Nerd factor vs Professional Gambler factor in Jeopardy

Ken Jennings set the current Jeopardy record in 2004 winning 74 episodes in a row

On the 75th episode Ken Jennings beat himself. He had 28 right and 2 wrong on questions without a wager. He won $3,000 on his first daily double, and then lost two daily doubles for $4,800 and $5,400. He then proceeded to gamble $5,601 in Final Jeopardy to lose the game. Nancy Zerg got 10 right for $10,000 and won an additional $4,401 in Final Jeopardy. The next episode she finished with $2.


NERD FACTOR
James vs Ken at 32 games
Correct Responses 1160 1117 (James ahead by 43 correct)
Incorrect Responses 36 105 (James ahead by 69 fewer wrong)

Financial comparison for nerd factor
Ken $878,400 vs. James $985,600 (James ahead by $107,200 or 12.2%)


PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER FACTOR
Ken earned an extra $172,060 on daily doubles and final jeopardy after 32 games, James has earned an extra $1,476,616 (over 8X as much)

That fearlessness is the mark of a professional gambler.


James is married with a child. How does he keep his marriage together? Their trick is she is not allowed to ask how much he is ahead or behind on his earnings. He only reports out to her once a year.

Quote: Pacomartin

James is married with a child. How does he keep his marriage together? Their trick is she is not allowed to ask how much he is ahead or behind on his earnings. He only reports out to her once a year.

Wise. I'm not gambling much lately, but when I do, even though no serious money is involved, I find I want to do the same thing. We don't have a hush agreement, so that means playing down both wins and losses. Both is essential, otherwise she wants to spend the money if I have a big win.

Is this a matter of sex differences, or is it a dynamic that develops between spouses? In other words, if the gambler is a woman and the non-gambler a man, does the same exact dynamic play out? I think maybe not, since in our case she openly shares the expense of her golf, the cost of which dwarfs my gambling and outdoor activity expenses in the extreme.

Quote: odiousgambit

Is this a matter of sex differences, or is it a dynamic that develops between spouses? In other words, if the gambler is a woman and the non-gambler a man, does the same exact dynamic play out? I think maybe not, since in our case she openly shares the expense of her golf, the cost of which dwarfs my gambling and outdoor activity expenses in the extreme.

I think it is a sex differences thing. Women are way more protective of their money, less willing to take risks. Men are far more willing to take a calculated risk.

Quote: AZDuffman

I think it is a sex differences thing. Women are way more protective of their money, less willing to take risks. Men are far more willing to take a calculated risk.

A lot of what makes James a different Jeopardy player is human factors (not just sex differences). Most Jeopardy players try to win a game, and would consider it foolhardy to risk a huge sum of their money after they have locked the win. This is the 35th season which means over 8000 episodes and nobody had ever won more than $77K in a single episode. Along comes James betting $60K on a single FJ Jeopardy question in a locked game. In the past contestants might bet some nominal amount to add a little icing on the cake.

To repeat, Ken Jennings earned an extra $172,060 on daily doubles and final jeopardy after 32 games in 2004, James has earned an extra $1,476,616 .

A huge benefit to somebody like James,
they shoot a weeks shows in one day.
One after the other. So he only has
to psych himself up for a few hours
a week. It would be brutal to have to
face that pressure five days a week.

He has tons of prep time in between
sessions, a whole week. He may very
well never lose.

Ken Jennings average wager on Final Jeopardy (FJ) when he had a lock on the game was $7,872. Roughly ~$8000 is about the average bet over a range of contestants. Many contestants don't wager anything substantial if they have a lock on the game as they know they will advance to the episode.

James is betting an average of $29,634 on FJ when he has a lock.

Quote: Evenbob

He may very well never lose.

In one game James bet $8,400 (all of his money) on the 18th Answer (3rd level of difficult out of 5)
"In 1903 Maurice Garin was its first winner in 94 hours, 33 minutes, 14 seconds"

James's guessed "What is Paris to Dakar?

Paris to Dakar is a 10,000km (1/4 circumference of Earth) road rally. In 1903 dirigibles were only capable of flying a few hundred kilometers, and fixed wing aircraft were taking their maiden flights at Kitty Hawk. A journey of 10,000 km over land and water would take weeks even if you had the fastest transport in the world.

For most contestants to be knocked down to zero on the 18th question would never give them enough recovery time.

The fact that James cannot only be wrong, but give an irrational answer combined with his high risk strategy. He has to lose sometime, but he may very well win all the remaining 50 episodes this season.

Quote: Pacomartin

He has to lose sometime, but he may very well win all the remaining 50 episodes this season.

James Holzhauer, a professional sports gambler from Las Vegas, Nevada (32-day total: $2,462,216)
Emma Boettcher, a user experience librarian from Chicago, Illinois
Jay Sexton, a senior research engineer from Atlanta, Georgia


Surprisingly the players only missed one clue out of all sixty, and it was from the easiest tier. Jay guessed wrong and James and Emma did not guess at all.
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY: Paternalism is restricting freedom in our (supposed) best interests, like state taxes on these, which began in Iowa in 1921

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Shakespeare’s Time) for Monday, June 3, 2019 (Season 35, Episode 191):
The line “a great reckoning in a little room” in “As You Like It” is usually taken to refer to this author’s premature death

What is the answerto the clue that all three contestants missed, and guess the FJ clue (all three got that one correct).

the answer to FJ is out there all over the place, and I would not have been able to guess it

the Paternalism clue confounds me, I had to make sure I knew what the definition was. Nothing leaps to mind for a connection to taxes

Quote: odiousgambit

the Paternalism clue confounds me, I had to make sure I knew what the definition was. Nothing leaps to mind for a connection to taxes

You guessed correctly. Once you hear the answer it seems obvious, but none of the three was able to guess it. It was the only clue that went unanswered.