'Jeopardy!' champion Buzzy Cohen's secret to his success on the show: wearing a suit every day for years
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- Buzzy Cohen won nine straight "Jeopardy!" games in 2016 and the 2017 Tournament of Champions.
- His secret to succeeding under pressure is preparing for the environment you'll be performing in.
- He wore a suit every day so that he'd feel comfortable wearing one while competing.
"Jeopardy!" champion Buzzy Cohen's secret to success doesn't involve waking up at 5 a.m. and running several miles before breakfast like some CEOs.
"My day usually starts with one of my kids yelling at me that they want breakfast," he told Insider ahead of the April 26 premiere of his new podcast, "This is Jeopardy!...The Story of America's Favorite Quiz Show," which explores the show's history and enduring success.
Cohen — who won $164,603 in a nine-day streak on the game show in 2016 — took a new approach while preparing to return for the 2017 Tournament of Champions, which he went on to win. In addition to brushing up on popular "Jeopardy!" topics and practicing his buzzer reaction time with a ballpoint pen, he started wearing a suit every day.
"I wanted to be as comfortable as possible in a suit and tie for when I was going back on the show," he said. "What I found was that by doing it every day, it made it something I didn't have to think about. All of this guesswork that normally you're going to do — you're automatically putting yourself at a disadvantage. And so I try, without being totally a routine person, creating certain touchpoints that allow me to feel at home in these different situations."
Preparing for the environment that you'll be performing in is crucial to performing well, Buzzy Cohen says
Jeopardy Productions Inc.
As he wrote in his 2019 Audible audiobook "Get Ready: A Champion's Guide to Preparing for the Moments That Matter," this attention to detail can be applied to any high-pressure situation.
"I think trying to have your practice reflect as much of the physical reality of your experience as possible is really important," he said. "So many people watch 'Jeopardy!' at home at 7 o'clock or 7:30 p.m. on the couch. They're relaxed, they've had dinner. That is not what taping 'Jeopardy!' is like. Taping 'Jeopardy!' is on your feet at 11 a.m., uncomfortable in a cold place. So you get onstage and all of a sudden you're like, 'Oh wait, I was actually not preparing for this experience.'"
Cohen continued wearing a suit every day throughout the height of the pandemic in 2020. While he acknowledges that the choice was "kind of psychotic," he said it helped him feel comfortable guest-hosting the Tournament of Champions in 2021.
"I was just like, 'Okay, cool, I'm ready to go,'" he said. "It wasn't like, 'Oh shoot, I haven't put a suit on in 18 months.'"