From Amazon.com
You could just as easily call this book
How to Bet at Jai-Alai and Win! But that's only half the story. While
Calculated Bets might indeed help you make a buck down at the fronton, it's as much concerned with the power of mathematical modeling and computer programming. The story of accomplished mathematician Steven Skiena's longtime obsession with this obscure Basque sport,
Calculated Bets uses straightforward mathematics and real-world examples to divine the statistical mysteries behind playing--and, more important, wagering on--jai alai. (Which goes a long way toward explaining why Cambridge University Press is publishing what's basically a book about gambling.)
A self-styled "mild-mannered professor," the conversational Skiena (The Algorithm Design Manual) delivers on his book's many promises, from explaining how mathematical models are "designed, built, and validated" to providing lucid discussions of such topics as market efficiency and the difference between correlation and causation. Even better are his riffs on why real programmers hate Microsoft (hint: it's not jealousy) and the beauty behind interesting curves. In the end, Skiena even puts his money where his mouth is: using a modem, he sets loose an auto-dialing program called Maven that he and his grad students cooked up, sending it off in the wee hours of the morning to cull the Web for stats, play each match a half-million times, and then automatically wager a $250 stake. --Paul Hughes
Review
'A well told story ... [the author] really knows his stuff. I couldn't put it down. The informal style is terrific; we should have more books written this way ... Skiena really knows how to teach.' Persi Diaconis, Stanford University 'The book is easy to follow and provides insight to the beginning student of gambling games.' William T. Ziemba, University of British Columbia 'This funny and utterly compelling book is the story of how Skiena and his students constructed an embarrassingly successful computer program called Maven.' Tony Jones, New Scientist 'The book teaches with humor and enthusiasm how to use statistical data and analyze them, how to use computers for processing data, how to create mathematical models that fit your problem, and many other interesting things.' Zentralblatt fur Mathematik und ihre Grenzgebiete Mathematics Abstracts 'This interesting book is about a gambling system that works. His methods can work for anyone; at the end of the book the author describes the best way to bet on jai alai. The book will be surely of interest not only for the fun of jai alai, but also for all those who would like to learn about the program trading systems, the future of internet gambling, how mathematical methods are used in political polling, what is the difference between the correlation and causality, and so on. If you are interested in gambling and mathematics, the odds are that this is a book for you!' EMS 'Interspersed with this account are many valuable digressions which make the book a very good general introduction to the ideas of modelling and simulation, enlivened by the highly practical example which forms its core. Skiena writes with wit, clarity and enthusiasm, and his story is an enthralling one. No matter if (like me) you have never heard of Jai Alai before, or never bet on a horse or bought a lottery ticket in your life, the reader identifies with Skiena's quest, and shares vicariously in his success.' The Mathematical Gazette
