What is an 18-day winning streak?
James Holzhauer just won his 18th game Monday night. But it was close — he won by just $18.
This was the clue: "The oldest of these business booster groups, formed in Marseille in 1599, uses "de" instead of "of" in the name."
The answer: What is "Chamber of Commerce"?
Holzhauer ended with a daily total of $54,017 (Adam Levin came in second with $53,999). Holzhauer's overall winnings stand at $1,329,604.
The 34-year-old professional gambler usually has a staggering lead over his opponents going into Final Jeopardy.
That wasn't the case on Monday.
Holzhauer had $33,517 going into the last question, while Levin had $27,000. Monday's Final Jeopardy topic? "Organizations."
What's his strategy?
The Las Vegas resident is using the "Forrest Bounce" technique to win his way through "Jeopardy!"
How it works: The contestant jumps around from category to category, choosing tiles out of order to throw off his or her opponents.
Where it came from: Holzhauer is not the first to master the "Forrest Bounce." Previous contestants like Arthur Chu and Chuck Forrest (who the method is named after) have used it to both confuse opponents and rack up the most amount of money in a short span of time by starting from the bottom of each category, where the clues are hardest.
One thing to note: While effective if done right, it is not very popular among the show's staff, including host Alex Trebek, who has spoken out against the method.
Trebek argues that it disrupts the natural order of the show, which the writers work hard on preparing.
