The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big in Business

Business Statistics 2

Extra Credit Book Report

The House Advantage: Playing the Odds to Win Big in Business

In The House Advantage by Jeffrey Ma, Mr. Ma describes how using statistics in everyday situations can help eliminate bias and provide a clearer insight into the occurrences commonly evaluated by the so called professionals. He does this in a very detailed and methodical manner that in itself shows no bias and he accepts the outcomes strictly based off the math. I’ve enjoyed reading this book because in my day to day life I find myself wanting to evaluate situations without bias so I can have a more informed decision. Quite possibly one of the reasons I am so interested in this subject material is because I am an Accounting major and must look at issues at hand through analysis of the hard numbers, not just inclinations or feelings which is what this book appears to be aiming for. For example, I noticed once that I was always bending down to pick up pennies and the thought occurred to me, is this really worth the time spent or am I wasting the valuable time I have left on this earth with pointless coin grabbing. Well, after figuring that it only takes about two seconds to pick up a penny, it ended up being worth a staggering $18.00 per hour of untaxed revenue. Which is not only well worth the time but extrapolated for nickels is $90.00, dimes $180.00, and quarters $450.00 per hour! So it is not too far of a leap for me to use statistics wherever possible in my personal life as well as my professional life and this book looks to help apply those skills in a proper manner.

Chapter 1

In the 1st chapter Ma discusses how important it is to understand variance and that even though the odds may be in your favor it is still possible to experience a loss. However, over time the odds do end proving true if you stick to your guns. Ma referenced how Albert pujols went 5 for 37, but to bench Pujols based simply on that would be a huge mistake as Pujols would be...