Luck, Logic, and White Lies: The Mathematics of Games, 2nd Edition

Length: 548 pages
Edition: 2
Language: English
Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press
Publication Date: 2021-04-28
ISBN-10: 0367552965
ISBN-13: 9780367552961
Sales Rank: #1117542 (See Top 100 Books)

“Luck, Logic, and White Lies teaches readers of all backgrounds about the insight mathematical knowledge can bring and is highly recommended reading among avid game players, both to better understand the game itself and to improve one’s skills.”
– Midwest Book Review

“The best book I’ve found for someone new to game math is Luck, Logic and White Lies by Jörg Bewersdorff. It introduces the reader to a vast mathematical literature, and does so in an enormously clear manner. . .”
– Alfred Wallace, Musings, Ramblings, and Things Left Unsaid

“The aim is to introduce the mathematics that will allow analysis of the problem or game. This is done in gentle stages, from chapter to chapter, so as to reach as broad an audience as possible . . . Anyone who likes games and has a taste for analytical thinking will enjoy this book.”
– Peter Fillmore, CMS Notes

Luck, Logic, and White Lies: The Mathematics of Games, Second Edition considers a specific problem―generally a game or game fragment and introduces the related mathematical methods. It contains a section on the historical development of the theories of games of chance, and combinatorial and strategic games.

This new edition features new and much refreshed chapters, including an all-new Part IV on the problem of how to measure skill in games. Readers are also introduced to new references and techniques developed since the previous edition.

Features

Provides a uniquely historical perspective on the mathematical underpinnings of a comprehensive list of games
Suitable for a broad audience of differing mathematical levels. Anyone with a passion for games, game theory, and mathematics will enjoy this book, whether they be students, academics, or game enthusiasts
Covers a wide selection of topics at a level that can be appreciated on a historical, recreational, and mathematical level.

Jörg Bewersdorff (1958) studied mathematics from 1975 to 1982 at the University of Bonn and earned his PhD in 1985. In the same year, he started his career as game developer and mathematician. He served as the general manager of the subsidiaries of Gauselmann AG for more than two decades where he developed electronic gaming machines, automatic payment machines, and coin-operated Internet terminals.

Dr. Bewersdorff has authored several books on Galois theory (translated in English and Korean), mathematical statistics, and object-oriented programming with JavaScript.

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Part I Games of Chance
    1 Dice and Probability
    2 Waiting for a Double 6
    3 Tips on Playing the Lottery: More Equal than Equal?
    4 A Fair Division: But How?
    5 The Red and the Black: The Law of Large Numbers
    6 Asymmetric Dice: Are They Worth Anything?
    7 Probability and Geometry
    8 Chance and Mathematical Certainty: Are They Reconcilable?
    9 In Quest of the Equiprobable
    10 Winning the Game: Probability and Value
    11 Which Die Is Best?
    12 A Die Is Tested
    13 The Normal Distribution: A Race to the Finish!
    14 And Not Only at Roulette: The Poisson Distribution
    15 When Formulas Become Too Complex: The Monte Carlo Method
    16 Markov Chains and the Game Monopoly
    17 Blackjack: A Las Vegas Fairy Tale
Part II Combinatorial Games
    18 Which Move Is Best?
    19 Chances of Winning and Symmetry
    20 A Game for Three
    21 Nim: The Easy Winner!
    22 Lasker Nim: Winning along a Secret Path
    23 Black-and-White Nim: To Each His (or Her) Own
    24 A Game with Dominoes: Have We Run Out of Space Yet?
    25 Go: A Classical Game with a Modern Theory
    26 Misère Games: Loser Wins!
    27 The Computer as Game Partner
    28 Can Winning Prospects Always Be Determined?
    29 Games and Complexity: When Calculations Take Too Long
    30 A Good Memory and Luck: And Nothing Else?
    31 Backgammon: To Double or Not to Double?
    32 Mastermind: Playing It Safe
Part III Strategic Games
    33 Rock–Paper–Scissors: The Enemy’s Unknown Plan
    34 Minimax versus Psychology: Even in Poker?
    35 Bluffing in Poker: Can It Be Done without Psychology?
    36 Symmetric Games: Disadvantages Are Avoidable, but How?
    37 Minimax and Linear Optimization: As Simple as Can Be
    38 Play It Again, Sam: Does Experience Make Us Wiser?
    39 Le Her: Should I Exchange?
    40 Deciding at Random: But How?
    41 Optimal Play: Planning Efficiently 
    42 Baccarat: Draw from a Five?
    43 Three-Person Poker: Is It a Matter of Trust?
    44 QUAAK! Child’s Play?
    45 Mastermind: Color Codes and Minimax
    46 A Car, Two Goats—and a Quizmaster
Part IV Epilogue: Chance, Skill, and Symmetry
    47 A Player’s Influence and Its Limits
    48 Games of Chance and Games of Skill
    49 In Quest of a Measure
    50 Measuring the Proportion of Skill
    51 Poker: The Hotly Debated Issue
Index