How “Jeopardy James” Changed the Game Forever
Expect to see plenty of future contestants employing the strategies of the 32-time champion.
On Monday, the unthinkable happened — James Holzhauer, the 34-year-old Las Vegas resident and professional sports gambler who broke all sorts of records on his way to a 32-match Jeopardy! winning streak was finally defeated. The loss came on a day where Holzhauer was projected to surpass Ken Jennings to become the winningest contestant in the show’s history.
Of course, Holzhauer’s eventual loss was inevitable — play enough matches against some of the country’s most trivia-savvy individuals, especially with the variance involved in Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy, and one is bound to lose eventually. But the sheer dominance displayed by “Jeopardy James” as he racked up $2,462,416 during his streak made his downfall seem impossible.
Holzhauer leaves the show as second-place all-time in consecutive wins and overall prize money in non-tournament games. However, despite trailing Jennings in earnings by $58,484, Holzhauer was far more efficient, reaching his final total in just 33 matches, compared to the 75 of Jennings.
This means that per game, Holzhauer averaged more than twice the winnings of Jennings ($74,673.21 to $33,636). Prior to Holzhauer’s run, the record for the greatest single-day winning total was Roger Craig’s $77,000. Holzhauer bested that number 16 times, cracking six figures six times and establishing a new high of $131,127. In fact, Holzhauer’s average from his 32 victories ($76,944.25) falls just dollars shy of Craig’s mark.
No one in the program’s 35-year history has come close to Holzhauer’s routine dispatching of opponents’ — only three times in 32 victories was his lead surmountable entering Final Jeopardy. The streak captivated the nation, raising television ratings to 14-year highs and turning the show into must-watch television.
Don’t expect Holzhauer’s influence to end now that his reign is over, though. His run perfectly displayed the optimal strategy for Jeopardy!, something future contestants will surely imitate. And while Emma Boettcher, the 27-year-old University of Chicago librarian who unseated Holzhauer had not seen the 32-episode run beforehand due to the pre-recorded nature of the show, she used the same strategies in taking down the champ.
Holzhauer’s method consists of three steps. First, instead of starting with the lower-value questions like most players traditionally have, Jeopardy James goes straight for the bottom rows — the $800 and $1,000 questions in the opening round and the $1,600 and $2,000 clues in the Double Jeopardy round.
This allows Holzhauer to do two things: build up a sizable lead early on and hunt for the Daily Doubles which are more likely to be hidden within these values.
The second part of the winning Jeopardy! formula is the real revolutionary part. When Holzhauer reaches a Daily Double, he wagers BIG. The show’s rules allow contestants to wager up to their current total (a true Daily Double) or the highest available question value in the round (whichever is greater) on these clues.
However, most players, including Jennings, typically bet an amount only slightly larger than the value of the clue. This strategy leaves a lot of money on the table and shows where Holzhauer’s sports betting background works to his advantage.
Where others see a Daily Double bet as them wagering actual money, Jeopardy James views the situation just as a poker player does — wagering chips in order to win more chips.
Since only the winner of Jeopardy! is allowed to keep the full total they end with at the end of the game, there isn’t much reason to play safe with money that doesn’t exist yet. Similarly, in poker, the large majority of players don’t win any money in a tournament, while most of the prize pool goes to the top few finishers. The goal of both games is the same: to be that champion at the end.
Because Holzhauer’s chances of answering the Daily Double correctly are much higher than 50%, it is in his best interest in most circumstances to bet high amounts to create an insurmountable lead over his opponents.
The final step in the three-part plan is simply being the first person to buzz in to answer a question. Since most contestants know the answers to most questions, this often neglected aspect of the game is crucial, and Holzhauer has mastered it.
Combine all three steps, and more likely than not, Holzhauer enters the Final Jeopardy round miles ahead of the other two contestants. This is when he uses a revised version of the Daily Double strategy to maximize his total winnings.
First, Holzhauer calculates the maximum total his next-closest competitor can reach. Then, he bets something around the most he can that ensures he comes out on top, even if he answers incorrectly. Occasionally, this means he might lose a big sum. However, over the long run, it leads to the greatest total winnings.
Still, none of this works if Holzhauer doesn’t know just about every piece of trivia imaginable.
In their match on Monday, Boettcher was able to buzz in first a high percentage of the time, never giving an incorrect answer. She also found both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy round, risking everything on a True Daily Double to take the lead on the first of the two. She entered Final Jeopardy with a slim lead and answered the last clue correctly to seal the victory.
It was a wonderful match to watch, with two quizzing titans pushed to their limits. Some have claimed that Holzhauer threw the match, citing his uncharacteristically low wager during Final Jeopardy, but these arguments are ludicrous. Holzhauer’s bet guaranteed he would remain in second place, even if incorrect, and put him in position to win had Boettcher been missed.
Yet, a 33rd-consecutive victory was not in the cards. Still, Holzhauer’s remarkable run has brought new life to the program, and shown the way to win (provided you know the answer to almost every clue). Is it the way most have played? No. But fans of the show should be able to respect and admire such a perfectly-executed and statistically-backed gameplan.
James Holzhauer will no doubt return to tangle with legends of the game such as Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, but his mark has already been made. For my money, he’s the greatest Jeopardy! contestant of all-time. No one else has played the game so cleanly.
Who knows what Holzhauer will do next, but maybe he’ll find his way into another game entirely — baseball. MLB executives seem to be interested.
