SMS scnews item created by Yinan Zhang at Fri 21 May 2010 1544
Type: Seminar
Distribution: World
Expiry: 27 May 2010
Calendar1: 27 May 2010 1300-1400
CalLoc1: Carslaw 452
Auth: yzhang(.pmgrad;1504.2007)@p494.pc.maths.usyd.edu.au

SUMS: Poladian -- Probability, matrices and game theory

The mathematics of blackjack (aka 21) 

This talk will look at how some interesting mathematical ideas such as Markov matrices,
probability vectors and game theory can be used to calculate optimal strategies for
simple games such as blackjack.  We’ll start with very, very simple versions of the game
and start adding more and more rules.  I might even talk a bit about the history of the
game, books and movies about card counting.