<P><STRONG><EM>Foundations of Reinforcement Learning with Applications in Finance </EM></STRONG>aims to demystify Reinforcement Learning, and to make it a practically useful tool for those studying and working in applied areas ¿ especially finance.</P><P>Reinforcement Learning is emerging as a powerful technique for solving a variety of complex problems across industries that involve Sequential Optimal Decisioning under Uncertainty. Its penetration in high-profile problems like self-driving cars, robotics, and strategy games points to a future where Reinforcement Learning algorithms will have decisioning abilities far superior to humans. But when it comes getting educated in this area, there seems to be a reluctance to jump right in, because Reinforcement Learning appears to have acquired a reputation for being mysterious and technically challenging.</P><P>This book strives to impart a lucid and insightful understanding of the topic by emphasizing the foundational mathematics and imple