Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Statistics

B.A. '61 University of Washington
M.A. '64 University of California, Santa Barbara
Ph.D. '66 University of California, Santa Barbara

Alspach specializes in Discrete Mathematics with an emphasis on Graph Theory. Graphs are structures made up of points and lines joining some of the points. Examples are interconnection networks, diagrams of molecules and preditor - prey diagrams. He is recently retired from the SFU Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and is now a Professor Emeritus. The mathematics of gambling, in particular poker, is one of his continuing interests.

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Texas hold'em (or hold'em as it is more commonly called) is probably the most popular poker game played thorughout the world in casinos and cardrooms. There are usually 9 - 11 players. Each player is dealt two cards and this is followed by a round of betting. Then the dealer spreads three cards face up in the middle (called the flop) and this is followed by a second round of betting. The dealer places a fourth card face up in the middle (called the turn card) followed by another round of betting. Finally, the dealer places a fifth card face up (called the river card) in the middle followed by the last round of betting. Players make the best hands possible using their own two cards plus the five community cards in the center.