3min chapter

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford cover image

Fritterin’ Away Genius

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

CHAPTER

How to Beat the Casino at Roulette

Ed thorpe spent a surprise amount of time in casinos, using some ferocious mathematics and the best computers he could access at m i t. Thorpe had figured out that it was possible to beat the dealer at the casino staple blackjack by keeping track of the cards that had been played in placing bets when the debt was offering favorable odds. One day, thorpe made a little too much money, and the casino spiked his coffee with something mysterious that blurred his vision for hours. But thorpe wasn't scared. His idea to beat roulette was the oldest of all. He planned to build a computer that could predict where the ball would land. That would be hard even to day. This

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