LAS 100: Mathematics of Gambling

Spring 1997

David Marker Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
University of Illinois at Chicago
851 S. Morgan St. (M/C 249)
Chicago, IL 60607-7045
e-mail:marker@math.uic.edu
office phone: (312) 996-3069
FAX: (312) 996-1491

Office Hours

Monday: 1:30-2:30
Wednesday: 10-11
Friday: 9-10

Course Description

The academic content of this course will be the mathematics of gambling. WE wil study a number of popular gambling games including roulette, craps, lotteries, poker and blackjack using mathematical tools from probability theory. Probability theory is the branch of mathematics that allows us to reason about random events. The study of "games of chance" motivated much of the early work in probability theory and still provides some of the best illustrations of these mathematical ideas. If time permits, we will also look at other economic and psychological aspects of gambling. The non-academic component of the course will include introductions to library and computer services and discussions of study skills. This will include a short introduction to the World Wide Web.

Text

O. Vancura, Smart Casino Gambling, Index Publishing, 1996.

Prerequisites

Although there are no formal prerequisites, I will assume that you have are comfortable with high school mathematics (at, say, the level of Math 120).

Assignments

There will be a number of short assignments and one longer (2 page) writing assignment.

Assignment I: Due Wed Jan 22. Read chapters 1 and 2 of the text. Write a one paragraph summary of the main ideas of these two chapters.
Assignment II: Due Mon Jan 27. Obtain an ADN account on "icarus". Send me an e-mail message telling me your e-mail address. You can create an account from the UIC computer center homepage