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Die game paying a dollar per low roll until it ends

Question

You roll a die repeatedly. A 11, 22 or 33 earns you $1 and you roll again. A 44 or 55 ends the game and you keep everything earned. A 66 ends the game and you forfeit everything. What is the most you should pay to play?

Short answer

2/32/3 of a dollar. You leave with kk dollars only if you roll kk low numbers then a 44 or 55, probability (12)k13\left(\tfrac12\right)^k\tfrac13. So the value is 13∑kk 2−k=13⋅2=23\tfrac13\sum_k k\,2^{-k}=\tfrac13\cdot2=\tfrac23.

Adapted from QuantQuestions.io; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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