Mathematics of The Big Four Casino Table Games: Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps, & Roulette

by Mark Bollman

Overview

Mathematics is the basis of casino games, which are the bedrock of a $100 billion/year industry. Mathematics of the Big Four Casino Table Games: Blackjack, Baccarat, Craps, & Roulette takes an in-depth look at the four biggest table games in casinos: blackjack, baccarat, craps, and roulette. It guides readers through the mathematical principles that underpin these games and their different variations, providing insights that will be of huge interest to gamblers, casino managers, researchers, and students of mathematics.

Features

• A valuable teaching resource, replete with exercises, for any course on gambling mathematics
• Suitable for a wide audience of professionals, researchers, and students
• Many practical applications for the gambling industry

Mark Bollman is Professor of Mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, and has taught 116 different courses in his career. Among these courses is "Mathematics of the Gaming Industry," where mathematics majors carefully study the math behind games of chance and travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, in order to compare theory and practice. He has also taken those ideas into Albion’s Honors Program in "Great Issues in Humanities: Perspectives on Gambling," which considers gambling from literary, philosophical, and historical points of view as well as mathematically. Mark has also authored Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon, Mathematics of Keno and Lotteries, and Mathematics of Casino Carnival Games.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367740900
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	08/20/2021
Series:	AK Peters/CRC Recreational Mathematics Series
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Mark Bollman is Professor of Mathematics and chair of the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science at Albion College in Albion, Michigan, and has taught 116 different courses in his career. Among these courses is "Mathematics of the Gaming Industry," where mathematics majors carefully study the math behind games of chance and travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, in order to compare theory and practice. He has also taken those ideas into Albion's Honors Program in "Great Issues in Humanities: Perspectives on Gambling," which considers gambling from literary, philosophical, and historical points of view as well as mathematically. Mark has also authored Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers behind The Neon, Mathematics of Keno and Lotteries, and Mathematics of Casino Carnival Games.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

1 Essential Probability 1

1.1 Elementary Ideas 1

1.2 Addition and Multiplication Rules 6

1.3 Combinatorics 11

1.4 Random Variables and Expected Value 16

2 Roulette 27

2.1 Roulette Basics 27

2.2 History of Roulette 32

2.3 New Wheels 36

2.4 Electronic Roulette Games 45

2.5 Roulette with Cards 54

2.6 Side Bets 64

2.7 Roulette Betting Systems 82

2.8 Exercises 94

3 Craps 105

3.1 Craps Basics 106

3.2 Hazard 116

3.3 Street Craps 119

3.4 Crooked Dice 124

3.5 Controlled Shooting 136

3.6 Variations 142

3.7 Card Craps 155

3.8 Side Bets 167

3.9 Exercises 184

4 Baccarat 191

4.1 Baccarat Basics 191

4.2 Card Counting in Baccarat 197

4.3 Variations 204

4.4 Side Bets 217

4.5 Exercises 232

5 Blackjack 239

5.1 Blackjack Basics 239

5.2 Basic Strategy 246

5.3 Card Counting 257

5.4 Variations 266

5.5 California Games 284

5.6 Side Bets 301

5.7 Exercises 320

Answers to Selected Exercises 325

References 333

Index 345

Editorial Reviews

"It it is a handbook on different variants of the casino and electronic games, with locations of casino where a particular version is played. All topics are explained in detailed numerical calculations of probabilities and expectations, presented in tables of results, illustrations, and exercises.
The gambling in casino and online is estimated at about $100 billion per year industry, and the book studies it from the mathematics and theory of probability points of view. Casino managers can use it to a deeper insight into the games, players can get a better understanding of their favorite games to help them to develop their own strategies, and instructors and students can see it as a valuable manual on gambling mathematics."
- Technometrics

"This is an extremely well-organized book. It is logically structured, with information that is easy to find.

I think there is [a real need for this book]. These are four very important games that make (and can cost) casinos a lot of money, and they need to be better understood.

There are three major markets for this book: academics, casino managers, and casino players, with a smaller fourth market of game inventors. Academics can use it in courses dealing with casino management (see below). Casino managers will use it to better ground their understanding of the games. I think that Bollman’s generous inclusion of historical promotions—some of which lasted only briefly—will be extremely helpful to managers. Casual casino players will like it because it will give them insight into their favourite games, and advantage players will read it to assist with their own strategy and analysis."
– David G. Schwartz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

"After a brief introduction to elementary probability, this book explores many more variations on the “big four” than I could have imagined to exist, plus numerous side bets. Examples and exercises abound throughout."
– Mathematics Magazine, MAA

From the Publisher