^TagGambling and probability

Croupier behind gambling table in a casino

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 20, 2022

Categorized
Mathematics, Probability

Tagged
Advantage players and stock market, Advantage players' casino strategies, Alan Woods, Bill Gross, Blackjack (card game), Card Counting, Featured, Gambling and probability, Richard Dennis, Robert J. Marks, Salvador Cordova, Turtles experiment (1983), William Eckhardt}

Can Casinos Ban Customers Who Might Get TOO “Lucky”?

_{Sal Cordova was good enough at card counting that his photo was circulated and casino nabbed his driver’s licence…} _{News

June 20, 2022

15

Mathematics, Probability}

In a recent podcast, “When the house can’t win the game, it will change the rules” (June 9, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks continued his discussion with mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on the mathematics of gambling — who wins, who loses, and why. Last week, we looked at the struggle between the casino and the “advantage player” who knows very well how the system works and spots its weaknesses. But now, what about banning a suspiciously “lucky” would-be customer outright? Here’s what happened to Sal Cordova: https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Mind-Matters-News-Episode-190-Sal-Cordova-Episode-2-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 11:10 min. A partial transcript and notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Sal Cordova: One of the better things is that Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 17, 2022

Categorized
Probability

Tagged
Casinos and security, Featured, Gambling and probability, Robert J. Marks, Salvador Cordova}

The Struggle Between Casinos and Advantage Players

_{The scene is enlivened by assorted other characters who use romance to help in the struggle for a big win. Sal Cordova explains} _{News

June 17, 2022

12

Probability}

In a recent podcast, “When the house can’t win the game, it will change the rules” (June 9, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks continued his discussion with mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on the mathematics of gambling — why the odds are stacked against the gambler — or, depending on a gambler’s skill and knowledge of the circumstances, maybe they aren’t… https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/Mind-Matters-News-Episode-190-Sal-Cordova-Episode-2-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at approximately 00:31 min. A partial transcript and notes, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow below. Marks and Cordova ended Episode 1 by discussing the famous advantage player Don Johnson who cleaned out Atlantic City for tens of millions of dollars in 2011. What was his secret? Sal Cordova: He Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 7, 2022

Categorized
Mathematics

Tagged
Advantage players in gambling, Advantage players' casino strategies, Don Johnson, Featured, Gambler's Fallacies, Gambling and probability, Law of Large Numbers and gambling, Robert J. Marks, Salvador Cordova}

Casinos: How Nerds Gamble and Win, Using the Law of Large Numbers

_{The American Physical Society created Las Vegas’s worst week in history and Don Johnson cleaned out Atlantic City. How?} _{News

June 7, 2022

14

Mathematics}

In last week’s podcast, “The house always wins in the long run” (June 2, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on the world of gamblers and how they try to improve their odds by physically manipulating dice (dice sliding ) and cards (false shuffling). Meanwhile, the house is relying on the Law of Large Numbers, which — being a mathematical law — wins out in the end. Sure, the Law may always win — but perhaps anyone can play it. Where we left the matter last time, in the first portion of this episode, Cordova talked about how “advantage players” try to make it work. In this second segment of Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
June 3, 2022

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Advantage players, Claude Shannon, Dice sliders, Edwin Thorp, False shuffle, Featured, Gambling and probability, Law of Large Numbers and gambling, Probability, Robert J. Marks, Salvador Cordova, Shuffle Trackers, Whole cards in Blackjack}

Gambling: WHY the House Always Wins in the Long Run…

_{The casinos are not cheating. They rely on the Law of Large Numbers, part of the mathematical structure underlying our universe} _{News

June 3, 2022

12

Information Theory}

In this week’s podcast, “The house always wins in the long run” (June 2, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer Salvador Cordova on a subject on which he has strong views: gambling. Marks tells us, “I teach a graduate course on probability and stochastic processes. There I teach the stupidity of casino gambling. In statistics, there’s a theorem called the Law of Large Numbers. It teaches that you can’t win in the long run at casino games. Period. The law of large numbers is a mathematical truth. It’s a law as serious as the law of gravity. It’s why casinos always get rich and the gambler always gets poor. There is a Read More ›