Mathematics and, specifically, statistics, have been two of the subjects that have caused the greatest headaches in students of all times, but they are fundamental disciplines for decision-making. The human being is not a species especially gifted for the analysis of large volumes of information, so managing these from intuition often leads us to make wrong decisions in the long term. There are many informative books that deal with the subject, but today we want to highlight, due to its simplicity and its didactic will, perhaps the classic work of John haigh, Mathematics and gambling. Starting with simple questions about situations and games known to all, we will internalize the basic principles that govern the correct strategies from the hand of one of the most recognized members of the Royal Statistical Society.
What are the reasons behind the fact that the player who takes the cards from the orange squares on the board is usually the winner of the game? Do we have more options to obtain a prize in the pool or in the lottery? In an accessible way, Haigh offers us answers using mathematical developments that gradually advance in complexity, with an accessible learning curve and without giving up a sense of humor. Thus, throughout its 393 pages we will address subjects ranging from classical stochastics to game theory.
The move from face-to-face gambling spaces to online services was a revolution in popularizing mathematics applied to games of chance, and those looking for information to improve their results in casino games or betting will also find chapters very interesting for your interests. Is it easier to get it right if we bet on soccer or if we opt for golf? Are there "surefire methods" to win at roulette? What is the "Martingale" trick? What type of bets are appropriate when it comes to making profitable no deposit bonuses? What is the relationship between the odds offered and the risk assessment of a certain result in a match? Haigh reveals the mathematical foundations that support the answers to all these questions in a clear and didactic way, but fleeing from the magic formulas to raise fortunes that are so abundant on the web.
Mathematics and gambling It is the kind of book that serves a triple purpose: to inform, teach and entertain. Each chapter includes short exercises so that the most curious reader can evaluate the understanding of the concepts, put their newly acquired knowledge to the test and be surprised by the most frequent misperceptions. And it is that a little training in this matter can lead us to statements such as the one that ironically described Bernard Shaw: “If my neighbor has two cars and I have neither, the statistics tell us that we both have one”.
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