Break-even loss in a double-six versus single-six game
Question
Two fair dice are thrown. Double sixes win you $100. Exactly one six (with the other die not a six) loses you \text{\char36}. Any other result means both dice are thrown again, repeating until one of the two deciding outcomes occurs. What is the largest for which the game's expected value is still non-negative?
Short answer
. Double six has probability and exactly one six has ; ignoring rerolls, the game ends in a win with probability and a loss with . Requiring gives .
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Open the worked solutionLessons behind this question
- Sample Spaces, Events, and the Probability Axioms
- Counting and Combinatorics
- Expectation, Mean, and Variance
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