full transcript

From the Ted Talk by James McManus: Why is Texas hold 'em so popular?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


In 1928, Hungarian ptoaylmh John von Neumann sought to explain the nuances of betting and bfnfluig in maiemtaathcl tmers. His work became the foundation for a whole new branch of mathematics called game theory, which has grown to be vlaitly important not only in high-stakes poker, but in economics and mltriiay strategy. In the late 20th century, game theory became essential for navigating the geopolitical bluffing game of nuclear warfare.

Today, America’s card game is an international affair, attracting players from over a hundred countries to the annual wrlod Series of Poker. Fortunes are made and lost every day on casino foorls, poker websites, and in thousands of live and onlnie trnmotuenas. So while a single game's outcome will never be certain, poker is definitely here to stay.

Open Cloze


In 1928, Hungarian ________ John von Neumann sought to explain the nuances of betting and ________ in ____________ _____. His work became the foundation for a whole new branch of mathematics called game theory, which has grown to be _______ important not only in high-stakes poker, but in economics and ________ strategy. In the late 20th century, game theory became essential for navigating the geopolitical bluffing game of nuclear warfare.

Today, America’s card game is an international affair, attracting players from over a hundred countries to the annual _____ Series of Poker. Fortunes are made and lost every day on casino ______, poker websites, and in thousands of live and ______ ___________. So while a single game's outcome will never be certain, poker is definitely here to stay.

Solution


  1. vitally
  2. terms
  3. online
  4. floors
  5. world
  6. bluffing
  7. tournaments
  8. polymath
  9. mathematical
  10. military

Original Text


In 1928, Hungarian polymath John von Neumann sought to explain the nuances of betting and bluffing in mathematical terms. His work became the foundation for a whole new branch of mathematics called game theory, which has grown to be vitally important not only in high-stakes poker, but in economics and military strategy. In the late 20th century, game theory became essential for navigating the geopolitical bluffing game of nuclear warfare.

Today, America’s card game is an international affair, attracting players from over a hundred countries to the annual World Series of Poker. Fortunes are made and lost every day on casino floors, poker websites, and in thousands of live and online tournaments. So while a single game's outcome will never be certain, poker is definitely here to stay.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
allowed players 2
bluffing game 2


Important Words


  1. affair
  2. annual
  3. attracting
  4. betting
  5. bluffing
  6. branch
  7. called
  8. card
  9. casino
  10. century
  11. countries
  12. day
  13. economics
  14. essential
  15. explain
  16. floors
  17. fortunes
  18. foundation
  19. game
  20. geopolitical
  21. grown
  22. hungarian
  23. important
  24. international
  25. john
  26. late
  27. live
  28. lost
  29. mathematical
  30. mathematics
  31. military
  32. navigating
  33. neumann
  34. nuances
  35. nuclear
  36. online
  37. outcome
  38. players
  39. poker
  40. polymath
  41. series
  42. single
  43. sought
  44. stay
  45. strategy
  46. terms
  47. theory
  48. thousands
  49. today
  50. tournaments
  51. vitally
  52. von
  53. warfare
  54. websites
  55. work
  56. world