Intellectual betterment.

[Maggot]

So, by way of furthering my knowledge of the world, and general education, I have just watched 'The Code' on BBC2, it was introduced by some Professor or other who quite obviously has a brain the size of a small European Country (possibly even a medium sized one).

Well, it may have been the way he lost me on the discussion of Circadian Beetles and prime number life-cycles, or it may have been the part about imaginary numbers Either way, I now feel a complete half-wit, especially so as my 11 year old son, who has a cold and wanted to stay up, picked up the way the conversation was going in the neo-lithic stone circle ("pi, obviously Dad") way before I did.

I need to stick to what I am good at I think, though after tonight I'm not sure what that may be anymore

Did anyone else see it?

 

[JonathanD]

No, didn't watch it. My five year old said it was overstated, esoteric nonsense. Put me off.

 

[Bushwhacker]

I'm pretty good at maths so I'll just assume I watched it.

 

[JonathanD]

I'm pretty good at maths so I'll just assume I watched it.

Now that's comedy! I'm married to a mathematician. I suspect she sees things like the Matrix number scrolling thing. You can see it in her eyes sometimes.

[video=youtube;m717ZHQORzg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m717ZHQORzg&feature=re lated[/video]

 

[locum76]

paris, milan, new york, karachi - I'm talking about my man Fibonacci.

 

[Bushwhacker]

My biggest affliction is car number plates. I always have to resolve the numbers back down to 3 using basic functions. Bloody nightmare on the motorway!

 

[JonathanD]

My biggest affliction is car number plates. I always have to resolve the numbers back down to 3 using basic functions. Bloody nightmare on the motorway!

Now that would be when my missus comes in handy. She can do that within a heartbeat. She can also remember the sequence of a 52 card deck after looking through it once...... even handier! She can also predict the card odds on the last third of a four deck shoe when playing blackjack. She's banned from playing poker with us. Seriously ruins any fun. She serves drinks and laughs alot now. Sad thing is, my mates think she can and does teach me too, and they are very coy when playing.... ridiculous. Although play me at Snake Top Trumps and I am the master.

 

[Maggot]

Now that would be when my missus comes in handy. She can do that within a heartbeat. She can also remember the sequence of a 52 card deck after looking through it once...... even handier! She can also predict the card odds on the last third of a four deck shoe when playing blackjack. She's banned from playing poker with us. Seriously ruins any fun. She serves drinks and laughs alot now.

That's nothing to do with maths, as there will no be no sequence to randomly shuffled cards. She should enter memory competitions as there is money to be won with that skill. Similarly, predicting odds is easy, in fact there is surely no prediction to odds? Odds of an event happening are odds of an event happening aren't they?

 

[Bushwhacker]

Did I mention that I get my boxer shorts from K-mart, Cincinnati?

 

[JonathanD]

That's nothing to do with maths, as there will no be no sequence to randomly shuffled cards. She should enter memory competitions as there is money to be won with that skill. Similarly, predicting odds is easy, in fact there is surely no prediction to odds? Odds of an event happening are odds of an event happening aren't they?

She would argue against that, vehemently, and no doubt will when she sees this. I'll let her explain as it is beyond me. But it is more than memory and has something to do with mathematical probability, odds, chaos and something else she says alot. More than memory involved here. That's why computers win at these games. She has that mind.

 

[Bushwhacker]

She would argue against that, vehemently, and no doubt will when she sees this. I'll let her explain as it is beyond me. But it is more than memory and has something to do with mathematical probability, odds, chaos and something else she says alot. More than memory involved here. That's why computers win at these games. She has that mind.

That's put better than I can explain it.

 

[billybob0987]

Now that would be when my missus comes in handy. She can do that within a heartbeat. She can also remember the sequence of a 52 card deck after looking through it once...... even handier! She can also predict the card odds on the last third of a four deck shoe when playing blackjack. She's banned from playing poker with us. Seriously ruins any fun. She serves drinks and laughs alot now. Sad thing is, my mates think she can and does teach me too, and they are very coy when playing.... ridiculous. Although play me at Snake Top Trumps and I am the master.

thats not that hard, if your talking about counting cards the maths is simple, split the deck in to sections, 3s generally easiest, give them a numerical value based on location, higher cards 1, lower cards -1, middle cards 0, then every time a card comes out you either add 1 or take 1 away based on pre assigned value, the higher the number in your head is the more chance your cards gonna be a 10 or picture, so if you get an ace with a high count theres a good chance you'll have blackjack, the tricky part is trying to play blackjack while remembering the count,

 

[JonathanD]

thats not that hard, if your talking about counting cards the maths is simple, split the deck in to sections, 3s generally easiest, give them a numerical value based on location, higher cards 1, lower cards -1, middle cards 0, then every time a card comes out you either add 1 or take 1 away based on pre assigned value, the higher the number in your head is the more chance your cards gonna be a 10 or picture, so if you get an ace with a high count theres a good chance you'll have blackjack, the tricky part is trying to play blackjack while remembering the count,

That's just it, it is not just counting cards. It's about something far far more than that. Counting cards is relatively easy. I can do that. This is about mathematics.

 

[EmmaD]

thats not that hard, if your talking about counting cards the maths is simple, split the deck in to sections, 3s generally easiest, give them a numerical value based on location, higher cards 1, lower cards -1, middle cards 0, then every time a card comes out you either add 1 or take 1 away based on pre assigned value, the higher the number in your head is the more chance your cards gonna be a 10 or picture, so if you get an ace with a high count theres a good chance you'll have blackjack, the tricky part is trying to play blackjack while remembering the count,

That is the most base form of adding and subtraction. Mathematics is by far more accurate and advanced than simple kindergarten sums like that. I certainly wouldn't want to play with you at cards as you would be cleaned out within minutes. Try sequence reaction and post chaotic theorem with random chaos theorem v predictive sequencing and known relative and I will let you play.

 

[billybob0987]

blackjacks not mathematically, you can count the cards but thats far from a guarantee, i occasionally croupier at a local hotel, and can guarantee its all luck, i once dealt 7 players all 20s and 19s and turned myself 3 7s, plus to date my record is 8 consecutive blackjacks, and 14 consective 21s, plus i seem to have developed a habit of beating excellent hands with a 4, 5, or 6 face card,

poker on the other hand is mathematical, the psychological aspect counts for nothing if you can calculate possible hands based on table cards, and work out the odds of anyone beating yours

edit
posted that before seeing that last post, but i stand by my record, in 3 years of dealing blackjack, i have taken peoples money far more than i've had to pay out

 

[EmmaD]

Well I am so sorry, being an "occasional croupier at a local hotel" must make you far more qualified than me at mathematics. So I bow to your far superior knowledge and intellect.

 

[EmmaD]

And to reply to your edit. Clever people don't gamble on games ruled by chance. And if they do. They do it very infrequently for fun rather than financial gain.

 

[JonathanD]

Drop it Emm. I don't believe he meant an attack on mathematicians. The majority of folks who play blackjack, in fact 99.99999999999999% of them aren't mathematicians and not many people are anyway.

 

[billybob0987]

Well I am so sorry, being an "occasional croupier at a local hotel" must make you far more qualified than me at mathematics. So I bow to your far superior knowledge and intellect.

not at all, i'm average at maths to at best, but probability is at best probable, and i know that in the time i've been croupiering, many people have come to my table claiming to be able to count cards or be a professional player or something and lost all there money after 5 minutes

i'm not trying to say i'm a good player though anyway, the games pretty much fixed, dealers actions are controlled to improve odds of the casino winning, plus i play soft 17s which increase odds slightly more to, plus theres the psychological advantage of there being 4 times more ten cards than anything else, and the dealers face card, the entire game is designed to make you think your gonna win

edit

i take to long to type things, didnt see them again, i agree with the gambling on games of chance, i only do it cause i get paid and am on the other side of the table, the place i work at it isnt even for money, its weddings and stuff, its insane though people get really crazy trying to cheat to win a 2 pound bottle of wine gets really annoying

 

[JonathanD]

not at all, i'm average at maths to at best, but probability is at best probable, and i know that in the time i've been croupiering, many people have come to my table claiming to be able to count cards or be a professional player or something and lost all there money after 5 minutes

i'm not trying to say i'm a good player though anyway, the games pretty much fixed, dealers actions are controlled to improve odds of the casino winning, plus i play soft 17s which increase odds slightly more to, plus theres the psychological advantage of there being 4 times more ten cards than anything else, and the dealers face card, the entire game is designed to make you think your gonna win

edit

i take to long to type things, didnt see them again, i agree with the gambling on games of chance, i only do it cause i get paid and am on the other side of the table

Don't worry about her, it's late, she stroppy and is just recovering from glandular fever.

Very few people worldwide have the capacity to work out mathematically the chances of cards falling and it is hard work mentally to do so. I don't think many have any interest in casino games and Emm is one of them and only does it when demonstrating what her skills are. Although in the States some very math gifted students did try to beat the casinos and succeeded brilliantly. They even made a film.