Jeopardy and the professional sports gambler.
BLUEJAYWAY
Posts: 9,138 ✭✭✭✭✭
Thought this may be of interest to the group. A gentleman from Las Vegas, James Holzhauer, has been on the game show for the past 7 days and has amassed quite a bit of coin, over $300,000.00. What is of interest is his vocation:Prof. Sports Gambler. Not at all hesitant to go "all in" on the "Daily Doubles". Even uses the poker hand language for "all in". He is not only well versed in sports related category's, but is well rounded in other topics. Has an aggressive style of play in the game. Since many here, I assume, as in yours truly, partake in an occasional "bob" or two on a wager, either in sports betting, card games, casino's and wax buying/ripping I thought this would generate some interest to follow this story. He may even give former Jeopardy champ Ken Jennings a run for his money to unseat him as all time champion. The show airs again Monday if you are so inclined to watch. You can Google his name or Jeopardy for more related info. on his run on the show.
Answers
I believe the contestant’s name is James.
You are correct.
I'm not going to judge this particular person. But the fact is that someone who claims they are a professional sports gambler, and shows a copy of his 1040 to "prove it", is virtually always obtaining that money in other ways, usually illegal ways.
For example someone involved in dealing drugs, and we all know there are lots of them out there. If they wish to spend the cash they earn in large amounts to buy expensive things, and their income isn't proportionate with the money they spend, the IRS will come down hard on them for not paying taxes. The IRS doesn't care how you earn your money, as long as you pay taxes on it.
But they're not going to put "drug dealer" on their tax return. So they put professional gambler on there instead, pay their taxes, and then they can buy that house or car and not worry about the IRS prosecuting them.
This particular guy may very well be highly intelligent and gambles a lot on sports. However truly making money doing it is an entirely different matter.
What is James, Alex
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I've seen a few of the episodes on his run. Insane on his doubles and final round bets. Dude is legit. Destroyed the single game record, 110k, unreal.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/10/secret-weapon-sports-gambler-who-just-broke-single-game-jeopardy-record-childrens-books/?utm_term=.da2015c9bcf7
you are not going to judge and yet ................................
Thank you for the judgement.
https://www.usbets.com/pro-sports-bettor-jeopardy-champion/
Professional Sports Bettor Cruising On Jeopardy: ‘I’ll Bet On Anything’
.....During his introduction on the show, Trebek needled him with a question about his profession.
“James Holzhauer is from Las Vegas. He is a professional sports gambler. What does that mean, exactly?” Trebek said.
“Oh, I’ll bet on anything,” Holzhauer replied. “Why, are you looking for a little action on the [Stanley] Cup this year? I like the [Tampa Bay] Lightning.”
“Oh, really? No, I’m not looking for any action whatsoever,” Trebek said. “I go to Vegas for the shows, not the gambling.”
"Who insinuated that dude was dumb for $1,000, please."
"Answer: The wanker who dropped 85k on Tiger at the Masters."
"Who is stevenostradamusk?"
"Correct!!!"
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
The correct answer is that it was a dumb bet, and it's not even debatable. But dumb bets don't always lose.
That being said, take a look at any opulent casino. They are monuments to dumb bets.
https://heavy.com/news/2019/04/james-holzhauer-jeopardy/
James Holzhauer: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
.....Holzhauer wrote an essay in the 2012 “Hardball Times,” about betting on baseball. The essay was titled, “Diary of a Mad Sports Bettor.” He wrote, “Placing winning sports bets often hinges on an information advantage. The problem is that most publicly available information is already factored into the betting odds. Holzhauer talked about finding information that most of the public doesn’t know to gain an advantage.
.....Holzhauer’s wife, Melissa Holzhauer, also has an impressive academic background. She now works as a tutor at a test prep company. Holzhauer graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in classics and classical languages, literatures and linguistics and then completed her master’s degree in classics and classical languages at Brown University.
<<< Holzhauer talked about finding information that most of the public doesn’t know to gain an advantage. >>>
So that's his secret formula? I wonder where he finds this information, but I'm presuming he likely won't tell anyone.
I don't believe him when he says he makes money betting sports. Seems more likely his wife is the breadwinner in the family, and he stays home with the kid, while the wife tolerates his measured gambling losses.
But he seems like a nice guy, with a nice family, and I wish him well. And certainly the Jeopardy money will help out.
I just hope his wife is smart enough to take a good portion of the Jeopardy winnings and keep it in a trust fund for their kid's college education. Before James winds up blowing it all on sports gambling.
When I was 21, I really wanted to be a professional sports gambler.
The only problem was I never won.
stevek apparently never saw Casino and payed attention to Deniro's character. Information is out there that us regular guys do not have privy to via lack of minimal research time alone. Edges, they are out there, not everybody knows how to find them.
By his count with this guy, any stock traders that make money are dirty....is that right or no?
I saw "Casino", a pretty good movie. My type of movie genre that I like. And I'm somewhat familiar with Frank Rosenthal.
Since you saw Casino, read Rosenthal's wiki page and you will better understand that Hollywood movies, even those based on a true story, often use a lot of poetic license with the facts.
Since you mentioned stock traders, perhaps you also saw "Wall Street", which of course was fiction based on real life scenarios. You may have noticed Bud Fox picking loser after loser until he had inside info on Blue Star Airlines from his father.
As Gordon Gekko stated, (paraphrase) "If you're not on the inside, then you're outside", meaning that unless you have inside info on a company, prolific stock market trading is for losers.
However long term investing with stock from good companies is a proven winner. Buy stock from well managed companies offering good products, and forget about the daily up and down swings of the stock market.
BTW - Buying cards and coins for the long term is also a proven investment winner. Focus on high quality, PSA/PCGS products to maximize the return. Buy as high a grade as you can afford to invest. Diversify a bit so as to not be too dependent on one particular card or coin too much.
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couldn't agree more
Don't act like a silly troll. I think you're better than that.
on a good day maybe
Make fun of me and joke around as much as ya like that's fine...call me a SOB if ya want...but misquoting me like that on a forum whose business is cards, is way out of line.
Please delete that post.
Yea, I figured you wouldn't.
this is not a sports card forum. There is an actual sports card forum , if you get lost its the forum with no people reading or posting anything, just follow the tumbleweeds past the stamp forum
Either delete the post or we're done. I really don't give a chit either way.
are you two dating?
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
I don't appreciate someone either intentionally or unintentionally misquoting me on a post that could cause problems with the mods.
I like it here, and intend to stay for a long time. I've never been bammed from a forum, including some very rough political forums, and don't intend to start now.
I like Bronco, he's a funny guy, but if that's the way he wishes to do it, then so be it.
Steve you are overreacting
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
You're in good company.
Of course the sports gambling websites out there will try to convince their visitors that money can be made sports gambling. Just listen to their advice, click on their gambling affiliate commission links, sign-up, become an official fish, and gamble away.
These websites get a cut off of every bet the fish makes. When the fish finally smartens up and quits, there's plenty of other fish out there for these websites to try to reel in.
They will advertise and mention this 85k guy from here to eternity. Never mind the countless others who made similar bets that miserably failed.
Like Vegas Dave on the SB.
Never heard of him, but i just checked his website. I've seen too many like it over the years.
As legalized sports betting grows in more states, the forthcoming advertising revenue to the media will be humongous. So of course the media will gladly promote sports gambling at every opportunity.
I guess as always, many out there will have to learn the lesson about sports gambling the hard way.
James won again, and his cumulative total is now around $470k. With a decent, for him, win tomorrow, he should pass the $500k mark.
Gambling is like nicotine in cigarettes...like an opiate you can't shake. If you have the stones and knowledge, betting becomes second nature and you live for the thrill of the win. Biggest problem with gambling that I see is not knowing when to reach for the car keys and leave the casino. I have seen it all, including watching Michael Jordan at the Mirage in Vegas betting stacks of purple...$500 chips. I think seeing Dennis Rodman play was the most entertaining, craps was his game.
I know a guy that often times plays in a "group"...he loves the thrill of winning, not necessarily the $$. Between he and his wife, they gotta be making over $500k a year, he doesn't need the $$. He plays a solid game of BJ and one or two carnival games, like Mississippi stud and 3-card poker. So, one day he got really, really greedy. They found a dealer that was "flashing" a hole card, this was giving them a big edge and they soon found themselves up well over $20k. Using hand signals, they alerted each other to make, or not make max bets...then the tap came. He is now banned from every property from a certain casino property's group of several casinos. He was very careless in the way he handled himself in terms of where he stayed and what ID he used, blah, blah. The particular casino he was hooking for over $20k, is where he was staying. Returning to his room, he saw that his room acrd didn't work. Calling the front desk, they promptly sent up help...the help was 5 guys from security who gave him 10 minutes to get out...permanently...like a life-time ban. Told him a hundred times not to stay where you play, but it went unheeded. He didn't understand being stealthy.
Having been pretty heavy into BJ many years ago, I met a lot of pros who played BJ for a living. Most of them complained of the unending boredom and dealing with the inevitable negative swings of odds. Not a life for me. I now take "x" $ when I go to the casino closest to me (Cherokee, NC) and my goal is to double it, if I do, I'm gone, if I lose it, I'm gone...pretty simple.
This Jeopardy guy is the epitome of living for the thrill of victory.
Yea, you may be right.
We all know that Bronco marches to the beat of a different drummer.
Yep, seems as though he spent his entire adult life studying sports betting angles and of course failing at that. But also studying Jeopardy type trivia in which he has remarkably succeeded.
Not a career path i would recommend. However good for him that he hit the jackpot on Jeopardy. He's a game show wizard that's for sure.
Your comments on the casinos is spot on. I would disagree though about "pros" playing blackjack. It's really often more about money laundering than winning money. Or perhaps other reasons such as ego, etc, wishing to make themselves feel important like they are really beating the big casino. It's all a facade. Casinos simply would never allow a game of skill in their places of business whereby a skillful player could beat them. Casinos allow poker only because they have no skin in the game other than raking the pots or charging an hourly fee for their service of dealing the cards.
. So, one day he got really, really greedy. They found a dealer that was "flashing" a hole card, this was giving them a big edge and they soon found themselves up well over $20k. Using hand signals, they alerted each other to make, or not make max bets
Phil Ivey is being sued for cheating:
_Ivey and Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa have been embroiled in a dispute for nearly seven years. The issue at hand is a series of Baccarat sessions in which Ivey managed to win $9.6 million.
In order to accomplish this major score, Ivey and a partner, Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun, employed a controversial technique known as “edge sorting.” Borgata has sued Ivey for fraud and breach of contract due to this practice, which involves using discrepancies in the manufacturer’s design on the backs of cards to determine their value.
So far, the Atlantic City casino’s lawsuit has been somewhat successful in court. The judge agreed that Ivey did breach his contract as specified under the New Jersey Casino Control Act.
Ivey has pledged to appeal the decision, of course. However, after the judgment, Borgata could seek restitution for $10.16 million, which includes the $9.6 million and an extra $560,000 that Ivey won playing craps afterward.
_
I have huge respect for anyone who can even comprehend baccarat let alone win at it
James cleaned up again last night, over $100k, and now owns the three highest single game totals. Well on his way to a million dollars.
He surpassed the million $ mark yesterday. His trivia knowledge is impressive. He must of had some form of higher education as many of the subjects are not your run of the mill topics. He knows his history, religion, Shakespeare,mythology, and other high brow subjects. Not just your run of the mill sports,movie,celebrity type subjects. Will be interesting going forward to see who will be the one to defeat him.
Most likely he’ll beat himself by betting a ton and getting the answer wrong. He is just steamrolling the other players now.
Many mind blowing aspect to his run. The craziest one to me is his 14 day average winning amount of $75,825 is almost as high as the previous all-time one game high of $77,000 before he set the record (several times).
Out of 515 questions answered (or more accurately answers questioned), James has 497 correct responses, an astounding 96.5%!
Wonder if this guy has a photographic memory?
I like Jeopardy but I haven't watched it in a long time. I may have watched it around ten or fifteen times over the years.
I wonder if there is a cap or anything on this guy as to how many appearances he can make?
I think the rules used to be a one week cap, IE five appearances, but i'm not sure about that.
There's no cap. The longest run and most money so far is the one dude with ~74 days and ~2 mil.
Wow. Seems like a crazy rule, one player could theoretically continue on for years. But I guess the network figures it's a ratings bonanza, translating into increased advertising revenue for them.
I think i'll apply for an appearance on Jeopardy and just hope that most of the categories are Phillies or Eagles related trivia.
Many, many years ago, 1970's, I took the written test in NYC. The test is difficult. It seems so to ensure that you know your stuff. Compared to the actual show questions more so. You not only must possess knowledge, but be good in a mock game which is done before final consideration. Also. you must be somewhat photogenic with an outward personality. You will notice no toothless contestants. The staff also likes contestants who have a varied background in life and who have done interesting things with their lives:helps with Alex's chit chat session with the contestants. Many factors figure into the consideration for your appearance. I failed my one and only written test. Probably due to no sports cards subjects.
I got the jeopardy home game for christmas in the mid 70's . The game was pretty neat there were stacks of questions that slid into red plastic grid. The clue was blue I think and the answer was in red so it was invisible behind the red plastic but you could read the clue that was in blue text.
I can see it now while being screened for a Jeopardy appearance.
The interviewer says, "stevek what interesting things have you done in your life?"
I reply, "I've got a really cool collection of coins and cards."
Interviewer says, "Next please."
I watched him last night he's killing it. He has this creepy grin thats unsettling
you'll never be able to outrun a bad diet
Apologies if this has been posted. He is quite the gambler.
"The Vegas books know how good Holzhauer is.
About half the sports books in town won’t take a bet from me. You hope you retain a good relationship with the other half. The other half know I’m a pro, too. I can’t bet as much as a random guy off the street at those places, but they’re willing to take some action from me, at least."