Estimating means of bounded random variables by betting
Abstract We derive confidence intervals (CIs) and confidence sequences (CSs) for the classical problem of estimating a bounded mean. Our approach generalizes and improves on the celebrated Chernoff method, yielding the best closed-form "empirical-Bernstein" CSs and CIs (converging exactly to the oracle Bernstein width) as well as non-closed-form "betting" CSs and CIs. Our method combines new composite nonnegative (super)martingales with Ville's maximal inequality, with…