The Perfect Bet: How Science and Math Are Taking the Luck Out of Gambling

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Basic Books, Feb 23, 2016 - Mathematics - 288 pages
"An elegant and amusing account" of how gambling has been reshaped by the application of science and revealed the truth behind a lucky bet (Wall Street Journal).
For the past 500 years, gamblers-led by mathematicians and scientists-have been trying to figure out how to pull the rug out from under Lady Luck. In The Perfect Bet, mathematician and award-winning writer Adam Kucharski tells the astonishing story of how the experts have succeeded, revolutionizing mathematics and science in the process. The house can seem unbeatable. Kucharski shows us just why it isn't. Even better, he demonstrates how the search for the perfect bet has been crucial for the scientific pursuit of a better world.
 

Contents

Introduction
The Three Degrees of Ignorance
A Brute Force Business
From Los Alamos to Monte Carlo
Pundits with PhDs
Rise of the Robots
Life Consists of Bluffing
The Model Opponent
Beyond Card Counting
Acknowledgments
Discover More Notes
Index
Copyright

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About the author (2016)

Adam Kucharski is an associate professor and a Sir Henry Dale fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he works on analysis of infectious disease outbreaks. The author of The Perfect Bet, he lives in London.

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