i agree that he's a jerk for not doing everything possible to extract every dollar out of this show. he has leaks. he's not a machine. or it could also be a personal FU message to 2+2 and math in general. like putting bait out there for the sharks. those bet sizes are telling us, "hey, i have leaks, play me. i ****in dare you to play me and exploit my leaks. i'm the greatest trivia champion of all time and i'm in my prime. i want to destroy and humiliate all potential champions right now so i can coast off this game for the next 30 years and retire on a private island"

that's what his bet sizing is telling me. he's hotdoggin it out there, totally disrespecting all the jobbers that play him and disrespecting the audience too, tbh

I think James not extracting every dollar makes him more relatable to the average viewer and more marketable long term, if he’s looking to parlay this into something once J! Is done. I think it’s safe to say most people are rooting for him today.

If he was pushing every bet to the bleeding edge, your average viewer would see that as being overly cocky and I think make him less likable. He’s crushing like no one ever has before. “Losing” a couple bucks here and there might pay off for him in the future.

You may be right in his next level thinking. But if he’s looking for a payoff long term, playing it this way is better IMO, whether it be in your hypothesis he’s looking for more competition, or he’s trying to cultivate and maintain mass appeal.

$18,600 at first break is insane

People seem to be ignoring basic math ITT, just like Alex Trebek did.

Scores were:

72,022
6,600
6,200

He's ahead by 58,822 assuming 2nd place wagers it all, and he needs to risk 59,105 to tie his record.

1. I think SA's post was at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Not sure how much, but enough that it wasn't really looking for a response.

2. As far as your post is concerned, I don't think that the factor you point out really matters. The average viewer wouldn't even be able to tell if he's pushing every bet to the edge or not. That's part of what makes them the average viewer. At this point, as long as he doesn't act like a jerk (which he clearly isn't), it doesn't matter how he wins or by how much. Just that he does. "Losing" a couple of bucks here and there is not going to make a bit of difference with respect to his post-show prospects.

Yeah I'll admit I was just fuzzily thinking that he can bet "around 60k", and then relying on Trebek's comment as confirmation that he could indeed top it.

Winning less will make him a fan favorite. That's why Negreanu is so popular

Monday shows are the first filmed of the day? James definitely seemed FRESH.

Tbf Trebek was correct that he could've set a new record, he just couldn't have done it without putting his win at risk.

Was bummed to see him bid 20k on the last DD of DJ. I thought he would at least wager 25k there.

Is it frowned upon to bet the exact amount that would tie you with 2nd place if you lost FJ and 2nd got it right?

I think there is now a tiebreaker question, so doing so introduces a huge amount of unnecessary risk.

Correct. No more co-champions.

James is 325k shy of Ken's regular season winnings. He should top that in 4-5 eps, surpassing Ken's 74 game amount until 32-33 games.

James puts on display the real gamblers disdain for money. He's playing with chips or points, not actual cash. It's normal to the general 2p2 community, but shocking/unusual to the general public.

lmao

the betting for the first 2 games you linked is absolutely amazing.

in the first game 3rd place risks it all for no reason and would have won if he left a dollar.

in the 2nd game the leader with 9500 has no reason at all to risk it all. like none. possibly the worst bet of all time on jeopardy.

I find it awesome that rather than the $2,000 and $1,000 thanks for coming out prizes, they used to give dinnerware and a range or an exercise machine.

Don't forget the Jeopardy! home game.

Come on people, "lovely parting gifts" was a game show staple for decades. I'm surprised it wasn't a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni.

I'm trying comprehend the wagering in that Show #2 archive linked above and I simply cannot. It's the 2nd game ever in Jeopardy history so perhaps the contestants didn't fully understand how the game worked or something?

Also did anyone notice James put a shoutout in the middle of a response in DJ this time? It's like he keeps angleshooting in these shout-outs after being told ways he can't include them, lol

Well the show itself had been around since 1964 with those same rules, that was the second show since it came back after like a 5-year hiatus. Still very possible the rules were poorly communicated to the players, or (more likely) that they paid little attention and had never watched the show in its heyday.

When this reign ends Jeopardy should put aside a week and have a H2H 5-day tourney with Holzhauer and Jennings... probably be great for ratings....

What? Why leave out the current GOAT? Whoever wins would still be #2 all time.

Not saying James won't eventually become the GOAT, but so far all he's done is beat up on newbies.

To be the GOAT he has to beat Rutter.

Well, him, Jennings and Rutter then....