The Book on Games of Chance

The Book on Games of Chance
Author: Gerolamo Cardano
Publisher: Courier Dover Publications
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2015-11-04
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 048680898X

Mathematics was only one area of interest for Gerolamo Cardano ― the sixteenth-century astrologer, philosopher, and physician was also a prolific author and inveterate gambler. Gambling led Cardano to the study of probability, and he was the first writer to recognize that random events are governed by mathematical laws. Published posthumously in 1663, Cardano's Liber de ludo aleae (Book on Games of Chance) is often considered the major starting point of the study of mathematical probability. The Italian scholar formulated some of the field's basic ideas more than a century before the better-known correspondence of Pascal and Fermat. Although his book had no direct influence on other early thinkers about probability, it remains an important antecedent to later expressions of the science's tenets.


How to Win Games of Chance

How to Win Games of Chance
Author: Kenneth Dickkerson
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1992-02-23
Genre: Astrology
ISBN: 9780345363176

Harness the power of your own personal winning cycle. Using easy-to-master techniques based on the prinicples of astrology, numerology, and biorhythms, discover when the odds are in your favor and when they're not. Kenneth Dickkerson, columnist for The Lottery News, has developed a remarkable, easy-to-master system that can work on casino gambling, bingo, sweepstakes, slots, racing, the game of the week, and daily numbers. With his help, you can discover your lucky numbers, lucky day, and seize that all-important edge that will make you a big winner at games of chance.


Games, Gambling, and Probability

Games, Gambling, and Probability
Author: David G. Taylor
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2021-06-22
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1000400204

Many experiments have shown the human brain generally has very serious problems dealing with probability and chance. A greater understanding of probability can help develop the intuition necessary to approach risk with the ability to make more informed (and better) decisions. The first four chapters offer the standard content for an introductory probability course, albeit presented in a much different way and order. The chapters afterward include some discussion of different games, different "ideas" that relate to the law of large numbers, and many more mathematical topics not typically seen in such a book. The use of games is meant to make the book (and course) feel like fun! Since many of the early games discussed are casino games, the study of those games, along with an understanding of the material in later chapters, should remind you that gambling is a bad idea; you should think of placing bets in a casino as paying for entertainment. Winning can, obviously, be a fun reward, but should not ever be expected. Changes for the Second Edition: New chapter on Game Theory New chapter on Sports Mathematics The chapter on Blackjack, which was Chapter 4 in the first edition, appears later in the book. Reorganization has been done to improve the flow of topics and learning. New sections on Arkham Horror, Uno, and Scrabble have been added. Even more exercises were added! The goal for this textbook is to complement the inquiry-based learning movement. In my mind, concepts and ideas will stick with the reader more when they are motivated in an interesting way. Here, we use questions about various games (not just casino games) to motivate the mathematics, and I would say that the writing emphasizes a "just-in-time" mathematics approach. Topics are presented mathematically as questions about the games themselves are posed. Table of Contents Preface 1. Mathematics and Probability 2. Roulette and Craps: Expected Value 3. Counting: Poker Hands 4. More Dice: Counting and Combinations, and Statistics 5. Game Theory: Poker Bluffing and Other Games 6. Probability/Stochastic Matrices: Board Game Movement 7. Sports Mathematics: Probability Meets Athletics 8. Blackjack: Previous Methods Revisited 9. A Mix of Other Games 10. Betting Systems: Can You Beat the System? 11. Potpourri: Assorted Adventures in Probability Appendices Tables Answers and Selected Solutions Bibliography Biography Dr. David G. Taylor is a professor of mathematics and an associate dean for academic affairs at Roanoke College in southwest Virginia. He attended Lebanon Valley College for his B.S. in computer science and mathematics and went to the University of Virginia for his Ph.D. While his graduate school focus was on studying infinite dimensional Lie algebras, he started studying the mathematics of various games in order to have a more undergraduate-friendly research agenda. Work done with two Roanoke College students, Heather Cook and Jonathan Marino, appears in this book! Currently he owns over 100 different board games and enjoys using probability in his decision-making while playing most of those games. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, coding, playing his board games, and spending time with his six-year-old dog Lilly.


Cardano

Cardano
Author: Øystein Ore
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2017-03-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1400887593

Cardano, next to Vesalius the greatest physician of his day, was also a devoted and skilled gambler who played for personal pleasure and profit. His mathematical genius enabled him to devise simple rules of probability for his own benefit and for his gambling contemporaries. These he collected in his Book on Games of Chance and embellished them with essays on the tricks of cheats and kibitzers, as well as on psychological rules of play. In this biography of a stormy Renaissance personality, Cardano's gambling studies are deciphered for the first time, and a translation of the Book on Games of Chance is appended. Originally published in 1953. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Love and Other Games of Chance

Love and Other Games of Chance
Author: Lee Siegel
Publisher: Penguin Group
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2004-02-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780142003916

The flamboyant hero of this zany, wildly comic novel is Isaac Schlossberg--circus performer, entertainer, world traveler. Raucous and inventive, this three-ring circus of a novel is at once silly and grand, absurd yet full of meaning.


Taking Chances

Taking Chances
Author: John Haigh
Publisher: Winning with Probability
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2003
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0198526636

"What are the odds against winning the Lotto, The Weakest Link, or Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The answer lies in the science of probability, yet many of us are unaware of how this science works. Every day, people make judgements on a wide variety of situations where chance plays a role, including buying insurance, betting on horse-racing, following medical advice - even carrying an umbrella. In Taking Chances, John Haigh guides the reader round common pitfalls, demonstrates how to make better-informed decisions, and shows where the odds can be unexpectedly in your favour. This new edition has been fully updated, and includes information on top television shows, plus a new chapter on Probability for Lawyers."--BOOK JACKET.


Chance, Luck, and Statistics

Chance, Luck, and Statistics
Author: Horace C. Levinson
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2001-01-01
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780486419978

In simple, non-technical language, this volume explores the fundamentals governing chance and applies them to sports, government, and business. Topics includenbsp;the theory of probability in relation to superstitions, betting odds, warfare,nbsp;social problems, stocks, and other areas. "Clear and lively ...nbsp;remarkably accurate." —Scientific Monthly.


Games, Gods, and Gambling

Games, Gods, and Gambling
Author: Florence Nightingale David
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1998-01-01
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780486400235

Episodes from the lives of Galileo, Fermat, Pascal, and others illustrate this fascinating account of the roots of mathematics. Features thought-provoking references to classics, archaeology, biography, poetry. 1962 edition.


Laws of Chance

Laws of Chance
Author: Amy Chazkel
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2011-06-28
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 0822349884

Chronicles the first decades of an informal lottery called the jogo do bicho, or animal game, which originated in Rio de Janeiro in 1892, and remains popular in Brazil today.