most of the answers id be betting most of my money as well. People can;t be aggressive if they don't know the topics.
Insert 21 game show scandal theory with Jeopardy.
I can be aggressive if I don't know. I'll probably lose but I can still do it.
I haven't watched Jeopardy in years, but hearing about all this we've been following along lately. There's just something fun about watching someone utterly destroy their opponents.
John "components"
@@johnsjohnson lol thanks. If he destroyed the jeopardy 'components' that would be fun to watch to!
I mean, he is _exploiting_ them, and that's pretty close
It is all fun and games until a person bankrupts a show :)
not fun for me. I want others to have a chance too . Let them limit how many times a contestant can win or how much they can win..
Strategy or not, this guy is the smartest person to be on that show. He knew more info than Alex himself.
This is amazing! I never thought how crucial the buzzer press was either... it reminds me totally of (personal sports analogy incoming) being a receiver in American Football how crucial it is to take the first step forward and not lean back on your foot before you launch cause that takes extra milliseconds from your release
The man is borderline savant. His knowledge base, recall speed and skill have millions shaking their heads in awe.
yeah, his knowledge base is unreal, almost as if he has a photographic memory. Even then some of the categories would weed that out. I have not seen a category that he is poor in.
He is a savant, not borderline
@@cessnaking2000 I believe he does have photographic memory. If I recall correctly, he told a story where he's gotten banned from casinos for counting cards with enormous amounts of decks in black jack
most of the shit on jeopardy is learned throughout grade school, but everyone forgets it because its largely useless in everyday life
@C. Michael sounds like some asshole never payed attention in school. a large portion of jeopardy questions can be found in geography, history, and social studies books ranging from 1st to 12th grade.
One simple thing I feel this video forgot is how fast James talks. He’ll cut Alex off to get to the next question because he does not want to run out of time. His personal stories are always really quick too all in an effort to hit every question Edit: please guys don’t make my comment about a political agenda. I just want to discuss the game show we all love.
Projekt:Kobra I have no idea what you’re talking about or how you brought your political views into this, but you most certainly have little chill.
gxtmfa Yeah, if anyone could be called an @$$hat, it’s him.
@Projekt:Kobra Sometimes I forget that people like you really exist and then I read hilarious nonsense comments like this where it just sounds like you're talking to yourself about fuck only knows what. Man, it just makes me glad I don't waste all my time on the internet anymore.
@@newq haha I thought the exact same thing when I read that
@Patric Parton I mean...he someone managed to vent his anger about "virtue signalling sjw sleazebags" in a video about Jeopardy strategy, so if it's any consolation, it's the weirdos and buggers angry about every little thing who don't seem to like Trebek. I feel like for most people, Trebek is solid. Not god's gift to man, but not horrible really. Just very neutral and safe.
Imagine: you are selected to be on jeopardy, only to figure out you are against James.
Given how long before airing these shows film (three months), no one who went against James would have known who he was. Unless the crew warned them, they had no idea what they were up against.
@@brch2 When you get to the contestant's green room, and you find out that the returning champion is a 5-day winner, or 10-day winner....or more...you know you're in trouble. They didn't know WHO he was...but they knew WHAT he was. Now, imagine actually SEEING Ken Jennings on TV...and then arriving as a contestant, and finding out HE"S STILL THERE!!!
What a charming fellow James is. And knows so many things--well read. He even is a duplicate player and has attracted the best player to be his teacher. How much fun he has given to all of us !
I think that he’s doing what kids playing review jeopardy’s in school have always been doing
Honestly kinda obvious, surprisinged this hasn't been the strategy for decades
Exactly, I thought everyone knew about this strategy
...I’m 30. It sounds like the three of you must be young. Old people are really stupid. Like I’m stupid, yes, but people from my parents’ generation and before are *really* stupid (generally). When it comes to most basic things we can figure something out relatively quickly and easily.
@@edh6532 especially a gambler.
Difference in risk. Here you're betting thousands of dollars. At school, you're losing maybe one or two extra credit points.
It would be so cool and interesting to see Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter in a 5 or 10 game championship to see who would win and the analytics behind all of that.
what finally did him in was NOT finding the daily doubles.
it was really really unfortunate how Emma beat him. she was unworthy and got lucky with finding those daily doubles. I will say though that she did understand she had to be really aggressive in her play style to beat him and she also did very well in the recent tournament where James beat her twice in a row
@@jayquoproductions Once in a row, because first game he gave himself a nice cushion but second game Emma had more than him.
@@jayquoproductions She wouldn't have known who he was when they filmed. They film months before the show airs... the episode James lost would have filmed around 2 months before the first one he won was aired. She didn't know his play style, unless someone from the show told her. But, she had also studied the show before, so naturally played more aggressively than the average contestant (just not as long term successfully as he apparently).
He lost because by chance he didn't build up a big enough bank so doubling his money in the Jeopardy round on its Daily Double didn't increase his bank that much. Emma found both daily doubles in the Double Jeopardy round and answered correctly so built up an uncatchable lead going into Final Jeopardy.
@@linda1lee2 He played the game like an aggressive gambler and lost like one, that's all there really is to it.
He's my favorite player ever. He isn't ruining anything. He 8s one smart cookie. 🍪
Same... I thought it was fascinating to watch him play!
The word smart has lower standards today sadly. You are looking for genius.
I've genuinely been loving the tear he's been on. It's legit the way I've always wanted to see the game played. I always thought to myself "why not go for bigger numbers & bet more on daily doubles." Most people who did that weren't able to back up their skill, but James is able to. We're seeing history and I love it
@m norton buswell Always nice to see someone so encouraging and kind as you!
Yeah, take the big #s off the board, and take comeback opportunities away in the same stroke.
Daily double betting is just your confidence, if you are ahead bet high. But picking the bottom first takes the first guess away from your opponent so, an obvious advantage.
0:51 When you realize your opponent is literally $54,000 ahead of you
meow bastard ...
I literally can't wait until this stupid "literally" term goes out of style. Literally. *barf*
You literally do not know what literally means.
@@Fete_Fatale You literally don't know what sarcasm is. :D
@@RavenMaven you literally thought my 'literally' comment was directed at you? Oh dear - literally.
You have no idea how envious I am of James, the ocean of knowledge. For a long time we're not gonna see someone like James on jeopardy or any other game shows. I am very excited about seeing more jeopardy with James as a contestant in it.
Wait, there's actually an archive that documents every single Jeopardy question ever asked? Now THAT is fucking impressive.
Bro there are people who know how many cloves of garlic a youtube food channel has minced.
@@kaldo8907 wtf legit? hahahahha
@@alxuria Yeah man, people are crazy.
I always knew there was nothing stopping people from attacking the bottom of the board first, and finally this guy has the balls to do it.
There have been people in the past that usually start at the bottom but they didn't attack the board as aggressively and they didn't answer with anywhere near his accuracy rate so it didn't do them much good. It's a good strategy but you have to make sure that you can buzz in and you have to know the answers. It's about all the elements working together.
He is awesome. It's so exciting to watch him, he's got a great poker face and most of the time the answers (questions) come to him so easily, he barely has to think about it.
Also, after he answers a question correctly, he quickly goes to the next question, so that he has more time to answer more questions throughout the game. Notice that most other contestants take a second or two to decide where to go next. James moves quickly, and that gives him the chance to answer maybe 2-3 more questions over the total game.
@@randyjordan5521 Absolutely, and seldom adds any extra banter or little jokes. I've noticed a couple times when Alex has given the one minute warning, James goes into hyperdrive, which for him is a breeze as all that's left at the end are the lower dollar answers.
....and what is "exciting" about that??? When there's no competition in any sporting event, I turn the channel.
@heehee mefunny LOL absolutely! Here's hoping he'll be hangin tough for a while.
@@sportsmediaamerica If you were watching someone approach the sport in a way that changed the game and setting a phenomenal set of new records, you'd change the channel? He's like the Michael Jordan or Mike Tyson of Jeopardy.
James Holzhauer is my all time favorite player. His demeanor, style, fast paced attitude is mesmerizing. I love watching him, his huge gambles and most impressively his intelligence. Wow, he really is unbelievably the smartest man on earth it seems. He changed the show for the best, no one will ever be like him with quick responses and quick wit. He is the "Man of the Hour!" Please have him back over and over again. Love everything about him!
It's so exciting to watch James win that I'm glued to the TV set. He's not ruining the game, he's making it fun to watch.
I'm watching Jeopardy every night because of James. It's amazing the amount of knowledge this guy has. I enjoy seeing him absolutely destroy every opponent he faces.
Same. It is bad that I find pleasure in seeing the hope slowly drain from his opponents' eyes as the game progresses? They all start out so optimistic but then they get absolutely slaughtered.
@@davidb5205 It's like being a rookie boxer and realizing you've been put in the ring with a fresh young Mike Tyson
It's great because he also has to be good at trivia. Even if I followed this strategy, I'd definitely lose lol
KaoruKat he has to be exceptional, not just good
@@stevesung573 I'd argue his playstyle means he only has to be pretty good rather than great. Ken could probably beat James in a straight Quiz Bowl format but James just plays big against regular plebs. I'm wonder how well hisstyle would work against other great champs who had time to prepare for him? Not as well, I'd imagine.
@@kvltizt I'd argue that playstyle doesn't really mean shit, and I'd be right.
@@jeremyc9593 Then explain why an entire video was made breaking down his style for me?
@@kvltizt You ask that as if there's never been a pointless video made in the history of mankind.
This man is a genius and it’s really interesting to see all the technicalities in his play styles. To answer the last question you asked at the end: no. I think this is only making jeopardy better, not ruining it, because it’s bringing a whole knew play style to the table. The game will just get more interesting and more of a test of skill and strategy instead of a test of pure knowledge
It's now August 6th 2020 and James is still win the winners seat! Total earnings $54,860,214.00
well...
Oof
Cool but no
My classmates and I always go from the bottom up when playing this in class for reviewing for tests.
MysticOceanDollies yeah Sam here, I was actually surprised that most people don’t...
gotta get those points before the other team does !
MysticOceanDollies the stakes are a lot higher when playing for thousands of dollars in cash.
Sounds like you and your classmates are lots of fun!
Boba Fett You’re on crack man 😂
This is how people in my school always used to play the mock Jeapordy study games we had in some classes. We've just grown up
Play aggressively, you mean?
Same. Always start from the bottom. Of course I've never played a mock Jeopardy with daily doubles. And we were stuck on teams.
iced fire same except our teachers usually would throw in a daily double and this is exactly what we would do. Always start on the big questions and jump around for the double. They’re acting like he’s cracked some secret code when the reality is the guy has common sense, good betting sensibility, and is incredibly knowledgeable about trivia
Who didn't do this in school literally every class that would have a mock Jeopardy everyone did it.
Same!
Jeopardy has been on the air a lot longer than 35 years. And James starts from the bottom to amass money, not to find the Daily Double early. In fact, he'd rather not find the Daily Double too early, since he nearly always bet everything during the first round. The more money, the bigger his pot. With this strategy, he often was able to effectively win the game in the first round.
This post is not meant to disparage any person that has posted here or anyone on the program who has commented. That said, people are always talking about his buzzer technique, how he begins with the high value questions, and other strategies he might employ. Everyone, his winning strategy is based on the fact that his brain contains an incredible amount of information and he's able to call that up and enunciate it so quickly. It's like he doesn't wait for the question to start thinking about the answer, but is doing it during the reading of the question. I'm calling them questions but I realize that, officially, they might be answers with the contestants supplying the questions. Some people also call this trivia, but James' knowledge seems of such a magnitude that it might go beyond trivia. The breath of his knowledge is mind boggling. It doesn't seem to matter what the category is, he appears to know a lot about it. Another point to consider is that he's on the program with other people who have a lot of expertise in Jeopardy. It my understanding that a contestant is thoroughly vetted before coming on the program to make sure they have can compete. By the time the first phase, ends, these people have low amounts and he's up to $40,000 or so. I'm in awe.
An incredibly smart individual, his technique is polished. A pleasure to watch!
He's not "one of the first people to realize" how to bet properly; he's the first Jeopardy! contestant to actually try (and succeed at) it, repeatedly. His gameplay is not amazing. His ability to _produce the correct responses to so many different kinds of clues_ is what's amazing. Same as what made Roger amazing, same as what made Ken amazing, etc. Buzzing in early and betting big don't help, unless your responses are consistently correct. He didn't "break" Jeopardy! ... he's just a highly knowledgeable person.
He's the first person to be brave enough to play with that playstyle, Ken Jennings even said he wishes he had bet more on doubles after seeing James play. So really his game play is quite amazing because no one else is willing to put so much on the line.
Yes he has to be knowledgeable to win but he's up against other smart people. His ability to get to the buzzer quickly secures his ability to get the answer.
@@spazmaticaa7989 that's true. No point knowing the answer unless you can hit that buzzer first. The two are equally important.
Optimal strategy does help him earn fat stacks though.
In short, there are several vital skills in order to amass big winnings in Jeopardy, and James seems to have mastered all of them. Other guys have deployed some of the skills; Ken Jennings was a beast with the buzzer and the knowledge, but he didn't employee winning strategy. Other guys, like Arthur Chu used strategy correctly, but weren't quite as skilled in knowledge or buzzer. Would be great to see a Tournament of Champions for which the greatest champions in the show's history who are still available to compete went against each other.
thanks Cheddar this was a nice video well explaining what is happening and why it is happening/how it is possible etc. For someone who knows the show but never watched it actively (most of my knowledge coming from remarks in TV shows and Weird Al's "I lost on Jeopardy") you did a great job of explaining it
He needs to play in a game again Ken Jennings and the Super Computer. Slow the Computer to whatever that theory he explained of how to beat him.
Ken Jennings the GOAT.
The thing that makes him even more of a threat is the way he sits and calmly answers the question. It's a sign that he's confident. TBH, I'd be mad as idk what if I were a contestant with him. But major props to James. 👍 he found the cheat codes to this game called life.
He's got a pornographic memory!
@@MICHAELSMITH-ys8ek did you mean "photographic"
RoachDogg Junior 😂😂😂😂
@@MICHAELSMITH-ys8ek hold up
Alex and Ken Jennings walk into a dark room. Ken: Golly Alex, you sure about this? Alex: Ken... there is no other way. (Plugs in Watson)
LOL
Damn I didn't get the reference Nope nvm just got it 👍
Yes please xD
James is Watson... The backstory is a LIE! LOL
I hated the Watson episodes. Wasn't impressed one bit. So what if a computer can be loaded with every possible question/answer and can beat a person to the buzzer.
First, this man is without a doubt highly knowledgeable and has lightening fast memory recall. This isn’t something many people tend to see on a regular basis and is very impressive. Second, his analytical approach to gameplay is nearly unheard of. As students who play school versions know....the outcome of the game is always best when working up from the bottom of the board. Third, his understanding of probability in regards to the placement of Daily Doubles on the board, his precise use of the buzzer, and his dauntless attitude with pressing the buzzer without hesitation is truly amazing. In the nearly thirty-six years Jeopardy has been on-air, no one has played in this fashion. He seems to be the first contestant to utilize this specific “pinpoint” strategy. I agree that he has likely set a new precedent in how this game will be played in future episodes. The only way he could be more memorable would be if he were like Charles Ingram who won the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire by being fed correct answers by coughing, Herb Stemple and Charles Van Doren from Twenty-One who were being coached and given the correct answers, or Rodney Alcala who appeared on The Dating Game in 1978......who was ultimately identified as a rapist and “active” serial killer from 1968 to 1979 with the number of victims being between eight and one hundred and thirty. Let’s hope he isn’t added to that list! 😂🤣😂
In the 21-22 season, we’ve seen two 30+ game winners and a couple 10+ winners but I still think Ken and James are the more impressive players to ever play.
Evidently the secret to winning is having a last name starting with "Holz-"
German origin. Holz means lumber or wood or timber. This guy's surname means lumberjack
@@jaimedelgado7529 He's a lumberjack and he's okay
@@Copyright_Infringement Jahn Holzhauer
@@jaimedelgado7529 That smile could take down a tree on it's own.
Well if you translate his name word for word it would be "James Woodbeater" :D
How Holzhauer broke Jeopardy by answering more questions correctly than the other contestants.
Who would have thought such an obscure strategy would pay off.
If that's what you took away from this video, ya fucked up.
@@implode44 the author repeats throughout the video "none of this would have worked if it weren't for his knowledge of trivia" so it's an important takeaway, if not *the* most important.
@@pivotguydc1149 There's a winner every day but they're not consistently setting records - his playing and wagering strategy are the "broken" part.
@@PabloGonzalez-hv3td sure, but the strategy also requires knowledge of trivia to work
Prayers for Alex 🙏🙏🙏
yes, me and my family never watched jeopardy but now we watch it just to see james. we have a better bond, praise jamesss
he still needs to be extremely knowledgeable to even attempt this strategy, and its great to watch. i guarantee that jeopardy has gotten a spike in rating since he has started dominating, just like the last time someone was this dominate. people either want to see him dominate some more, but more likely... people want to see if he's gonna lose.
I think if anything it's immensely helping jeopardy. With any competition throughout history, people love to see competitors who absolutely dominate their opponents. You would never say that Tiger, Jordan, Federer etc hurt their respective sports. They bring in a bigger audience because people love to see the best.
I disagree completely. You obviously don't know America. Americans love to root for the underdog. You want the little guy to win. It's no fun going to a game and seeing one guy who just dominates with little to no effort. What would be the point of watching a game of Jeopardy with James if you know that he is going to win by a long shot.
@@alabaster302 To see a master at work, of course! Americans actually are shown to have a preference to root for someone who's on top of things and always one step ahead. Sure, it's exciting to have an upset and see the underdog win out in the end, but nothing beats seeing someone like James dominate their competition without hardly breaking a sweat. Besides, if you *do* want to root for an underdog, just root against James. He knows a lot, but his style is still incredibly high-risk. He's bound to slip up sometime and give one of his opponents the perfect opening to overtake the game. Waiting for that moment can be exciting as well.
I loved his run. He blew away with the sped he answered and his go for broke style. I'd seen him before on The Chase and knew he was a trivia master but the rules are bit different between those two shows.
What excites me about James is his humility and his sense of knowledge.Highly unprecedented.
Its played like how kids play. do the most first... hes got more stratagy tho
I love watching people break systems. In basketball, it was first players getting tall enough to dunk, then tall enough to never not dunk. Enter the three point shot as an incentive against dunking and then Steph Curry finding the meta in that. Games can change, but someone's always gonna find a way to break it.
Well it's not like people actually had to get taller, it was more about realizing that being tall and jumping high was a huge advantage. That seems obvious, but since it was a game developed by regular sized people they had to actually shoot it. If you are just shooting then tall people are not much better than average-height or even short ones. Then people invented the jump shot and lay-up. The lay-up became the optimal way to score and height/jumping was a big factor in making and defending lay-ups. So then tall jumpers started being recruited. At this point, there were probably a lot of players physically capable of dunks, but they were just doing lay-ups because nobody had ever seen a dunk and it seems kind of cheap/taboo thing to do in a game about throwing a ball into a basket..... I mean just jump up and drop the ball in? That probably seemed as silly as a player putting another player on his shoulders to play 9 feet tall would seem to us now. The player who first started low key dunking called it his 'special lay-up'. It was probably the same form as a high lay-up... just a lay-up from above the basket. Other players started following his lead and improving the technique and form to be more efficient and cool-looking. Soon dunking was expected from tall players. By the time professional basketball was organized most teams were led by 'big men' who dominated the paint but also included guards for shooting and play-making. For a long time now basically everyone in pro-basketball can dunk, even most of the players under 6' although only a few score primarily through dunking as defenders don't like to allow dunks. TLDR Dunking is more about technique and conditioning than height as even moderately tall or average height people can dunk if they train for it.
@@harmonicarchipelgo9351 I wonder: why wouldn't they just raise the basket another 2 or 3 feet to prevent dunks?
Robert Lozyniak why would they do that lmaooo dunks are the most exciting thing in basketball. Why the fuck would you even suggest them to raise the rim. Why don’t you want players dunking? There’s literally not one positive in that. Also that changes the whole game, not just dunks. It’s not happening lol
LaPride247 the only reason to "raise the bar" is that a huge amount of players now recruited are taller than the average joe of games gone by. We could have a whole new game for those exceptional people, it'd be crazy to imagine pushing them even farther than where they are.. But if challenged giants can rise even higher than imaginable.
Lol, took me a second to realize that YOU added the stats on the blue screen @ 6:48. I'm like "Dude even knew his percentages?!?!?!"
Not only is his style amazing, but he is SMART! He knows that answers. Nothing gets by him!
I love watching this guy win win win! He's brought a freshness that is enjoyable to watch. We all want to see a winner, the BEST at his game! I hope he goes on and on!
I love watching James Holzhauer play Jeopardy. It has made the game, for me, much more interesting.
So interesting. Love when people outsmart these games. Forces change and people to get better at what they do.
I still think the most impressive thing is his knowledge. He would figure out all of the answers just be analyzing key words. That's amazing
We have been watching James since the first episode aired. He is a Genius!!! May god bless him
Genius? Not likely. There is a huuuuuuuuuge difference between memorization of trivia questions and analytical skills and deductive reasoning. He may know a fuck ton about trivia and in all likelihood have terrible math skills.
@@tylerkeller8869 You can't deny his retention rate is abnormally high. Geniuses aren't gifted in all areas either, only a select few.
@@tylerkeller8869 don't be jelly
sarai3180 there is no god
I watch every night because James is exciting to watch. Did anyone say that Ken Jennings was ruining Jeopardy. Very unfair to James, a nice guy.
Doris Kickham is fake try make rational people
Holzhauer has improved the game through his style of play. I loved the way went about playing. Anyone who gets people talking and makes the show "must-see TV" is improving overall gameshow play. The fact the three kings of Jeopardy! now appear together (and provide commentary on game-play, including roasting each other) on The Chase has made them even more enjoyable. "Jeopardy James" is a modern icon who I'm glad had his run and got us seeing an iconic show in a new way.
He's the best and so much fun to watch. I loved playing against him here at home.