What Are The Odds?: Chance In Everyday Life [Paperback]

Mike Orkin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0716735601 | ISBN-13: 978-0716735601 | Publication Date: January 10, 2000

From coin flips to lottery wins, learn the inner workings of chance and the role it plays in everyday life. Entertaining facts and tidbits reveal a wealth of practical and impractical events that can and do happen. 75 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I've never met anyone better at helping us to understand how to deal with chance and use it to our advantage, whether in negotiation or at the sports book."--Larry Kramer, CEO & President, CBS MarketWatch.com

About the Author

Mike Orkin, Ph.D., is a professor of statistics at California State University, Hayward. An authority on gambling and game theory, Orkin has consulted for government agencies and the private sector, testified as an expert witness in various court cases, and developed software for Las Vegas odds makers. He is the author of several books, including Can You Win?. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman (January 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716735601
• ISBN-13: 978-0716735601
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,780,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars popular probability book reviews, February 12, 2008

By 

Michael R. Chernick "statman31147" (Holland PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Are The Odds?: Chance In Everyday Life (Paperback)

Orkin writes clearly for the novice and uses a minimal amount of mathematics. He provides clear explanations of games of chance including roulette and blackjack. The coverage on blackjack is particularly detailed and some of the anecdotes are very amusing. It is a little disappointing however since it promises examples from everyday life in the title but concentrates mainly on gambling and coincidence and does not offer much in the way of real problems. Some of the examples are overly simplistic. Still the discussion of gambling is interesting and there are many good references.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Odd book, variable content, November 24, 2003

By 

Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Are The Odds?: Chance In Everyday Life (Paperback)

This is a quirky book, but with lots of good information. The tone is often humorous, but ends with a serious topic. About half the book is spent looking at the house edge on roulette, craps, and slot machines. He presented a "winning strategy (almost)" for blackjack, however he does not include the calculation for the house edge there.

I thought the section on chance and chaos were excellent and I'd recommend to readers setting up the logistic difference equation of animal populations on a spreadsheet, to really demonstrate the effect of initial conditions. Contrary however to this strong section on biology, was a weak paragraph on evolution.

The later discussion on game theory was well done, looking at the Minimax criteria and the pay-off models. This chapter might have been enhanced by other strategies of decision, such as "avoiding regret". The final application of game theory to the Yugoslavian conflict was daring, and showed a different perspective about complex conflicts. Perhaps participants in Survivor, or other reality shows would benefit from this book.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Something of a disappointment, April 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: What Are The Odds?: Chance In Everyday Life (Paperback)

Despite the subtitle, the great majority of the examples in the book center on lotteries, coin tossing, casino games, and the Prisoners' Dilemma. I thought that's what his last book was supposed to be about. Almost nothing here about other relevant topics like investing or epidemiology. The exception is a largely off-topic final chapter that comprises an editorial against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Not a total waste of time, but for a comprehensive probability and statistics primer, look elsewhere.