It's one thing to skip class to play poker, but if I'm learning how to think in the real world playing poker, then maybe that's more valuable than a college education could've been.

Fame came at me a lot quicker and stronger than I imagined.

Holzhauer Haters' is pretty catchy, but I have not encountered too many haters. I'm sure they are out there, but I don't spend my free time looking up every person's opinion of James Holzhauer.

There are times when you'll only have one or two seconds to decide if you're going to bet on something and you need to be decisive. You need to do math quickly in your head.

I've got a family and job that I really love with super flexibility.

I think there's a mental block for betting big amounts that doesn't exist for me but it does for other people.

Jeopardy!' is a bigger deal than I realized.

The first bet I remember was on the Chargers in Super Bowl 29 with my classmates. I lost a lot of weeks' allowance.

I have no special knowledge of markets, so I invest solely in low-expense index funds, plus some cryptocurrencies.

I wouldn't recommend sports betting as a career. It requires a ton of effort and mastery of many different skills, and successful bettors are unwilling to teach you because you would be their competition.

The aggressive betting on the daily doubles is one of my trademarks.

I've found that in an adult reference book, if it's not a subject I'm interested in, I just can't get into it. I was thinking, what is the place in the library I can go to to get books tailored to make things interesting for uninterested readers? Boom. The children's section.

Baseball was my goal from a young age, but gambling had significantly fewer barriers to entry.

I sketched out what I believed to be my optimal strategy for 'Jeopardy:' Play fast, build a stack, bet big, and hope for the best. In my mind, playing a seemingly risky game actually minimizes my chances of losing.

The fact that I win and lose money all the time helps desensitize me, so I can write down $60,000 as the Final Jeopardy wager and not be trembling at the thought of losing that money.

As a general rule, the less time a bookmaker has to set his odds the softer the odds are going to be.

The last real job I had I was 16-years-old slinging fried chicken in my hometown of Naperville, Ill.

I was always good at video games like 'Guitar Hero,' which require the player to press buttons at precise times.

In gambling, you usually start to go wrong when you deviate from your pregame strategy.

Getting onto 'Jeopardy!' was a pet project my whole life, so it was something I was willing to work really hard on.

Ryne Sandberg was my favorite player growing up.

I'm from Naperville.

It was always my plan to go big on 'Jeopardy!,' and I'm glad I was able to stick to the plan under pressure.

The best bet I made that won was on the Tampa Bay Rays - who had never had a winning season in franchise history - to advance to the 2008 World Series.

Lots of people recognize me now.

I think most people who bother to study 'Jeopardy!' game theory are going to arrive at similar conclusions about how to best play the game. Not everyone is going to take that step, of course.

I often see sports teams playing to force overtime instead of trying to win in regulation, and it makes me shake my head.

I did want to lock each game up before Final Jeopardy, to avoid losing to a bad bounce in that round.

I hope that my 'Jeopardy' run helps destigmatize sports betting because I have certainly dealt with some stigmas.

There's times in a football game where a team goes for a big TD pass. If you don't take a risk like that, you're not going to win.

I've learned more about animals just by reading to my kid than I ever did studying.

The 'Classics Illustrated' series was an excellent primer in literature, and I also really enjoyed Zachary Hamby's mythology books for teens.

My parents read me some typical children's books: 'Green Eggs and Ham,' 'The Little Engine That Could,' 'Peter Rabbit.' But I quickly developed a preference for nonfiction books about baseball and math, by the likes of Bill James and Martin Gardner.

It's really funny seeing all these media depictions of me as an intellectual because I'm a connoisseur of low culture.

In Chicagoland, they had afternoon 'Jeopardy!' and afternoon Cubs games when they were at home, so that was basically what I would watch and it's what got me interested in Jeopardy! and sports statistics at an early age.

I have doubted myself on several Daily Double answers.

I don't involve personal biases in my handicapping or wagering. I bet against the Cubs in the 2016 World Series, which tainted the victory a little. It was still incredible to watch.

I really underestimated how many people are paying attention to 'Jeopardy' and what's out there.

I figured, maybe one in five, one in 10 people would recognize me. But no, it's everywhere, especially in Las Vegas. I think the city's kind of embraced me which is good.

There's a lot of attention on me which can be good, it can be bad. Sometimes my daughter's acting up in public and I really wish I could become anonymous for a few minutes.

I think if you're talking about 'Jeopardy' style, I'm not afraid to throw the deep ball, even if it might get picked off, so Deshaun Watson I think would be the best comparison.

I first got into gambling because it was a way for me to leverage my love of baseball statistics. For the first few years, that's all I would focus on.

My perception of a professional gambler has always been a positive one.

I feel like I've been lucky in a lot of ways.

I stopped playing online poker due to a combination of the UIGEA legislation and realizing that I could make more money with less effort by betting sports.

My family and I were already living our best lives before 'Jeopardy!' called, so we mostly want to continue that while also giving back to the children of the Las Vegas community.

I always dreamed of working in an MLB front office and ruining baseball, but I have to settle for ruining 'Jeopardy' instead.

If I can really work in any sport, I wonder if the Golden Knights have an opening in their analytics department?

You need to pick your spots and bet big when you identify them. That's basically my 'Jeopardy!' strategy in a nutshell.

All good professional gamblers are selectively aggressive.