“It amazes me that all the smart people playing Jeopardy can’t figure out how to wager “
The opposite is true, almost all of them do know how to wager.
There is a website that explains the best wager given the amount of money everyone has going into Final Jeopardy
Here is the example for last nights game
I watch Jeopardy 3-4 nights per week - almost always see the 2nd place person bet all or most of what they have.
It’s great there is a website to cover how to do it right - don’t think most contestants follow it though.