Calculated Bets: Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win

by Steven S. Skiena

• ISBN13: 9780521804264
• ISBN10: 0521804264
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-08-06
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This is a book about a gambling system that works. It tells the story of how the author used computer simulations and mathematical modeling techniques to predict the outcome of jai-alai matches and bet on them successfully - increasing his initial stake by over 500% in one year! His results can work for anyone: at the end of the book he tells the best way to watch jai-alai, and how to bet on it. With humour and enthusiasm, Skiena details a life-long fascination with computer predictions and sporting events. Along the way, he discusses other gambling systems, both successful and unsuccessful, for such games as lotto, roulette, blackjack, and the stock market. Indeed, he shows how his jai-alai system functions just like a miniature stock trading system. Do you want to learn about program trading systems, the future of Internet gambling, and the real reason brokerage houses don't offer mutual funds that invest at racetracks and frontons? How mathematical models are used in political polling? The difference between correlation and causation? If you are curious about gambling and mathematics, odds are this book is for you!

Author Biography

Steven Skiena is Professor of Computer Science at the State University of New York at Stony Brook

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xv
The Making of a Gambler	1	(5)
What is Jai Alai?	6	(34)
Monte Carlo on the Tundra	40	(28)
The Impact of the Internet	68	(17)
Is This Bum Any Good?	85	(24)
Modeling the Payoffs	109	(41)
Engineering the System	150	(24)
Putting My Money Where My Mouth is	174	(13)
How Should You Bet?	187	(22)
Projects to Ponder	209	(6)
Glossary	215	(4)
For Further Reading	219	(4)
Index	223