Hypothetical situation.... James on Jeopardy!

[whewfan]

This hasn't happened yet while James played, but let's play "What if...?"

James' opponents both score in the red and don't play Final Jeopardy! Obviously, James plays alone. So, let's say James goes in with his usual average of $45,000...

With no opposition, do you think James would wager $44,999? (I think, even if playing alone, if he wagered all and lost, he does not return tomorrow, is that right?)

Let's change this situation just a little... James now has a total of $70,000 going into Final Jeopardy!
Now... do you think he would wager 69,999? If he does, obviously he nearly doubles to $139,999, thus beating his own and setting a new record for highest winnings for a single game, and even more amazing, without any opposition.

Thoughts?

[GameShowFan]

I don’t think it matters how much he has: James will shove minus a dollar. He’s a gambler, and with a sure next game, he doesn’t care how much he wins.

IMHO, there are exactly two bets in this situation: Nothing or all-in minus $1.

[Bryce L.]

(I think, even if playing alone, if he wagered all and lost, he does not return tomorrow, is that right?)

Correct. $0 is never a winning score.

[Joe Mello]

IMHO, there are exactly two bets in this situation: Nothing or all-in minus $1.

I would take the field on that one. James never bets nothing and even when he doesn't have a special number in mind, he normally doesn't do the max bet.

I figure at least for the first example, the options are $9812 and (by now) $40419.

[TLEberle]

Just watching tonight where James has $a bunch and one other contestant with $not enough he bets something in the middle presumably depending on the category. He may be a gambler but he's not stupid enough to bet everything and slam the brakes on his gravy train. There are plenty of good bets--the one that keeps him alive is all he cares about.

[whewfan]

On a side note, when Alex imitated James' "rolling the dice" mannerism that he did during his intro, I had High Rollers flashbacks.

[whewfan]

Let's add another hypothetical situation...

Let's assume that James will eventually break Ken's 74 day total of $2,520,700. Let's also assume that at the rate he's going, he could surpass that total within 6-8 more games. Another assumption... he's aware of Ken's total winnings. He IS a gambler, but he's also a fan of seemingly random wagers. Let's say he's VERY close... at $2,470,000. Do you think he would wager to make his total potentially $2,520,701. This way, of course, he beats Ken's total winnings, and if he were to LOSE on the next show, he still holds the record.

[Matt Ottinger]

Correct. $0 is never a winning score.

Oddly, though, $0 CAN be a second-place score.  I know, I did it.

[BillCullen1]

Correct. $0 is never a winning score.

Oddly, though, $0 CAN be a second-place score.  I know, I did it.

On last night's PYL (5/22) seen on Buzzr, a woman with $0 won because she was they only one who didn't get four Whammys.

[chrisholland03]

Correct. $0 is never a winning score.

Oddly, though, $0 CAN be a second-place score.  I know, I did it.

On last night's PYL (5/22) seen on Buzzr, a woman with $0 won because she was they only one who didn't get four Whammys.

I didn't think James was old enough to be on PYL

[clemon79]

Do you think he would wager to make his total potentially $2,520,701.

I think, as a professional gambler, he gives not one tin shiat about any dollar numbers but his own. He is sure as hell not going to make a bet just so the stat-obsessed can bounce in their little chairs and wail "I see what he did there!"

He has a family, his job is to maximize his take, no more or less.