you might think this article is about winning jeopardy, but that's really only the intro. its really about going with the herd or not;


For all practical purposes, the manner in which contestants have played “Jeopardy!” has not changed since Art Fleming provided the game show’s first “answer” 55 years ago. That is, until James Holzhauer took his place behind the podium earlier this year.
After winning 22 consecutive games by an astounding average margin of $64,913, one question must be asked: Had every one of these contestants been playing this game the wrong way?

If this is indeed the case,“a professional sports gambler from Nevada” may have shown the world what’s possible when a template - never challenged or questioned over half a century  - is blown up and replaced by another strategy that produces vastly superior results.
By now millions of Americans are familiar with James’s unorthodox “Jeopardy!” strategy. Unlike 99.9 percent of the game’s previous contestants, he starts at the bottom of the board and goes sideways.
“It seems pretty simple to me: If you want more money, start with the bigger-money clues,”  Holzhauer explained in an interview with Vulture magazine. He told NPR “What I do that's different than anyone who came before me is I will try to build the pot first” before seeking out the game’s Daily Doubles. He then “leverages” his winnings with “strategically aggressive” wagers (read: wagers far larger than any contestant before him was willing to make).
This strategy - along with the fact he’s answering 96.7 percent of the clues correctly -  has allowed James to build insurmountable leads heading into Final Jeopardy. He can then be ultra-aggressive with his Final Jeopardy wagers, including one of $60,013. It was this wager that allowed James to establish his current single-game record of $131,016. (James now holds the Top 12 all-time records for one-game winnings). .........https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-16/meet-man-who-mastered-jeopardy-ignoring-conventional-wisdom