JEOPARDY! CHAMP JAMIE DING REVEALS THE SHARP STRATEGY BEHIND HIS WINNING STREAK CQ😱

Jamie Ding on ‘Jeopardy!’.Credit : 

Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

Jamie Ding has now won 30 straight games on Jeopardy! and is sharing a few secrets to his success: Be prepared, wager big and stay calm.

“I think overall, my natural tendency is more conservative when it comes to wagering,” says Ding, who, unlike former champion James Holzhauer, doesn’t always double down.

“Before I was on the show, it became clear that in my preparation and studying, big bets are overall the way to go,” Ding, 33, tells PEOPLE. “And I’m a big fan of the Detroit Lions and their coach, Dan Campbell, who is very famous for going for it on fourth down. I always cheer when that happens. So it’s a tension, with two opposing forces. Sometimes it pulls me towards a big bet, sometimes not.”

Ding admits some of his big wagers haven’t always paid off.

“Maybe the thought of losing all that money subconsciously weighs on me,” he says, jokingly.

Ding also says he doesn’t let the pressure of the fast-paced game get to him. His other winning strategy — other than having a natural ability “to retain knowledge” — was brushing up on a few subjects he wasn’t as confident in.

“Classical music is my favorite category,” says the Princeton University graduate. “I played piano from age 7 to 17 and I played cello from fifth grade through senior year. I just really like classical music. So when that category comes up, I’m happy.”

After getting the call to be on the show, he hit up his local library where he “checked out an atlas and a book about Shakespeare” to brush up on some other subjects. Playing in both a daily online trivia league and a weekly league helps, too.

“My nerves are bigger before the game actually starts and then once the game begins, it’s a very fun game and I’m just able to focus on the board and Ken [Jennings] and the clues and trying to ring in,” he says of the Jeopardy! host. “I think I get calmer once the game is going. Also, I’m pretty good at moving on after mistakes.”

Ding has a mantra he repeats before each game to center himself, something he says he learned from a woman teaching his company a lesson on public speaking.

“It goes, ‘May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be free from internal and external harm, may you speak truthfully,'” Ding says.

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According to Jeopardy!‘s official Leaderboard of Legends, following his Thursday, April 23 performance, Ding is still ranked at No. 5 in both consecutive games won and highest all-time winnings in regular-season play.

The only contestants to win more consecutive games than Ding are Holzhauer in 2019 (32 games), Matt Amodio in 2021 (38 games), Amy Schneider in 2022 (40 games) and Jennings — who secured 74 wins in a row back in 2004.

And if Ding’s hot streak continues? He says he’s just thrilled to still be in the game.

“This could have ended much earlier,” Ding says. “Several people have been very strong, and if a couple of things had broken differently, I’d already be done.”

Jeopardy! airs daily. Check local listings.