Gambling is something that is not advisable to anyone for it can destroy lives and take a person to the brink of financial collapse. However, it can feel like a stroke of luck as well if you know the game well.
A calculated and well-thought-out plan for gambling can be helpful and fruitful. There are people who have made millions using mathematics and calculated methods to win.
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People Who Used Maths To Win In Gambling
Gambling might feel like a game of pure luck, but it’s more than that. There is also probability involved. So in that case, a mathematician with a strong calculative mind can win multiple times. Here are a few individuals who have minted a lot of money using math in gambling.
Chris Ferguson is a professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Chris is the son of two mathematicians and is a computer scientist by training and education.
The 49-year-old poker player has used maths to win millions of dollars in gambling. A Ph.D. holder in computer science from UCLA, Chris created his own unique style of poker that relied on math and game theory than the players’ strategies.
He used computer simulations to develop and test strategies. In 2011, a motion was filed by the US Justice Department with the complaint that Ferguson and three other directors of the poker website Full Tilt Poker were running a Ponzi scheme. The scheme paid out $444 million of customer money to themselves and the firm’s owners.
The World’s Richest Gambler
James Simons, also known as Jim Simons, is a mathematician, billionaire hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He did his math Ph.D. at Berkeley and started Renaissance Technologies in his 40s, which is a quantitative hedge fund. He used probability to invest and his fund has a 72% net return.
The 84-year-old tycoon is known as a quantitative investor, who uses mathematical models and algorithms to make investment gains from market inefficiencies.
Simons is often called the “greatest investor on Wall Street,” and “the most successful hedge fund manager of all time.” His net worth is estimated to be $25.2 billion, which makes him the 66th richest person in the world.
James also donates heavily to his alma mater, Berkeley, and has established the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing as well as Berkeley’s Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.
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