The iconic quiz show " Jeopardy ! " is in its35th season , but the largely unprecedented reign of contestant James Holzhauer is educate us in lots of raw ways . As of May 20 , 2019his winnings totaled$1,780,237 after only 23 days , the secondly - long bring home the bacon stripe ever .
Holzhauer , 34 , has n’t yet bested fabled objector Ken Jennings , but if Holzhauer continues at his staggering rate , he surely will . 2004 encounter Jennings obscure record of the day with a 74 - game run , totaling $ 2,520,700 in winning . Holzhauer makes that full flavour like nestling ’s swordplay , however . If he continue his run for 74 eps like Jennings at his current rate of $ 77,401 per episode , he would wreathe up with $ 5.7 million !
Wondering how this degree of achiever is possible ? Here are a few insights :
1. He’s Mastered the Buzzer
With the " Jeopardy ! " buzzer , timing is everything . There always seems to be that one contestant who ’s lock in silent battle with an disobliging bell , but understandably Holzhauer does n’t have that problem . He paid special attention ( andreportedly askeda lot of questions ) about how the buzzer works during his first pre - show orientation . He alsopracticed at homeafter reading a book by a former adept who discussed technique .
The buzzer unconscious process goes like this : Host Alex Trebek reads a clue out loud , then once he ’s done a stave member must activate the buzzer . If the contestants hum in before their " enable light-colored " switch on , they ’ll effectively be lock away out for one - quarter of a second , plenty of time for a less induction - well-chosen contestant to buzz in . So in addition to knowing most or all of the reply , Holzhauer is calm and collected enough to hold back until just when the equipment is useable before clack .
2. He’s Not Afraid to Bet the Farm
A professional sports risk taker by swap ( yes , that ’s a affair ) , Holzhauer is n’t scared to place a big bet and let it devolve on . In fact , he on a regular basis uses play slang when making Daily duple wager . Perhaps he ’s confident because hisresponse accuracyis a whopping 97 percent . Or mayhap his professional background take in him more comfortable with hazard - pickings . ( Most protester tend to play modest amounts when they ’ve rack up enough money that they do n’t have to calculate bountiful to gain the biz . ) Either way , it ’s paid off in spades because as of May 20 he ’d do 52 out of 56 Daily Doubles right . On April 17 , he had the highest - one twenty-four hours amount so far in " Jeopardy ! " history : $ 131,127 . He ’s also wagered the most - ever on a Final Jeopardy question : $ 60,013 .
And while it might seem like Holzhauer ’s achiever is bleeding " Jeopardy ! " juiceless , his gain bar is alsoboosting the show ’s viewership . Since his land tenure began , the show has rank No . 1 among all syndicated shows thanks to occasional viewers tuning in to see what all the bickering is about . That should sure enough increase ad receipts .
3. He Bucks Conventional “Jeopardy!” Strategy
Not always , but most of the time , contestants start with the low - amount clew as warm - up , then hit the larger ones subsequently . Holzhauer , however , builds up his Johnny Cash reticence fast and too soon , by hitting the big - bucks tiles first . This strategy ( and the fact that he almost always gets the response right ) let him to make great stakes when he inevitably hit the Daily Double(s ) .
This methodological analysis is clearlyhelping him dominate . Of his first 19 game , 17 of them were runaways , meaning that neither of the other contestants could mathematically trip up him . It seem that more contestants are getting wise to his ploys when theApril 29 episodesaw him pull ahead by only $ 18 against an opposite who matched Holzhauer for buzzer agility , category selection and big stake . But that seems like a good luck as he has continue to predominate since then .
4. This Isn’t His First Rodeo
This is n’t Holzhauer ’s first stint on a game show . In 2014 he compete on " The Chase , " a show which pitted a professional trivia expert against steady people , like Holzhauer . Mark Labbett , the professional , has since describedhis experience with Holzhauer as " the worst beating I ’ve ever had . "
With that kind of game - show chop , it ’s surprising that Holzhauer tried out for " Jeopardy ! " several time before getting on , taking the online test every class and auditioning doubly ( as well as once for " Sports Jeopardy ! " ) . " I ’m very happy they ring this time ! " he pronounce on Jeopardy ’s website . " I think I had to wait about 23 month from my audition . "
5. He Upped His Trivia Game by Reading Children’s Books
Despite the often highbrow categories and clue , Holzhauer says that he gets a pregnant amount of his trivia noesis from an unconventional billet . " I ’ve blab out about the children ’s gangway at the library or the bookstore , and really I ca n’t say enough about it,“he explains on the " Jeopardy ! " site . " I do n’t sleep together if you ’ve read books pen for adults in nonfiction , but they ’re fairly wearisome . But books that engage children , they add up at you rapid fire with unlike subject , and I ’ve get wind great deal and lots of answers that came straight from that . "
