“Book Review: On the Edge: The Gamblers” by Zvi

Previously: Book Review: On the Edge: The Fundamentals

As I said in the Introduction, I loved this part of the book. Let's get to it.

Poker and Game Theory

When people talk about game theory, they mostly talk solving for the equilibrium, and how to play your best game or strategy (there need not be a formal game) against adversaries who are doing the same.

I think of game theory like Frank Sinatra thinks of New York City: “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” If you can compete against people performing at their best, you’re going to be a winner in almost any game you play. But if you build a strategy around exploiting inferior competition, it's unlikely to be a winning approach outside of a specific, narrow setting. What plays well in Peoria doesn’t necessarily play well in New York. [...]

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Outline:

(00:18) Poker and Game Theory

(06:53) Sports Randomized Sports

(11:17) Knowing Theory Versus Memorization Versus Practice

(16:15) More About Tells

(19:20) Feeling the Probabilities

(20:35) Feeling Sad About It

(28:33) The Iowa Gambling Task

(31:39) The Greatest Risk

(37:20) Tournament Poker Is Super High Variance

(42:42) The Art of the Degen

(48:43) Why Do They Insist on Calling it Luck

(51:56) The Poker Gender Gap

(54:36) A Potential Cheater

(58:30) Making a Close Decision

(01:00:19) Other Games at the Casino

(01:03:22) Slot Machines Considered Harmful

(01:08:23) Where I Draw the Line

(01:11:14) A Brief History of Vegas and Casinos (as told by Nate Silver)

(01:16:44) We Got Us a Whale

(01:21:41) Donald Trump and Atlantic City Were Bad At Casinos

(01:25:17) How To Design a Casino

(01:26:46) The Wide World of Winning at Sports Gambling

(01:41:01) Limatime

(01:43:45) The Art of Getting Down

(01:45:29) Oh Yeah That Guy

(01:55:34) The House Sometimes Wins

(02:01:24) The House Is Probably a Coward

(02:11:19) DFS and The Problem of Winners

(02:16:08) Balancing the Action

(02:18:44) The Market Maker

(02:22:45) The Closing Line is Hard to Beat

(02:25:11) Winning is Hard

(02:29:58) What Could Be, Unburdened By What Has Been

(02:34:52) Finding Edges Big and Small

(02:40:12) Checkpoint Two

The original text contained 2 images which were described by AI.

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First published:
September 24th, 2024

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mkyMx4FtJrfuGnsrm/book-review-on-the-edge-the-gamblers

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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