Stanford university will teach u beating casinos

[iggiv]

link:://:.game-theory-class.org/

[GARNabby]

Interesting article about the guy credited with the first major work of Game Theory, a new branch of mathematics at the time, at link:://:-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~eroberts/courses/soco/projects/1998-99/game-theory/neumann.html .  Most local libraries carry a hardback copy.  Since that work, back in the 30's(?), i think that the sort of math utilized has shifted from the early algebra of linear programming, to the calculus of derivatives and differential equations.  But don't expect many easy solutions to any of the real-life, worthwhile scenarios of then, or now.  Even a lot of the modern poker theory revolves around re-applying a few of the simpler, rule-of-thumb results to a few of the simpler plays... leaving much of it to plain-old computer-simulation.  The actual calculations become exponentially prohibitive, to the point of impossibility.

Besides poker, and a handful of games no longer offered at most casinos, Game Theory has little to do with gambling mathematics, which in a "nut shell" is so relatively-insignificant that the ancient Greek mathematicians apparently simply ignored it.  There's only so much you can do with a win-probability equal to the win-outcomes over all possible non-tie outcomes; and little fascination thereafter when we already knew, from a lot of observation, the results. Gambling is truly more about its addicting elements than those of any other sort.

Unless you're heavily into methodical forms of gaming (as opposed to spending most of your time in a gamble), or headed for a career in one of the pure-sciences... I won't recommend auditing such a course, much less paying for it. Check it out at the library, first.

Hopefully, though, someone will be inspired on to a rewarding career of it.  Thanks for the opportunity, iggiv!