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

As documented in Ben Mezrich’s bestselling book Bringing Down the House and the film 21, Jeffrey Ma and his cohorts on the infamous MIT Blackjack team used math, statistics and teamwork to beat Las Vegas casinos legally, and for millions of dollars. Ma went on to start three different companies and believes that correct mathematical knowledge and outlook can help businesses manage the unpredictability that comes with any venture. In his business philosophy Ma reveals how to:

  • Embrace data: how to actively collect it, analyze it, take full advantage of it
  • Think like a scientist: business models need to be based on objective results,not statistical flukes; you must take wishful thinking out of the scenario
  • Roll with the changing rules of the game: when your playing field changes your numbers and tactics must change with it
  • Embrace a long term outlook: isolated losses cannot be cause for panic.

Speaker Details

Jeffrey Ma graduated from MIT in 1994 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Following MIT
Ma co-founded ProTrade (a sports stock market website) and did consulting work for professional sports teams including the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Francisco 49ers. Ma also cofounded Citizens Sports, a sport-information website and iPhone application, which was acquired by Yahoo! in May, 2010.

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Jeffrey Ma
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