A book that promises to tell me How to Win? Sign me up. Skreeech! With math? Let me think about it.
This book uses the math concepts of probability to show you what your odds are with various bets. I thought Probability in college was fun and an easy A. I also loved Algebra. However, that was decades ago and my math gene has deserted the building at this point.
Will this book still be entertaining, or at least useful, if all the math is “over my head”? The answer is “yes”. The author summarizes the odds at the end of each chapter in regular English for the non-math majors among us.
Just like after my college Probability class, How to Win will discourage you from gambling as soon as you see the odds are ever in the house’s favor. But if you still want to, it will tell you which games are fairer and even how to improve your odds within poor risk games.
Casinos hire math wizards to make sure they win. The least you can do is know how much it will cost you to play by reading this book. If you like gambling, How to Win is a must read (even if you just read the chapter summaries). 4 stars (I took off one star for making me feel stupid, nobody likes that).
Thanks to NetGalley and Basic Books for providing me with an advanced review copy.