The Mathematics of Games and Gambling (Mathematical Association of America Textbooks, Series Number 28) - Softcover

Edward Packel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 088385628X ISBN 13: 9780883856284

Publisher: The Mathematical Association of America, 1996

Synopsis

You can't lose with this MAA Book Prize winner if you want to see how mathematics can be used to analyze games of chance and skill. Roulette, craps, blackjack, backgammon, poker, bridge, lotteries and horse races are considered here in a way that reveals their mathematical aspects. The tools used include probability, expectation, and game theory. No prerequisites are needed beyond high school algebra. No book can guarantee good luck, but this book will show you what determines the best bet in a game of chance or the optimal strategy in a strategic game. Besides being an excellent supplement to a course on probability and good bed-side reading, this book's treatment of lotteries should save the reader some money.

About this title

Book Description:

No book can guarantee good luck, but this book will show you what determines the best bet in a game of chance or the optimal strategy in a strategic game. Learn the mathematics behind roulette, craps, blackjack, backgammon, poker, bridge, lotteries and horse races. Besides being an excellent supplement to a course on probability and good bed-side reading, this book's treatment of lotteries should save the reader some money.

Review:

'The whole book is written with great urbanity and clarity ... it is hard to see how it could have been better or more readable.' The Mathematical Gazette

About this edition

• Publisher: The Mathematical Association of America
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 088385628X
• ISBN 13: 9780883856284
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 151