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Rating: 
Summary: An Essential Book *****
Review: "The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic", by Richard A. Epstein is an essential book for every serious gambler. You can be certain it has been required reading for every casino manager, everywhere, since it was written. It is worth reading for just the historical information on gambling alone, however, its main emphasis is in showing that gambling has a serious mathematical basis and that the numbers will determine who wins and who loses in the long run.
This is a serious book. If your math skills aren't very good, it will be a challenge. You might want to start with something like: "The Theory of Gambling" by Dr. Edward Thorp, or even: "How To Gamble At The Casinos Without Getting Plucked Like A Chicken" by James Harrison Ford.
If you gamble, you will have to read this book sooner or later. Epstein makes it clear that "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." If you gamble without a fundamental understanding of the numbers, you are dead meat.
Rating: 
Summary: Frustration/Delight?
Review: This book covers the mathematics behind gambling, in an extraordinarily well-written yet technical manner. The author covers all sorts of games such as blackjack and bridge, and provides mathematical derivations of all sorts of probabilities. There is also a most interesting discussion of the pari-mutuel system used in wagering on horses. A good assortment of challenging problems for the reader are also presented. The only warning I would give is that the book is probably not suitable for someone who has at least taken 1 university course in calculus and algebra. While Epstein doesn't use any advanced math, there are certainly a lot of formulas and a certain familiarity with math is essential. This being said, the book is a classic in its field. If you're interested in the mathematical study of gambling you will not be disappointed. This is one book that you can read many times and always find something new and interesting to try.
Rating:
Summary: Very Hard to Find Info
Review: Don't read this book if you're a poker player who knows how to divide your outs by number of unseen cards but never took any serious math courses. This is a serious mathematical treatment of gambling. If you want a more rigorous treatment of the general statistical theory involved in gambling (in general, not just for poker) then this is a book you MUST read. Are you a full or part-time mathematician? Are you someone who took some math courses and is interested in learning about how to mathematically describe different games that involve gambling? Are you wanting to write a computer program to simulate statistical games based on solid mathematics and understand your program? This book is something you don't want to overlook if you answered "yes" to any of those questions. If you answered with a resounding "no" to all of them and are just interested in a particular game and aren't mathematically inclined then you want to look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and Often Uninsightful
Review: Some parts are interesting, and the writing can be entertaining, but the book is short on insight and clarity and long on tedious tables and uninterpreted computations.
Buy this if you already know probability and would like to see -some- applications and cute games.
Don't buy it if you want insight into particular games; especially, the blackjack and bridge sections (and meager poker section) have virtually no value.
I am a graduate student in mathematics, and enjoy probability theory and games: I should be the ideal audience.
The math is no problem for me, but much is boring, and much time is spent writing huge tables without giving much insight.
Research articles in statistics are easier to read, and far more informative.
The math background is awful: if you don't already know it, don't learn it here.
[Instead, see "The Cartoon Guide to Statistics", or Feller's "Intro to Probability"]
The writing is willfully obscure and florid (though, admittedly,
entertaining): gymkhana, panjandrum, kubiagenesis?
My main objection is the lack of insight: the author does (mostly) correct computations and statements but seldom shows much depth of understanding and rarely conveys any to the reader.
Rather than answering questions or giving examples that convey the meaning of the theory, how it lets you understand questions, Epstein does many unillustrative examples.
This book won't teach you to understand games and gambling, which it could do, and should do.
At best, it provides a basis from which you can (after too much work) begin to understand games. This is not because the subject is that hard (at least not what Epstein covers) -- it's because the material is undigested and Epstein is a poor expositor.
If you want to get something out of this book, be prepared to do the work that Epstein hasn't, and to look at more modern and insightful references. Here's an example: how many times do you need to shuffle a deck before it's essentially random? Very natural question, of big interest in gambling. Epstein gives a very slick argument, one of the gems of the book (measure entropy of a shuffle) that you need at least 5 shuffles -- but beyond that just writes some equations for 2 shuffles of a 4-card deck and says that a computer would help, and instead tabulates that 18 perfect shuffles of a 58-card deck return it to the original state.
The rest of the book is like this: some question begging for study, perhaps an insight, and then irrelevant and pedantic computations and tables.
There are gems in here (it's a grab-bag), and the writing is often amusing, but it's a frustrating read: it could be so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and Often Uninsightful
Review: Some parts are interesting, and the writing can be entertaining, but the book is short on insight and clarity and long on tedious tables and uninterpreted computations.
Buy this if you already know probability and would like to see -some- applications and cute games.
Don't buy it if you want insight into particular games; especially, the blackjack and bridge sections (and meager poker section) have virtually no value.
I am a graduate student in mathematics, and enjoy probability theory and games: I should be the ideal audience.
The math is no problem for me, but much is boring, and much time is spent writing huge tables without giving much insight.
Research articles in statistics are easier to read, and far more informative.
The math background is awful: if you don't already know it, don't learn it here.
[Instead, see "The Cartoon Guide to Statistics", or Feller's "Intro to Probability"]
The writing is willfully obscure and florid (though, admittedly,
entertaining): gymkhana, panjandrum, kubiagenesis?
My main objection is the lack of insight: the author does (mostly) correct computations and statements but seldom shows much depth of understanding and rarely conveys any to the reader.
Rather than answering questions or giving examples that convey the meaning of the theory, how it lets you understand questions, Epstein does many unillustrative examples.
This book won't teach you to understand games and gambling, which it could do, and should do.
At best, it provides a basis from which you can (after too much work) begin to understand games. This is not because the subject is that hard (at least not what Epstein covers) -- it's because the material is undigested and Epstein is a poor expositor.
If you want to get something out of this book, be prepared to do the work that Epstein hasn't, and to look at more modern and insightful references. Here's an example: how many times do you need to shuffle a deck before it's essentially random? Very natural question, of big interest in gambling. Epstein gives a very slick argument, one of the gems of the book (measure entropy of a shuffle) that you need at least 5 shuffles -- but beyond that just writes some equations for 2 shuffles of a 4-card deck and says that a computer would help, and instead tabulates that 18 perfect shuffles of a 58-card deck return it to the original state.
The rest of the book is like this: some question begging for study, perhaps an insight, and then irrelevant and pedantic computations and tables.
There are gems in here (it's a grab-bag), and the writing is often amusing, but it's a frustrating read: it could be so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable mathematic discussion of inherently random games
Review: Textbooks on the mathematical disciplines of combinatorics, probability, and statistics abound. Yet while many of these works make mention of their applicability to games, strategy, and other inherently random activities, few if any of these books provide any in-depth analysis of these subjects. This work addresses such topics eloquently and with a remarkably satisfying level of detail. It is in essence a synthesis of mathematical rigour and pragmatic realism, striking an excellent balance between the two. Providing diagrams of gambling tables alongside mathematical equations and graphs alone makes this an unique contribution to the field. Beyond this, the prose is exceedingly perinent and well-written, leading even the uninitiated toward maturity and understanding of each topic under discussion. Subject matter begins with one of the most basic probability topics, coin-tossing, and then progresses rapidly into realms of incredible richness and complexity. Card games, stock market speculation, games requiring pure skill including board games, and then other various ones such as horse-racing, discussion of fallacies, and military strategy, are dealt with in a mature, skillful, rigorous fashion. Upon completion of each chapter one can expect to have a fundamental mathematical framework on subjects which previously may have seemed utterly random and chaotic. Terms such as chance, luck, and fortune will be inevitably refined and redefined. Mathematical maturity is requisite to gaining a full understanding of the contents of this book. If lacking in this arena, one recommendation is to begin by reading merely the prose, then when personal interest and motivation are sufficiently great, consult introductory works on the various math disciplines. Schaum's workbooks are ideal for this, as they provide both an introductory flavor and hundreds of fully solved problems. Dover publications on mathematics, logic and science are extremely affordable, and provide a tremendous range of subject matter. The latter have the decided disadvantages of often beginning with a higher initial level of sophistication, and typically leaving exercises unsolved. Related scientific topics of interest to this work include discrete mathematics, including combinatorics, matrices, probability, statistics. Certainly the calculus and graph theory should be included in this list as being fundamental. Further reaching topics include game theory, information theory, mathematical programming, and then chaos theory, fractal geometry, and computability and complexity theory. Pertinence to the natural sciences and philosophy should be obvious as well. Enjoy the pursuit.
Rating:
Summary: Kubeiagenesis
Review: To the reader who was frustrated by the title of Chapter one, 'Kubeiagenesis', and could not find a definition. -genesis, is first defined as a suffix, meaning 'origin'.
Kubeia comes from The New Testament Greek Lexicon. Kubeia (koo-bi'-ah). Definition 1. dice playing 2. metaphor for the deception of men, because dice players sometimes cheated and defrauded their fellow players. Translated to english in Ephesians as both 'sleight' (KJV) and 'trickery' (NAS). Clearly, Kubeiagenesis is meant to be the origin of sleight, trickery, and deception. That it is the first word of the text may be to inform the reader that what follows may be nonintuitive -- but is well defined, documented, and referenced. You may find yourself reading several of the referenced texts before completing the book if you are going to absorb it all. This book is the Bible on the subject. The author brilliantly interweaves relevant stories, and shows connections to disciplines outside mathematics and gaming. If you simply want answers and don't care how they were calculated, try some of the other texts offered. If you want to understand the subject -- buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: For what it is, it's a great book
Review: When it was first written, I am sure this was a great primer. Now, there are many more texts examining questions this book tackles--try GAMBLING THEORY by Mason Malmth for blackjack, sports betting, horseracing, and bankroll control. I would recommend specific texts on the games you plan to beat rather than this general text. Good luck.
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