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Taking Chances: Winning with Probability
What are the odds against winning the Lottery, making money in a casino, or backing the right horse? Every day, people make judgements on these matters and face other decisions that rest on their understanding of probability: buying insurance, following medical advice, carrying an umbrella. Yet many of us have a frightening ignorance of how probability works. Taking Chances presents an entertaining and fascinating exploration of probability, revealing traps and fallacies inthe field. It describes and analyses a remarkable variety of situations where chance plays a role, including football pools, the Lottery, TV games, sport, cards, roulette, coins, and dice. The book guides the reader round common pitfalls, demonstrates how to make better informed decisions, and shows wherethe odds can be unexpectedly in your favour. This new edition has been fully updated, and includes information on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and The Weakest Link, plus a new chapter on Probability for Lawyers.
- GenresNonfictionMathematics
388 pages, ebook
First published March 4, 1999
12 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 3, 2011
LOOSE THINKING CAN COST YOU MONEY
While the book is mainly written on probability in games, which has already been covered in many books, the author coveres the basics of probability and coin tossing very nicely. He also covers the theory of dices thoroughly and approaches "Games with few choices" (Game Theory) with great enthusiasm. Finally the chapter "Probability for Lawyers" with it's terms such as the prosecutors fallacy and the defence attorne's fallacy are a must read for every person interested in the fascinating subject of probabiliy. PS: second edition covers now Bayes's theorem (previous readers criticised the author of missing this important theory in the first issue)
While the book is mainly written on probability in games, which has already been covered in many books, the author coveres the basics of probability and coin tossing very nicely. He also covers the theory of dices thoroughly and approaches "Games with few choices" (Game Theory) with great enthusiasm. Finally the chapter "Probability for Lawyers" with it's terms such as the prosecutors fallacy and the defence attorne's fallacy are a must read for every person interested in the fascinating subject of probabiliy. PS: second edition covers now Bayes's theorem (previous readers criticised the author of missing this important theory in the first issue)
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October 31, 2025En mi opinión, las matemáticas juegan un papel importante en el éxito en los juegos de azar, sobre todo en los juegos de cartas. ¿Has probado ya los juegos de azar en vivo? Vive la emoción del casino en vivo con crupieres reales. La plataforma 1xBet ofrece generosos bonos por primer depósito y la mayor selección de juegos de casino en vivo para todos los gustos, todos con una jugabilidad emocionante. ¿Quieres vencer al crupier en vivo?
February 20, 2021
Buen libro donde se ven diferentes juegos en los que influye la probabilidad.
April 2, 2013
Read this book as part of course in advanced mathematics.Found it interesting but disagreed with some of the comments made.
April 13, 2012
Essential reading for all serious gamblers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews