Zen and Horse Betting? Yeah – Right!

Posted by on Mar 1, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments

Zen and Horse Betting? Yeah – Right!

What is the sound of a one-handed handicapper clapping (?!?) –

Have you figured it out yet – how to achieve horse betting success?

Maybe that’s the problem – you’re still trying to “figure it out.” Analyzing and drawing conclusions about a race that you then use to make predictions is kind of like trying to roll a snowball up a sand dune!

So what to do? Throw darts . . . Blindfold and a hatpin . . . draw straws . . . bet like you overheard the cigar-chomper at the next table saying how he was going to bet?

Well, no – I suggest you raise your game to a higher level and begin to wager with the clarity and confidence that you are capable of. But – how to get to that level?

But before we get into the meat of this post, here is a gambler’s puzzle you can be thinking about as you read:

Say you wake up and find yourself in hell(!) The devil says he’ll let you play a game and if you win you can then go to heaven, but if you lose, you stay in hell for eternity. If you play on the first day, you have a 50% chance of winning. If you play on the second day, you have 66.7% chance of winning. If you play on the third day, you have a 75% chance of winning – and so on. The puzzle question is: What is mathematically the best day to play? (the answer will be at the end of the post):

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