[dba-Tech] Was: World Series Question, not Coin Toss Question

Arthur Fuller fuller.artful at gmail.com
Mon Jan 14 23:06:30 CST 2013


Here's my analysis.

With one game played, there remain 2^6 possible outcomes, or 64. Of these,
only 1 can end it in 5 games. There are 6 possible outcomes in which you
win while I win only 1 more game. Represent these using Y and M (since I
won the first game, I'll be M (me) and you'll be Y (you):

MYYYYY  YMYYYY  YYMYYY  YYYMYY  YYYYMY  YYYYYM

There are 15 possible sequences in which you win 4 games while I win 2
more. In all the other possible outcomes, I win 3 and thus the match. This
means that of the 64 possible outcomes, you win the match in 1 + 6 + 15 =
22 outcomes, while I win the other 42. As a result, the probability of your
victory is 22/64, or 11/32, or just a nudge better than 1/3 (.34375).

A.


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