The Perfect Bet: Taking the Luck out of Gambling

Review This book is full of magic. It's brimming with clever people and clever ideas... The links between betting and science run deep and wide, allowing Kucharski to cover some thrilling intellectual territory. ― New ScientistTerrific: beautifully written, solidly researched and full of surprises ― New York Times Numberplay blogElegant and amusing ... anyone planning to enter a casino or place an online bet would be advised tokeep this book handy ― Wall Street JournalKucharski's clear prose and eye for an entertaining historical anecdote give his book an accessible feel ... an enjoyable account. ― Racing Post Published On: 2016-05-29[An] enjoyable... paean to human ingenuity, and a Robin Hood tale of wealth redistribution. ― Daily Telegraph Published On: 2016-05-02Great stories of how smart people have used maths, statistics and science to try and beat the odds - legally' -- David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk, University of CambridgeA wild ride through the history, psychology, mathematics, and technology of gaming - a remarkable look behind the curtain of what most people think is intuitive, but isn't -- Paul Offit, author of Bad FaithWith an entertaining writing style, Adam Kucharski guides us through the history and state of the art of "The Perfect Bet," showing us how mathematics and computers are used to come up with optimal ways to gamble, play games, bluff, and invest our money. Extremely well-written and carefully researched. I highly recommend it. -- Arthur Benjamin, Author of 'The Magic of Maths'A lucid yet sophisticated look at the mathematics of probability as it's played out on gaming tables, arenas, and fields... Gamblers and math buffs alike will enjoy it for its smart approach to real-world problems ― Kirkus Reviews Product Description Gamblers have been trying to figure out how to game the system since our ancestors first made wagers over dice fashioned from knucklebones: in revolutionary Paris, the 'martingale' strategy was rumoured to lead to foolproof success at roulette ; today, professional gamblers are using cutting-edge techniques to tilt the odds in their favour. Science is giving us the competitive edge over opponents, casinos and bookmakers. But is there such a thing as a perfect bet?The Perfect Bet looks beyond probability and statistics to examine how wagers have inspired a plethora of new disciplines - spanning chaos theory, machine learning and game theory - which are not just revolutionising gambling, but changing our fundamental notions about chance, randomness and luck. Explaining why poker is gaming's last bastion of human superiority over AI, how methods originally developed for the US nuclear programme are helping pundits predict sports results and why a new breed of algorithms are losing banks millions, The Perfect Bet has the inside track on any wager you'd care to place. Book Description A guide to how the world's smartest gamblers are using science to take on the house - and win - whether they're playing blackjack, having a flutter at the racetrack, buying scratch cards or laying in-play football bets at the bookies' About the Author Adam Kucharski is an associate professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. A mathematician by training, his work on global outbreaks has included Ebola, Zika and COVID-19, and he has produced real-time analysis for multiple governments and health agencies. He is a TED senior fellow and winner of the 2016 Rosalind Franklin Award Lecture and the 2012 Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize. The author of The Perfect Bet, his writing has appeared in the Observer, Financial Times, Wired and New Statesman.