Statistics Hacks

Chapter 4. Beating the Odds

Why risk more than you have to when you take risks? Casino games require you to take some chances, but this chapter of real-world stat hacks will help you keep your edge and perhaps even overcome the house’s edge.

Start with Texas Hold ‘Em poker [Hack #36]. (Maybe you’ve heard of it?) When you play poker [Hack #37], play the odds [Hack #38].

Make sure, of course, to always gamble smart [Hack #35], regardless of what you play, though when it comes to the level of risk you take, some games [Hacks #39 and #40] are better than others [Hack #41].

If you like to make friendly wagers with friends or strange wagers with strangers, you can use the power of statistics to win some surprisingly winnable bar bets with cards [Hacks #42 and #44], dice [Hack #43], or just about anything else you can think of [Hack #46], including your friends’ birthdays [Hack #45].

Speaking of weird gambling games (and I think we were), there are some odd statistical quirks [Hacks #47 and #49] you’ll need to know when you play them, even if it is just flipping a coin [Hack #48].

Gamble Smart

Whatever the game, if money and chance are involved, there are some basic gambling truths that can help the happy statistician stay happy.

Although this chapter is full of hacks aimed at particular games, many of them games of chance, there are a variety of tips and tools that are useful across the board for all gamblers. Much mystery, superstition, and mathematical confusion pervade the world of gambling, ...