Bet Smart

Bet Smart
Author: Stefan Hollos
Publisher: Abrazol Publishing
Total Pages: 133
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781887187015

In 1956, a physicist named John Kelly working at Bell Labs published a paper titled "A New Interpretation of Information Rate." In the paper he draws an analogy between the outcomes of a gambling game and the transmission of symbols over a communications channel. For a positive expectation game, Kelly showed that a betting system based on a fixed fraction of the bankroll can make the bankroll grow at an exponential rate in the long run. The exponential growth rate in this case is directly analogous to the rate of information transmission through a communications channel. This book examines the Kelly system in detail. Applications of the Kelly system in both gambling and investing are considered. Python code for calculating the Kelly fractions for both a single stock investment and an investment in two stocks simultaneously is included. Included is an introductory review chapter on the probability theory needed to analyze gambling systems in general.There is also a chapter on some of the more commonly used gambling systems such as the Martingale system. This book will be useful for anyone interested in a good mathematical introduction to gambling systems in general, and the Kelly system in particular.

Fortune's Formula

Fortune's Formula
Author: William Poundstone
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2010-06-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0374707081

In 1956, two Bell Labs scientists discovered the scientific formula for getting rich. One was mathematician Claude Shannon, neurotic father of our digital age, whose genius is ranked with Einstein's. The other was John L. Kelly Jr., a Texas-born, gun-toting physicist. Together they applied the science of information theory—the basis of computers and the Internet—to the problem of making as much money as possible, as fast as possible. Shannon and MIT mathematician Edward O. Thorp took the "Kelly formula" to Las Vegas. It worked. They realized that there was even more money to be made in the stock market. Thorp used the Kelly system with his phenomenally successful hedge fund, Princeton-Newport Partners. Shannon became a successful investor, too, topping even Warren Buffett's rate of return. Fortune's Formula traces how the Kelly formula sparked controversy even as it made fortunes at racetracks, casinos, and trading desks. It reveals the dark side of this alluring scheme, which is founded on exploiting an insider's edge. Shannon believed it was possible for a smart investor to beat the market—and William Poundstone's Fortune's Formula will convince you that he was right.

The Kelly Capital Growth Investment Criterion

The Kelly Capital Growth Investment Criterion
Author: Leonard C. MacLean
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 883
Release: 2011
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9814293490

This volume provides the definitive treatment of fortune's formula or the Kelly capital growth criterion as it is often called. The strategy is to maximize long run wealth of the investor by maximizing the period by period expected utility of wealth with a logarithmic utility function. Mathematical theorems show that only the log utility function maximizes asymptotic long run wealth and minimizes the expected time to arbitrary large goals. In general, the strategy is risky in the short term but as the number of bets increase, the Kelly bettor's wealth tends to be much larger than those with essentially different strategies. So most of the time, the Kelly bettor will have much more wealth than these other bettors but the Kelly strategy can lead to considerable losses a small percent of the time. There are ways to reduce this risk at the cost of lower expected final wealth using fractional Kelly strategies that blend the Kelly suggested wager with cash. The various classic reprinted papers and the new ones written specifically for this volume cover various aspects of the theory and practice of dynamic investing. Good and bad properties are discussed, as are fixed-mix and volatility induced growth strategies. The relationships with utility theory and the use of these ideas by great investors are featured.

Win By Not Losing: A Disciplined Approach to Building and Protecting Your Wealth in the Stock Market by Managing Your Risk

Win By Not Losing: A Disciplined Approach to Building and Protecting Your Wealth in the Stock Market by Managing Your Risk
Author: Nick Atkeson
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-10-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0071812911

A DISCIPLINED STRATEGY FOR AVOIDING MAJOR DOWN MARKETS AND PARTICIPATING IN BULLISH MARKETS Your financial advisor's strategy to buy-and-hold a diversified equity portfolio sounded good. Diversification promised to protect your wealth. Now, however, more than a decade of hard data shows it didn't work. And, more than likely after a decade of multiple financial shocks and crashes, your account balance is not what you hoped it would be when you started saving years ago. Much of your investment life has been spent just trying to make back what was lost. Win By Not Losing reveals how you can make smarter, more profi table investments by first protecting your capital from major bear equity markets. It also shows you how to identify major bullish equity market trends and guides you on how best to participate. By avoiding the major downs and catching the ups, your portfolio compounds gains and allows you to achieve your financial goals. Chasing returns leads to the poorhouse. With this book's disciplined system for knowing when to buy, what to buy, and when to sell, you can build and protect your portfolio through active management techniques. It walks you step-by-step through growing your portfolio in bull and bear market cycles. You will master a concrete investing method that lets you trade with emotionless confidence and precision. Packed with links to online resources and personal tips from successful, high-profile traders, Win By Not Losing gives you everything you need to: Identify the market metrics that are important to building wealth Detect and measure the market signals foreshadowing major moves Build a portfolio with strong downside protection, full transparency, immediate liquidity, low fees, and incredible risk-adjusted returns Your portfolio returns will continue to be disappointing unless you act. It's time to make up for lost profits by taking an active, professional, and nonemotional portfolio management approach to avoid major losses and capture gains. Win By Not Losing provides everything you need to build wealth in today's stock market. Stop watching your money rise and fall without signifi cant net gain with a "buy-and-hold" strategy and optimize your positions as market sentiment changes. In a nonappreciating market, investors must actively manage equities to acquire gains. Win By Not Losing presents an active approach that uses rigorous risk-management techniques to preserve your wealth and generate high returns in all equity market environments. Prominent authors and lecturers Nick Atkeson and Andrew Houghton have culled the best of their work to help you revitalize your trading habits, protect your capital, and beat the market. Through real-world stories demonstrating fi nancial theory in action and how-to instructions for executing their strategic investment approach, these expert authors enable you to: Achieve sizable returns through an investment strategy equally focused on when to invest and when to sell Avoid major down markets and fully benefit from major up markets Access unique financial information to help you stay current, think ahead, and build and protect your wealth Whether you're an independent investor or a professional financial advisor, this refreshing look at investing will change the way you see the markets. Forget what you know about modern portfolio theory and trade to make money in today's markets with Win By Not Losing. "Anyone with some experience in the stock market, especially the person who wants to move beyond a buy and hold strategy, can find useful tidbits in this book.” ReadingTheMarkets.com

Efficiency of Racetrack Betting Markets

Efficiency of Racetrack Betting Markets
Author: Donald B. Hausch
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 679
Release: 2008
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9812819193

A reprint of one of the classic volumes on racetrack efficiency, this book is the only one in its field that deals with the racetrack betting market in-depth, containing all the important historical papers on racetrack efficiency. As evidenced by the collection of articles, the understanding of racetrack betting is clearly drawn from, and has correspondingly returned something to, all the fields of psychology, economics, finance, statistics, mathematics and management science.

Day Trading

Day Trading
Author: Justin Kuepper
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2015-04-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1623155754

All You'll Ever Need to Trade from Home When most people hear the term "day trader," they imagine the stock market floor packed with people yelling 'Buy' and 'Sell' - or someone who went for broke and ended up just that. These days, investing isn't just for the brilliant or the desperate—it's a smart and necessary move to ensure financial wellbeing. To the newcomer, day trading can be a confusing process: where do you begin, and how can you approach trading in a careful yet effective way? With Day Trading you'll get the basics, then: Learn the Truth About Trading Understand The Psychology of Trading Master Charting and Pattern-recognition Study Trading Options Establish Trading Strategies & Money Management Day Trading will let you make the most out of the free market from the comfort of your own computer.

Sports Betting For Dummies

Sports Betting For Dummies
Author: Swain Scheps
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1119654386

The sports gambling book you can bet on Sports betting combines America's national pastime (sports) with its national passion (gambling). In the U.S., more than a third of the population bets on at least one sporting event every year. With the recent lifting of the federal ban on sports gambling, states are pushing legislation to take advantage of the new potential source of revenue. The best sports betting books are data driven, statistically honest, and offer ways to take action. Sports Betting For Dummies will cover the basics, as well as delving into more nuanced topics. You’ll find all the need-to-know information on types of bets, statistics, handicapping fundamentals, and more. Betting on football, basketball, baseball, and other sports Betting on special events, such as the Superbowl or the Olympics Money management Betting on the internet With handy tips, tricks, and tools, Sports Betting For Dummies shows you how to place the right bet at the right time—to get the right payoff.

Computer-Based Horse Race Handicapping and Wagering Systems

Computer-Based Horse Race Handicapping and Wagering Systems
Author: Bill Benter
Publisher: Diana
Total Pages: 56
Release: 2020-02-14
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9789841259938

The Gambler Who Cracked the Horse-Racing Code Bill Benter did the impossible: He wrote an algorithm that couldn't lose at the track. Close to a billion dollars later, he tells his system. This book examines the elements necessary for a practical and successful computerized horse race handicapping and wagering system. Data requirements, handicapping model development, wagering strategy, and feasibility are addressed. A logit-based technique and a corresponding heuristic measure of improvement are described for combining a fundamental handicapping model with the public's implied probability estimates. The author reports significant positive results in five years of actual implementation of such a system. This result can be interpreted as evidence of inefficiency in pari-mutuel racetrack wagering. This paper aims to emphasize those aspects of computer handicapping which the author has found most important in practical application of such a system. Also included the Bill Benter "What Are My Odds?" Presentation at ICCM in 2004.