Calculated Bets Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win Outlooks Series

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!

Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. The making of a gambler; 2. What is Jai Alai?; 3. Monte Carlo on the Tundra; 4. The impact of the internet; 5. Is this bum any good?; 6. Modeling the payoffs; 7. Engineering the system; 8. Putting my money where my mouth is; 9. How should you bet?; 10. Projects to ponder; Glossary; For further reading; Index.

Steven Skiena is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Computer Science at Stony Brook University. His research interests include the design of graph, string, and geometric algorithms, and their applications (particularly to biology). He is the author of five books, including The Algorithm Design Manual and Calculated Bets: Computers, Gambling, and Mathematical Modeling to Win. He is co-founder and Chief Scientist at General Sentiment (www.generalsentiment.com), a media measurement company based on his Lydia text/sentiment analysis system. Skiena received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Illinois in 1988, and is the author of over 130 technical papers. He is a former Fulbright scholar, and a recipient of the ONR Young Investigator Award and the IEEE Computer Science and Engineer Teaching Award.