Why James Holzhauer Wagered So Little Money in His Final ‘Final Jeopardy’
Game show wiz’s winning streak was snapped just tens of thousands of dollars shy of Ken Jennings’ all-time record
Tony Maglio | June 3, 2019 @ 11:48 AM
Last Updated: June 4, 2019 @ 4:29 PM
Jeopardy
James Holzhauer finally lost on “Jeopardy!” and he went out in pretty unspectacular fashion on Monday, wagering just $1,399 in his final “Final Jeopardy” round.
As the fateful episode of the syndicated game show makes the rounds through the U.S. markets, many viewers are dumbfounded about why Holzhauer went so low. Darren Rovell of The Action Network is the one who got that answer.
First, this explanation requires some setup, and the explanation requires a little math. Holzhauer went into Monday’s “Final Jeopardy” with $23,400. That was $3,200 behind leader Emma Boettcher.
He got the question correct, bringing his total to $24,799 — but his uncharacteristically small wager even shocked host Alex Trebek. After all, that sum was still $1,801 behind Boettcher, who had yet to reveal her response.
“Holzhauer explained to The Action Network that he first was concerned with the contestant in third place, who had $11,000 heading into a Final Jeopardy,” Rovell wrote on Monday. “Doubling down would have gotten that contestant to $22,000, which would have been $1 less than if James would have missed. If James doubled down, he would have been at $46,800, but Boettcher seemed to have done the math perfectly as well. She got the question right and wagered $20,201, which gave her $46,801, a dollar more than what Holzhauer would’ve earned with a double-down bet.”
A professional gambler ’til the end, always playing the odds.
I knew I could only win if Emma missed Final Jeopardy, as there was no way she wouldn’t bet to cover my all-in bet. So my only concern was getting overtaken by third place, and I bet just enough to make sure of locking him out. Betting big would have looked good for the cameras, but now I turn my straight bet (Emma misses) into a parlay (Emma misses and I get it right).
Not that we really had to do this, but the math checks out.
Holzhauer’s final “Jeopardy!” appearance was taped way back on March 12. His first episode aired on April 4, meaning he was actually done before he even got started — to America, at least.
Since he doesn’t get to keep Monday’s second-place winnings — a quick Google search indicates the runner-up gets $2,000 — Holzhauer fell $58,484 (or $56,484 if you count the two grand) shy of Ken Jennings’ all-time record earnings of $2,520,700 over 74 wins.
Holzhauer, who made $2,464,216 over 33 shows (32 wins), does have the record for most single-game earnings with $131,127.
19 Embarrassing Game Show Fails From 'Family Feud' to 'Jeopardy' (Videos)
The first question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" is generally the easiest, but this sleep-deprived college student still couldn't manage to get it right.
Former “American Idol” contestant Kellie Pickler tried to figure out where Budapest is in a November 2007 episode of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” However, after she determined Europe isn’t a country, it all went downhill.
According to this contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" from January 2010, owls squirt ink. Yes, you read that correctly.
"Catch 21" contestant Kimberly was determined not to give her competitor Beau five points because she didn't want him to be 10 points closer to 21. So she gave her fellow contestant Shawn five points, which boosted his score of 16 to a 21. Someone needs a basic math lesson.
According to one contestant on "Jeopardy!," the electronic music duo LMFAO introduced us to "It's a Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)." Erm, nope, that was definitely Jay-Z.
This contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” in May 2012 made it to the bonus round, but failed to guess the magic "thing" before time ran out. Clue: It rhymes with wand.
"Black" was this "Family Feud" contestant's answer to "What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of zombies?" Host Steve Harvey looked even more astounded when she justified her answer by saying, “I don’t know if they’re white.”
In April 2014, Julian from Indiana was on "Wheel of Fortune" and lost the round by mispronouncing the winning phrase ... and then blew the next two rounds, too.
In the fast money round of "Family Feud," two family members need to get 200 points combined by answering a series of survey questions. In this episode from May 2014, the first member scored a whopping 182 points, meaning the second member only needed 18 points to win ... which she failed to get.
Sometimes buzzing in first isn't always the best idea, especially when the question is "Name something a doctor might pull out of a person" and you respond with "gerbil."
You get a car, you get a car, everybody gets a car! “Price Is Right” model Manuela Arbelaez thought she’d lost her job (she didn't) when she accidentally gave away a free car in April 2015. Luckily, the producers thought the goof was hilarious.
We’ll take “You’re All a Bunch of Losers” for $500, Alex. Unfortunately, "Springf" isn't a city in the United States.
If this woman on "Family Feud" could ask the Wizard of Oz one thing to give her husband it would be -- "a really big thing." Could you be more specific?
This wasn't an accident. "Jeopardy!" contestant Viraj Mehta from Stanford Unviersity said that he subtly flipped off the camera during his February 2017 episode on purpose. Luckily for us, it wasn't censored.
We guess he just isn't a Tennessee Williams fan? Missing any "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle with just one letter missing would hurt, but this "A Streetcar Naked Desire" gaffe from March 2017 is just embarrassing.
EMINEM AND JACK WHITE ARE NOT THE SAME, JULIE! #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/eLVyk1TNn2— Hunter Alek Homistek (@HunterAHomistek) January 12, 2018
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Yes, both Eminem and Jack White have roots in Detroit, but come on, Em is not the guy who wrote "Seven Nation Army."
“Family Feud Canada” contestant Eve really laid an egg with her “chicken” answer. The survey: “Name Popeye’s favorite food.” Yeah, she said “chicken," not spinach.
This "Wheel of Fortune" contestant took a wild guess with "Chasing Tail" as the answer to this puzzle before immediately starting to laugh at her raunchy answer. Pat Sajak made a wise sealing-his-lips-and-throwing-away-the-key motion in lieu of a comment.
Former NFL player Bruce Smith had an... interesting answer to a question asking what tool Captain Hook might replace his hook with if he were to moonlight as a handyman. "A penis?" was Smith's second guess, which left Steve Harvey dumbfounded for several seconds before informing him, "Your ass is going on YouTube, though."
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Everyone says and does dumb things, but some of us unfortunately do it on national TV
The first question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" is generally the easiest, but this sleep-deprived college student still couldn't manage to get it right.