Time enough for countin'

If you think poker is a game for hard-drinking, risk-taking mavericks, take a look at Chris “Jesus” Ferguson. Nicknamed for his beard and long hair, Ferguson has picked up where mathematical genius John von Neumann left off, analysing the finer points of poker using game theory — the branch of mathematics that predicts the optimal outcome of competitive situations. That analysis has helped him to win more than $4 million and a World Series of Poker champion title. On the eve of this year's World Series competition in Las Vegas, Michael Brooks called his bluff and asked whether he really does owe his poker prowess to mathematics