Chapter 63. Fun and Games: Simulating Gambling and Sporting Event Probabilities

  • What is the probability of winning at craps?

  • In five-card draw poker, what is the probability of getting three of a kind?

  • Before the 2003 Super Bowl, Oakland was favored by 3 points. What was the probability that Tampa Bay would beat Oakland?

  • Going into the 2003 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four, what was the probability of each team winning the tournament?

Gambling and following sporting events are popular pastimes. I think gambling and sports are exciting because you never know what’s going to happen. Monte Carlo simulation is a powerful tool that can be used to predict gambling and sporting event probabilities. Essentially, we predict probability by playing out ...

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