Ed Thorp
About
Ed Thorp is a mathematician who proved that blackjack could be beaten with card counting — a result he published in Beat the Dealer (1962) that changed how casinos run their tables.
He then turned the same probabilistic thinking on markets. Beat the Market (1967) laid out early quantitative strategies, and his fund Princeton/Newport Partners was one of the first true quant hedge funds, producing years of consistent, low-drawdown returns.
Thorp is widely considered the godfather of quantitative investing. His combination of probability, position sizing (via the Kelly criterion), and risk control anticipates almost everything that modern quant firms do.
- Only bet when the math is on your side — and size the bet to survive being wrong.
- The Kelly criterion: bet in proportion to your edge, not your conviction.
- Risk management is not a constraint on the strategy. It is the strategy.
Read Ed in their own words
A Man for All Markets
Thorp's autobiography, from card counting to hedge funds.
Find on AmazonBeat the Dealer
The book that proved blackjack could be beaten — and set Thorp on the road to quantitative investing.
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