How Jim Simons Built a Machine That Beat the Market

In 'Beat the Dealer', Edward O. Thorp shares the revolutionary point system that has been successfully used by professional and amateur card players for generations. The book includes an overview of the basic rules of blackjack, proven winning strategies ranging from simple to advanced, methods to overcome casino countermeasures, ways to spot cheating, and charts and tables to illustrate key concepts. It is considered the bible for players of this game of chance and has been instrumental in changing the rules in Las Vegas casinos. The book also includes perforated cards to help players implement the strategies in the casino.

This book tells the gripping story of how Jim Simons, a world-class mathematician and former code breaker, mastered the financial markets. Simons' firm, Renaissance Technologies, achieved unprecedented success with its Medallion fund, generating average annual returns of 66 percent since 1988. The book, based on unprecedented access to Simons and his team, details how Simons hired mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists to develop algorithms that identified deeply hidden patterns in market data. It also explores how Simons' success extended beyond finance, influencing scientific research, education, and politics. The narrative highlights the collaborative nature of Renaissance Technologies and the significant impact its methods have had on various industries and society at large.