E ach year, millions of people travel to casinos hoping they will come away richer.
Many more people visit their local supermarket each day to bet with lottery cards.
People play the stock market, join in the office football pool, and meet with friends on the weekend for a game of poker. We do it because we believe we can beat the odds. We believe in the possibility of winning. Mathematical principles can tell us more than whether it is possible to win. They can tell us how often we are likely to win.