Luck, Logic, and White Lies

Rezensionen / Stimmen

"The book presents mathematical explanation of problems related to playing games of chance, combinatorial and strategic games, with descriptions of their historical perspectives and recreational aspects. [. . .] The author notes that people play games investigating the unknown outcomes, in amusement and hope of winning in conditions of uncertainty caused by three possible mechanisms: chance, a large number of combinations of various moves, and different states of information among the individual players. Respectively, the games can be divided to three classes: games of chance (e.g., dice, cards, roulette) where the random processes dominate the players decisions; combinatorial games (chess, go) where the uncertainty rests on the multiplicity of possible moves; and strategic games (rock-paper-scissors) where the players' uncertainty arises from imperfect information. Many games have mixed features (backgammon, poker, skat), and the degree of influence of the three main causes of uncertainty defines specifics of each game. The book introduces mathematical methods developed for description and solutions of games: the games of chance can be analyzed with the help of probability theory, the combinatorial games are considered by variety of methods used in particular problems, and the strategic games are studied by the game theory models for decision-making in the interactive optimizing economic processes. The book is organized in four parts containing 51 chapters on various topics.

[. . .] All topics are illustrated by multiple figures and numerical tables. [. . .] It can be useful to instructors, students, and readers wishing to extend understanding of the games' intrinsic features needed to improve ability to win in actual playing."
- Stan Lipovetsky, Technometrics

"As the title indicates, Bewersdorff's book is intended to span the mathematics of games in general - not only games of chance but also including strategic and skill games. The author covers all the big categories of games - casino, tournament, and house or social games. In fact, the skill-strategic dimension of the games balanced with the chance-uncertainty dimension is the central element around which the author presents games as an important field of application of mathematics; he takes them as a good opportunity to advocate for the beauty and power of mathematics. To that point, the book is written so as to be both popular and scholarly, and these attributes are not at all inconsistent with each other for such a general topic, content, and style.

[. . .] The book leaves the impression of its author's being a skilled advocate of the unlimited power of mathematics, shown through the examples of games. Not only is mathematics able to describe the games and the way we play them, but it is entitled to address fundamental questions beyond the problem-solving aspects of games and gaming. It is mainly game theory and probability theory that grant mathematics such a virtue. [. . .] Although the chapters can mostly be read independent of each other, and the mathematical content is not systematized throughout the book, the mathematically-inclined reader can put things together to have an objective overview of one of the most interesting fields in application of mathematics - games - which themselves shaped the development of mathematics."
- International Gambling Studies"The author provides a great deal of insight into a wide variety of games, all inspected from a mathematical point of view. He develops the prerequisites mathematically, so that someone with a good high-school background in mathematics and a willingness to learn will be able to build up the necessary tools for successful play. Moreover, the author's arguments are often very detailed, so that even a novice can easily follow them. The numerous diagrams also help.

I find Bewersdorff's writing to be clear and detailed. He has taken care in the presentation of the ideas. The book, the size of which has now grown to 568 pages, provides a great deal of information, and the reader can easily pick and choose topics of interest without having to absorb the entire treatise. The level of Mathematical skill needed, however, does vary greatly from chapter to chapter. When necessary, the reader can make use of previous chapters to develop the required background to proceed. To the prospective reader, good luck, and may your play be a winning one!"
- The Mathematical Intelligencer

This book, successor to the first edition (2005) and translated from the 7th German edition, treats games of chance ("luck"), combinatorial games ("logic"), and games of strategy (bluff, or "white lies"). The first part develops succinctly the needed theory of probability and investigates the nature of randomness. The second part explores minimax optimization, Grundy values, Conway's theory of games, and complexity theory. The third part is based on the fact that in a symmetric two-person zero-sum game, the players are guaranteed optimal mixed strategies; for some games, finding such strategies can be done by linear programming. This edition adds a fourth part that investigates measuring the proportion of skill in a game, with particular application to poker. The reader needs to be comfortable with algebra and summation signs, and infinite series make appearances; end-of-chapter notes and footnotes contribute further mathematical depth.
- Mathematics Magazine, MAA"Overall, this is a well-written and entertaining text, which should be useful when teaching probability courses at school or college. Some chapters are surprising (e.g. the discussion of how to turn a biased coin into a fair one by repeated trials), and the discussion of Markov chains in connection with various games and the treatment of blackjack is excellent."
- Rene L. Schilling, The Mathematical Gazette"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, Luck, Logic, and White Lies: The Mathematics of Games is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, community, college, and university library Game Theory & Mathematics collections."
- Midwest Books Review

"A great variety of games are analyzed in an accessible way. The treatment of blackjack, in particular, is superb."
- Stewart Ethier, Professor Emeritus, University of Utah and author of The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling

"People play games for fun and for profit. To become better at a game, you need to study it. In Luck, Logic and White Lies, Joerg Bewersdorff takes you, almost imperceptibly, from the history of numerous concrete games to their mathematical analysis. This touches upon a wide range of techniques, not only in mathematics, but also in computing and psychology. If you get the hang of it, you can apply these techniques to other areas of life, such as business, economics, biology, and sociology."
- Tom Verhoeff, Dept. Math & CS, Eindhoven University of Technology

Praise for the First Edition

"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 Joerg 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