The mathematics of the house
The arithmetic under every wager: house edge, expected value, the margin built into a price, and what bet size does to a bankroll over time.
Every bet on a casino floor has a published price. It is expressed as a percentage of turnover, it ranges from half a percent to sixteen, and almost nobody checks it before sitting down.
· 8 min read
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A winning night proves nothing and a losing one proves nothing. Expected value is the figure that describes what a decision is worth once the noise is averaged out.
· 7 min read
Red has come up eight times. The ninth spin has not noticed, does not care, and is priced exactly as the first one was.
· 6 min read
Three notations for the same number, and a fourth number the notation is designed not to show you.
· 9 min read
Two players with the same edge and the same bankroll can have wildly different odds of still being solvent in a year. The difference is how much they put on each hand.
· 8 min read