James Holzhauer -- 4/24/2019

People have been constantly asking me if I'm familiar with James Holzhauer . If the name doesn’t ring a bell, he happened to win a remarkable 12 games in a row on Jeopardy as of April 22 morning. While it's not uncommon for contestants to achieve 12 consecutive wins, James's average earnings per game are astonishingly around $71,000, compared to the typical $20,000 most winners earn. He also set a record for the highest amount won in one day with $110,914 and appears multiple times on the leaderboard.

This individual has an exceptional talent for trivia. He skillfully navigates the board with unmatched expertise, showing fearlessness across all categories. You might have thought the same about Ken Jennings , the reigning champion, but one wonders why James is able to amass more wealth per game than Ken or any other contestant.

The secret to his success can be captured in a single word - aggressiveness. As a professional gambler from Las Vegas, he clearly possesses considerable knowledge of strategies and knows when to make bold bets when the odds favor him. His motivation goes beyond merely winning each match; he aims to walk away with the largest possible winnings. A key element of his strategy is the Daily Double.

If you are unfamiliar with what a Daily Double entails, it provides players the chance to place a wager up to their current score on a single question. Typically, about 90% of Daily Doubles can be found within the lower three tiers of questions. Source: flowingdata.com .

While many players tend to play it safe, James is known for going all in, particularly during the early stage of the game. I would estimate that he has a firm grasp on the answers to about 80% to 90% of the questions, which makes betting even money a very smart move. The only time he might hold back is toward the end of the game when he wagers close to the maximum to solidify a likely victory.

A prime example of this was showcased in the episode aired on April 19. Nearing the end of the game, he uncovered the last Daily Double. Here’s how the scoreboard looked at that moment:

• James: $28400
• Nate: $1800
• Gabby: $2800

With only $4,000 remaining on the board spread over five questions, in a worst-case scenario, Gabby could answer all of them correctly, boosting her score to $6,800. By doubling her total in Final Jeopardy, she could potentially reach $13,600. If James entered Final Jeopardy with double her score plus $1, or $13,601, he could secure his victory and ensure a spot for the next day. Therefore, his safest maximum wager would be calculated as $28,400 - $13,601 = $14,799. Ultimately, James decided to wager $15,000. The likelihood of everything going wrong and losing with that $15,000 bet is exceedingly low, so I don’t blame him for slightly exceeding $14,799. Most contestants in his position would have made the mistake of betting far too conservatively, underestimating the need for a strategic gamble to ensure a win. With only a few seconds to perform such calculations, it can be described as, to borrow a phrase from that child in the Little Rascals, "impressive."

To address the initial inquiry, I regret to admit I am not familiar with James. Interestingly, he is a climber, and he once required a helicopter rescue in Death Valley , which begs the question as to how we have yet to meet. It seems I have a couple of connections to him through mutual acquaintances.

For those interested in his current streak on Jeopardy , there’s an active discussion taking place at Wizard of Vegas about it.

In other updates related to Jeopardy, I experienced a rough patch during the online Jeopardy test held on April 9. I’d rather not dwell on that topic.

Written by: Michael Shackleford