What was your buzzing strategy?

This is where all of the games are discussed.

Moderators: alietr, trainman, econgator, dhkendall

User avatar
Rex Kramer
Jeopardy! TOCer
Posts: 1338
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:08 am

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by Rex Kramer »

in the weeks before taping, I practiced with a clicky pen while watching, just to incorporate the automaticity. I think it helped in that I could pay more attention to timing when I got to the show.

The only three interesting points I can add:

- When I got to the podium (podium, podium, podium . . . doesn't have quite the same naughty frisson without all of the old crowd here), I had no idea what to do with my hands, but then I discovered that wedging my buzzer hand between my body and the podium gave me a comforting sense of stability, so I went with that.

- When it was zen, it really was zen. As if my hand was a separate entity and my brain was asking it favors: "This new guy is really quick -- can you pick up the pace a bit without getting in too early? Yeah, like that. Thanks, hand." I did not understand and did not try to.

- Biggest buzzer killer for me was fatigue. Anxiety, frustration, excitement -- they all messed up my buzzer sense, throwing my timing off, but I could always feel it there, fumbling. But being tired killed it altogether -- total lack of zen. Like it was just my normal old Clark Kent hand again.

Rex
User avatar
alietr
Site Admin
Posts: 8981
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Bethesda, MD

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by alietr »

Rex Kramer wrote:- When I got to the podium (podium, podium, podium . . . doesn't have quite the same naughty frisson without all of the old crowd here)
Lectern, you pusillanimous pinhead, lectern! (There, does that feel better, Rex?)
Glassysquid
Jeopardy 2010-B College Champion
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:55 am
Location: Narragansett, RI

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by Glassysquid »

markrunsvold wrote:My timing method was straight out of the KenJen/Bob Harris playbook. Zen, as Mark called it. When I lost the feel, I'm almost certain I was being overeager. When I had it, the players waiting for the lights stood no chance. I rested my buzzer hand on the podium, but this position seemed to get less and less comfortable as time went on. There's a good chance I would have benefited from some adjustments in my last game or two, both to my timing and to my grip. Hard to turn my back on something that had worked so well before, though. The Jeopardy!, she is a brutal game.
That she is. I ran into a similar problem with the hand grip - instead of holding my buzzer in one hand, as most contestants do, I gripped it with two hands. This worked well until my palms got mildly damp, but it wasn't extremely game-distracting uncomfortable.

As for the lights, sometimes I looked at them, sometimes I didn't. I mostly went off of Alex's timing and hoped for the best, though we'll see if I do that again come tournament time.

Speaking of, Mark, welcome to the boards. I may end up meeting you sooner or later - I'm Erin, this year's college champ. I watched your first game, called my mother, and told her, "damn, I really hope I don't have to face that guy." Take it as a compliment - you played extremely well. :)
Proud member of ESPRIT DE CORPS, otherwise known as the 16 fine individuals who participated in the 2010-B College Championship, and the outstanding ToC Class of 2011.
Fish/squid enthusiast and Ph. D student at the University of Rhode Island.
User avatar
dhkendall
Pursuing the Dream
Posts: 8789
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:49 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact:

You're welcome, Rex

Post by dhkendall »

thejeopardyfan wrote:Did any of you former contestants try holding the buzzer behind your back when you were on the show? I practiced playing standing up, and this felt natural. But of course I didn't have a podium in front of me.
Nobody does, podiums are under them, way to remember it is the root "pod-" as in "podiatrist" (aka "foot doctor"), a podium is something you stand on.

This is a huge peeve of mine. Unfortunately, two of the biggest areas of my life feature the things: being a fan of a show that prominently features lecterns and seeing the wrong terminology in the fan discussion I'm often a part of; and being a long-time member of Toastmasters, which frequently use lecterns in club meetings (but, at least in my club, don't even have a podium segment like some do (including Jeopardy!'s, we just use a small lectern that we put on a desk in the school classroom we meet in). This means that I'm being an anal-retentive grammar nazi more times than even I'd like.
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
User avatar
cshort
Jeopardy! TOCer
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:40 pm

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by cshort »

For what it's worth, I used pure zen and behind-the-back. There was no reason for the behind-the-back thing apart from having practiced that way at home, but when people ask I tell them it was for stability. Because it's nice to sound knowledgeable :D
User avatar
thejeopardyfan
(Unranked)
Posts: 861
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:37 am

Re: You're welcome, Rex

Post by thejeopardyfan »

dhkendall wrote:
thejeopardyfan wrote:Did any of you former contestants try holding the buzzer behind your back when you were on the show? I practiced playing standing up, and this felt natural. But of course I didn't have a podium in front of me.
Nobody does, podiums are under them, way to remember it is the root "pod-" as in "podiatrist" (aka "foot doctor"), a podium is something you stand on.

This is a huge peeve of mine. Unfortunately, two of the biggest areas of my life feature the things: being a fan of a show that prominently features lecterns and seeing the wrong terminology in the fan discussion I'm often a part of; and being a long-time member of Toastmasters, which frequently use lecterns in club meetings (but, at least in my club, don't even have a podium segment like some do (including Jeopardy!'s, we just use a small lectern that we put on a desk in the school classroom we meet in). This means that I'm being an anal-retentive grammar nazi more times than even I'd like.
This is a peeve of mine. I daresay this isn't the thread for this. It doesn't help, and might discourage, those of us who come here with an honest search for answers from good people who are eager to help, including Rex, who you cited. I was hoping this board would be free of this unnecessary negativity that I'm sure turns some people off for good. I didn't come back for quite a while and almost didn't at all the very first time I posted on the Sony boards. In fact it was Rex's kind response to my very first post that helped convince me to try posting again.
Vanya
The support is non-zero
Posts: 2727
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:10 pm
Contact:

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by Vanya »

alietr wrote:
Rex Kramer wrote:- When I got to the podium (podium, podium, podium . . . doesn't have quite the same naughty frisson without all of the old crowd here)
Lectern, you pusillanimous pinhead, lectern! (There, does that feel better, Rex?)

It's not a lectern either, ya misguided maroon! A lectern holds something to be read (as in a lecture).
User avatar
dhkendall
Pursuing the Dream
Posts: 8789
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:49 am
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Contact:

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by dhkendall »

Vanya wrote:
alietr wrote:
Rex Kramer wrote:- When I got to the podium (podium, podium, podium . . . doesn't have quite the same naughty frisson without all of the old crowd here)
Lectern, you pusillanimous pinhead, lectern! (There, does that feel better, Rex?)

It's not a lectern either, ya misguided maroon! A lectern holds something to be read (as in a lecture).
Then if it's not a podium, because you don't stand on it, and it's not a lectern because it's not holding something to be read, then what is it, you ... uh ... alliterative affront?

(And does a lectern stop being a lectern once the notes are removed, even though the object itself hasn't changed at all?)
"Jeopardy! is two parts luck and one part luck" - Me

"The way to win on Jeopardy is to be a rabidly curious, information-omnivorous person your entire life." - Ken Jennings

Follow my progress game by game since 2012
User avatar
--Pete
Loyal Jeopardista
Posts: 116
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:55 pm
Location: Kent, Washington, USA

Re: You're welcome, Rex

Post by --Pete »

Hi,
dhkendall wrote: ... podiums ...
... lecterns ...
Strictly speaking, neither of those terms are correct for what Jeopardy! uses.

A podium is, indeed, something one stands on. However, M-W online does give lectern as one of its meanings.

A lectern (from Latin legere to read) is a book holder for someone standing. That thing on Jeopardy! is too low to really qualify.

What the contestants in the studio at Jeopardy! are standing behind is simply a counter.

--Pete
"We are looking over our new domicile,
If we like, we stay for maybe quite a while."
User avatar
Rex Kramer
Jeopardy! TOCer
Posts: 1338
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:08 am

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by Rex Kramer »

alietr wrote:
Rex Kramer wrote:- When I got to the podium (podium, podium, podium . . . doesn't have quite the same naughty frisson without all of the old crowd here)
Lectern, you pusillanimous pinhead, lectern! (There, does that feel better, Rex?)
Marvelous! Now -- if he ever joins us here -- I am forever going to hear Jonathan Harris's voice when I read TRD's posts. I can't believe I never did before.

Rex
User avatar
Rex Kramer
Jeopardy! TOCer
Posts: 1338
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:08 am

Re: You're welcome, Rex

Post by Rex Kramer »

thejeopardyfan wrote:This is a peeve of mine. I daresay this isn't the thread for this. It doesn't help, and might discourage, those of us who come here with an honest search for answers from good people who are eager to help, including Rex, who you cited. . .
No worries, Jeanie! The J! Boards (in all incarnations) have a long history of contention over the use of the word "podium", and I gleefully stir the pot by employing the Merriam-Webster-sanctioned common usage whenever I can. Any inappropriate petting of peeves was purely intentional, and I had steeled myself for an impassioned screed.

Of course, I am totally grateful to you for your efforts to promote a more welcoming Board, even with people like me tossing little podium bombs into the discussion. :)

Rex
Karawan
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:45 pm

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by Karawan »

I freely admit that buzzer skill (or lack thereof) was probably my biggest weakness, but I'll throw in my two cents anyway.

It was pretty immediately obvious that waiting for the lights didn't work, at least not for me. I had the most success with trying to ring in as close as possible to when Alex finished pronouncing the last word of the clue. I read the clue to myself instead of listening to him. I'm a fast enough reader that if it was something I knew I could have the answer in mind before Alex finished and just wait for him to say that last word. But I was also standing next to Mark, who had incredible timing on the buzzer, so he was tough to beat even when I was doing everything right. One big mistake I made was losing my head in the middle of the game. I was so desperate to get in ahead of the two faster gentlemen on either side of me that I lost focus and quite likely pressed the button while Alex was still talking. Or got distracted by *thinking* about how to change my strategy and didn't ring in until it was too late. That cost me, and if you watched the game you can see that most of the questions I answered were concentrated in the earliest and latest moments of play, with a long drought in the middle. It's immensely frustrating to know a dozen correct responses in a row and not be able to get in there in time to say them out loud! But I wish I had put that frustration aside to stew over after the game instead of letting it affect me while I was still playing. I probably still couldn't have beaten Mark, but I might have been less stressed.

As far as hand position goes, I tried a lot of different things. When we did practice rounds before the real thing, Maggie noticed I was having some trouble and made a few recommendations. But I never did settle on one strategy that I could be completely comfortable with, and during my actual game I tried just about everything. I'm left-handed, so I started with the buzzer in my left hand. Surprisingly, at the end of the DJ round I switched over to my right hand and noticed an improvement. Unfortunately, we ran out of clues shortly after that point! I also tried holding the buzzer in one hand and pressing the button with the other. I didn't like the way that felt, but I've heard it recommended by other people. It's really a matter of finding what works for you. I wish I had been more comfortable with the buzzer when the practice rounds finished, because minor adjustments might have been easier to make during game play than major ones.

I truly underestimated how FAST it all goes by. I know that several of my fellow 2nd and 3rd place finishers at our taping wished we could take what we had learned and go back for one more try. But in the end it was still such fun, and every single contestant at my taping was so nice and smart and interesting that it's impossible not to be happy with the experience.
Turd Ferguson
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 862
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 1:47 pm

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by Turd Ferguson »

One thing I don't recall reading about was how to time on a rebound. Luckily for me there were a few clues in the rehearsal where I got to try to grab a rebound. On one clue where time ran out on the other player, I found that watching the podium lights ran out, timing my buzz to go right after the last light ran out worked well. I wasn't sure if that would come up in the game, but it happened in one of my game's first clues, and that "timing strategy" did indeed work.
User avatar
thejeopardyfan
(Unranked)
Posts: 861
Joined: Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:37 am

Re: You're welcome, Rex

Post by thejeopardyfan »

Rex Kramer wrote:
thejeopardyfan wrote:This is a peeve of mine. I daresay this isn't the thread for this. It doesn't help, and might discourage, those of us who come here with an honest search for answers from good people who are eager to help, including Rex, who you cited. . .
No worries, Jeanie! The J! Boards (in all incarnations) have a long history of contention over the use of the word "podium", and I gleefully stir the pot by employing the Merriam-Webster-sanctioned common usage whenever I can. Any inappropriate petting of peeves was purely intentional, and I had steeled myself for an impassioned screed.

Of course, I am totally grateful to you for your efforts to promote a more welcoming Board, even with people like me tossing little podium bombs into the discussion. :)

Rex
I feel better! :)
User avatar
mitchparov
Worst Buzzer Player Ever
Posts: 316
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:11 am

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by mitchparov »

I think, based on what I watched of this season, that I hold the dubious honor of worst buzzer player of the year... so take everything I say with a grain of salt (by which I mean you may be best served by ignoring it completely).

I was up against a woman who had been accurately described by Trebek the "day" before as a "buzzsaw," and a guy who was about to go on to become a superchamp. So the fact that I was terrible on the buzzer was even more unfortunate than poor buzzing skills would usually be. But even taking into account my really talented opponents and my utter lack of timing or reflexes, I did find a bit of buzzer success when I just stopped thinking about it. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what help this is--because I knowingly tried a few different strategies and they all failed (so I can't make a coherent suggestion), but once I just stopped thinking about how to buzz, things started to click (so I can't tell you exactly what it was that worked). Try to find that comfort during the practice game, and then, whatever you do, don't think about buzzing when you're up there.

(Apologies for a largely content-free post; I probably wouldn't have posted, were I not trying to pass whatever magic threshold of posts allows me to send PMs.)
MFalk
KJL #152
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:21 am

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by MFalk »

Everyone knows you can't really study for the Jeopardy! buzzer, so it's useless even trying.
[/drippingsarcasm]
User avatar
alietr
Site Admin
Posts: 8981
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:20 pm
Location: Bethesda, MD

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by alietr »

Rex Kramer wrote:Marvelous! Now -- if he ever joins us here -- I am forever going to hear Jonathan Harris's voice when I read TRD's posts. I can't believe I never did before.

Rex
I met Jonathan Harris at a cable convention. When it came time for me to get his photo autographed, I said "I've always wanted to punch you in the nose" and he responded, "You'll have to kiss me first." I was left without a retort.
User avatar
pinkfreud
Jeopardy! Contestant
Posts: 175
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 6:28 pm
Location: Tulsa, OK

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by pinkfreud »

If the Senior Tournament had still been in existence, I coulda been a contenda. My sexagenarian reflexes and arthritic fingers hampered my buzz-fu.

During the rehearsals, I realized that my best chance was to be up against two other geezers, but it didn't happen. Ah, well, at least I beat the incoming champ.
User avatar
khiddy
Contributor
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2011 6:27 pm
Location: Portland-in-Oregon
Contact:

Re: What was your buzzing strategy?

Post by khiddy »

Karawan wrote:I also tried holding the buzzer in one hand and pressing the button with the other. I didn't like the way that felt, but I've heard it recommended by other people.
I thought you had to press the button with the hand that was primarily holding the signalling device? Maggie specifically told us yesterday at the Seattle audition that you couldn't use two hands, except to use your "off-hand" to steady the bottom of the device.
User avatar
Budphrey
Jeopardy! Champion
Posts: 720
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 5:29 pm

Re: What was your cylindrical press-button switch strategy?

Post by Budphrey »

Rex Kramer wrote:(podium, podium, podium . . .)
Rex, Rex, Rex ... ;)

Actually, now that I chew it around in my mouth, "podium" is easier to say three times fast than "lectern."
Spoiler
got you to try it, didn't I?
Before I even got my first invitation to try out, I would use the "display" button on my TV remote to hone my signaling device timing. (Aside: There's a bit of "pet peeve" fodder that never really seems to get argued here; the signaling device is commonly called a "buzzer" even though it doesn't buzz. OK, back to the topic.) I would do my best to time pressing the button so that the channel number would appear on the TV screen after Alex's last syllable, but before the lights came up on any contestant's, umm, counter. (Gaaaa. That's no fun, even if --Pete is correct.)

I got fairly good at that, but then when I actually got to try out, the auditioners were advised to click on the button lightly and repeatedly rather than mashing it once, so as to give ourselves a chance in case we jumped in too fast and competitors were hesitating. Clicky pen, here we come.

When I played the actual game in November 2004, the buzz-in timing seemed a little bit slow; the "safe to push the button" lights seemed to lag Alex's clue reading by a fairly significant fraction of a second, compared with more recent games. Looking at my videotapes seems to confirm that in retrospect. And I remember some of the early contestants on the Ultimate Tournament of Champions soon afterward making similar comments. There was conjecture that the timing of the release was slowed just a tad because Ken Jennings (who had taped his last show just over a month before I taped mine) had been so dominant in buzzer timing, and TPTB were looking for something to untilt the playing field by some small measure. The upshot was that on that occasion, I seemed to find my best buzzer timing by waiting about a quarter-second after Alex finished reading. But if that was really the case, that must have been the practice for only a few months, as when I played practice rounds as part of my duties as a ToC alternate 17 months later, such slow timing was slow death.

So I guess the best I could advise anyone is to get lots of practice buzzing against the TV contestants with the aid of whatever device feels comfortable, but complement your supple digit with an observant eye and an adaptive attitude if/when you are summoned to the set.
Poo-tee-weet? So it goes.
Post Reply