ABSTRACT
This text is intended to demonstrate some of the mathematical principles underlying many of the games we watch or play. These include, but are not exclusive to many of the presently very popular gambling games. Here we will build the laws of probability and show some of the fundamental consequences of this theory. Examples from sports will be used to build some of the concepts of statistics. We hope to use these examples to demonstrate what statistics is meant to study, why such ideas are useful, and how these insights can really help us. Finally, we shall consider a number of games and other diversions such as card tricks that are mathematically based, or can be studied from a mathematical perspective. These other games and diversions will be used to demonstrate additional mathematical principles. Examples will be kept as close to real-life situations as possible, but occasionally small liberties will be taken in order to simplify the study.
