'Jeopardy!' champion James Holzhauer wins his 23rd game, continuing his streak

By: CNN

Posted: May 21, 2019 10:07 AM CDT

NOW: ’Jeopardy!’ champion James Holzhauer wins his 23rd game, continuing his streak

By Amir Vera, CNN

(CNN) -- James Holzhauer continued his win streak on "Jeopardy!" Monday by winning his 23rd game.

After a two-week hiatus, the reigning champion finished his 23rd win with $89,229. The 34-year-old professional sports gambler from Las Vegas now has a total of $1,780,237.

He has the second longest winning streak in the show's history and the second highest winnings in regular season play -- behind only Ken Jennings, who won a total of $2,520,700 over the course of 74 games in 2004.

He also holds each of the top 10 slots for the highest single-game winnings, not to mention that he's helped "Jeopardy!" rack up some records of its own.

Holzhauer's hot streak has captivated viewers, but his epic run is no fluke.

He employs an aggressive strategy, going for the higher value clues rather than starting low and making his way up a particular category. It also throws off his opponents.

In particular, Holzhauer makes it a mission to seek out Daily Doubles, which helps him score early leads. He has a background as a professional sports bettor, so he has a higher tolerance for risk.

Holzhauer has also mastered the "Jeopardy!" buzzer by buzzing at just the right time so he not only beats his opponents but so he won't get locked out for a quarter of a second for buzzing too early as well.