A French History

So, we learn that a gambler invented the game (name unknown), approached two french mathematicians (also unkown), who gave him the answer that the game would be a success.

How is it that we know this, and nothing more? No proofs, names, locations...

Was the math as up to date as it is today?

For all the mountains of blinding professor papers out there on blackjack odds, how could two guys 300 years ago do the same, and not leave a shred of evidence.

Is it really all that tricky? or are we over looking something.

I'm not suprised the truth has been buried and washed away; what casino would want you to know..

Any clues?

blackorange

I don't know what this is referring to. Blackjack??

Many games evolved over time. Even the French adoption of the lottery was based on Casanova's reputation at the French court, not mathematical proofs and relied on experience in the Italian city-state from which he had made his escape. Later gambling became a national obsession in France but much of it was based on less than a clear understanding of math. One might say that today the same conditions prevail. Surely the "less than a clear understanding of math" prevails for me.

Craps is thought to be so named due to the difference between French and American pronunciation in New Orleans but I know of no historical record that supports this. It was known as Crabs but perhaps it is reasonable to assume a mispronunciation took place. It seems likely butI doubt anyone could actually prove it however.

Quote: FleaStiff

I don't know what this is referring to. Blackjack??

apparently. This was posted in that folder anyway.

Yes, this is posted under blackjack. I see how it reads now the game(name unknown). ie inventors name unknown.

But assuming that the rules are very similar to back then, and given that the casinos have calculated their margins to to a .523 of a percent, (3 decimal places) someone did something right back then, otherwise they wouldnt have thought of the game if it ws gonna be a loser.

So who was it, and how did they calculate it..
i think its rather relevant...

Quote: blackorange

So, we learn that a gambler invented the game (name unknown), approached two french mathematicians (also unkown), who gave him the answer that the game would be a success.

How is it that we know this, and nothing more? No proofs, names, locations...

There is not very much to know. The math behind the game is fairly basic combinatorics, doesn't take a genius to figure out.

Quote:

Was the math as up to date as it is today?

The basics of probability theory were developed in the early 18th century. But the general combinatorics and frequency analysis have been around since at least the eight hundreds.

Here is a brief overview of blackjack history if you are interested: http://www.gameaccount.com/games/blackjack/history.shtml

Pascal and Fermat. The odds may be small but the rewards are infinite.