With an emphasis on mathematical thinking and problem solving, Mathematics in Games, Sports, and Gambling — The Games People Play shows how discrete probability, statistics, and elementary discrete mathematics are used in games, sports, and gambling situations. It draws on numerous examples, questions, and problems to explain the application of mathematical theory to various real-life games.
Gambling permeated the daily lives of eighteenth-century Britons of all classes. This book explicates the relationship between the rampant gambling in eighteenth-century England, the new forms of gambling-inspired capitalism that transformed British society, and novels that interrogate the new socio-economy of long odds and lucky breaks.
From the blockbuster author of The Godfather comes this bold international best-seller about the feverish world of a big-time gambler. Merlyn and his brother, Artie, obey their own code of honor in the ferment of contemporary America, where law and organized crime are one and the same. Set within America's golden triangle of corruption and excess--New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas--the novel plunges into the glittering and ruthless worlds of gambling, publishing, and the film industry, where greed, lust, and violence hold sway. As high rollers, hustlers, and scheming manipulators use power, sex, and betrayal to win, the strongest survive--but fools die.
Gambling has become a worldwide enterprise, with commercial operations active in well over 100 countries ranging from China to Togo. It is a way for people to have fun and governments to gain revenue. Yet, it can become an addiction that leads to bankruptcy and ruin. As gambling venues spread around the world—and through cyberspace—it is high time for a fresh look at this burgeoning industry.
The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling
Three centuries ago Montmort and De Moivre published two of the first books on probability theory, then called the doctrine of chances, emphasizing its most important application at that time, games of chance. This volume, on the probabilistic aspects of gambling, is a modern version of those classics. While covering the classical material such as house advantage and gambler's ruin, it also takes up such 20th-century topics as martingales, Markov chains, game theory, bold play, and optimal proportional play.
