Packed with practical tips and techniques for solving probability problems Increase your chances of acing that probability exam -- or winning at the casino! Whether you're hitting the books for a probability or statistics course or hitting the tables at a casino, working out probabilities can be problematic. This book helps you even the odds. Using easy-to-understand explanations and examples, it demystifies probability -- and even offers savvy tips to boost your chances of gambling success! Discover how to * Conquer combinations and permutations * Understand probability models from binomial to exponential * Make good decisions using probability * Play the odds in poker, roulette, and other games

Packed with practical tips and techniques for solving probability problemsIncrease your chances of acing that probability exam -- or winning at the casino!Whether you're hitting the books for a probability or statistics course or hitting the tables at a casino, working out probabilities can be problematic. This book helps you even the odds. Using easy-to-understand explanations and examples, it demystifies probability -- and even offers savvy tips to boost your chances of gambling success!Discover how to* Conquer combinations and permutations* Understand probability models from binomial to exponential* Make good decisions using probability* Play the odds in poker, roulette, and other games

Introduction 1Part I: The Certainty of Uncertainty: Probability Basics 7Chapter 1: The Probability in Everyday Life 9Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Probability 19Chapter 3: Picturing Probability: Venn Diagrams, Tree Diagrams, and Bayes' Theorem 39Part II: Counting on Probability and Betting to Win 65Chapter 4: Setting the Contingency Table with Probabilities 67Chapter 5: Applying Counting Rules with Combinations and Permutations 77Chapter 6: Against All Odds: Probability in Gaming 103Part III: From A to Binomial: Basic Probability Models 129Chapter 7: Probability Distribution Basics 131Chapter 8: Juggling Success and Failure with the Binomial Distribution 151Chapter 9: The Normal (but Never Dull) Distribution 167Chapter 10: Approximating a Binomial with a Normal Distribution 187Chapter 11: Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem 201Chapter 12: Investigating and Making Decisions with Probability 221Part IV: Taking It Up a Notch: Advanced Probability Models 233Chapter 13: Working with the Poisson (a Nonpoisonous) Distribution 235Chapter 14: Covering All the Angles of the Geometric Distribution 251Chapter 15: Making a Positive out of the Negative Binomial Distribution 261Chapter 16: Remaining Calm about the Hypergeometric Distribution 273Part V: For the Hotshots: Continuous Probability Models 283Chapter 17: Staying in Line with the Continuous Uniform Distribution 285Chapter 18: The Exponential (and Its Relationship to Poisson) Exposed 299Part VI: The Part of Tens 311Chapter 19: Ten Steps to a Better Probability Grade 313Chapter 20: Top Ten (Plus One) Probability Mistakes 323Appendix: Tables for Your Reference 333Index 343