The Athletic has added a champion to their talent roster. James Holzhauer announced on the site that he is joining The Athletic as a sports betting consultant. Holzhauer famously won 32 straight matches on Jeopardy! in 2019.
Before Jeopardy!, the gameshow regular was a full-time sports bettor, using Excel spreadsheets and overlooked lines to build a strong bankroll. Holzhauer got his start in the sports betting scene in 2005.
“Beating the vig is hard enough, but trying to do it with poor fundamentals is like bringing a plastic knife to a gunfight,” Holzhauer wrote in his first piece for The Athletic. “I hope that by passing along what I’ve learned from my sixteen years in the business I can give aspiring sharps a chance to turn their opinions into some consistent wins.”
Sports betting and gambling are two different things for Holzhauer. His models have helped take a lot of the risk off the table, especially on futures bets. Holzhauer had “an ROI of 10% on straight bets and 50% on futures.” All of which helped his bankroll amass multiple years of 100% growth.
James Holzhauer plans to avoid making picks in his articles, instead focusing on gaining an edge on sportsbooks using nearly two decades of experience. The Athletic has dived deeper into sports betting over the past year. Namely through a partnership with BetMGM and increased gambling content.
“My writings alone can’t make anyone a winner — never mind a professional — but diligent readers can combine my advice with their own insights to make a long-term profit from wagering, or at least stretch their gambling budget much further,” Holzhauer said on the site.
The bettor also works on ABC’s The Chase where he competes against the show’s regular contestants. Holzhauer’s first advice article is posting this Thursday.