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Does heads or tails come up more often?

They found that a coin has a 51 percent chance of landing on the side it started from. So, if heads is up to start with, there's a slightly bigger chance that a coin will land heads rather than tails. When it comes down to it, the odds aren't very different from 50-50.

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Heads, you win. Tails, you lose.

It turns out that coin tosses may be less fair than you might think. A new mathematical analysis even suggests a way to increase your chances of winning. People use coin tosses all the time to make decisions and break ties. You’ve probably done it yourself to decide who gets the last piece of pizza or which team gets the ball first. Heads or tails? It’s anybody’s guess, but each side is supposed to have an equal chance of winning. That’s not always true, say mathematicians from Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Cruz. For a coin toss to be truly random, they say, you have to flip the coin into the air so that it spins in just the right way. Most of the time, though, the coin doesn’t spin perfectly. It might tip and wobble in the air. Sometimes it doesn’t even flip over. In experiments, the researchers found that it’s practically impossible to tell from watching a tossed coin whether it has flipped over. A tossed coin is typically in the air for just half a second, and a wobble can fool the eyes, no matter how carefully you watch. To see how wobbling affects the outcome, the researchers videotaped actual coin tosses and measured the angle of the coin in the air. They found that a coin has a 51 percent chance of landing on the side it started from. So, if heads is up to start with, there’s a slightly bigger chance that a coin will land heads rather than tails. When it comes down to it, the odds aren’t very different from 50-50. In fact, it would take about 10,000 tosses for you to really notice the difference. Still, when you’re gunning for that last piece of candy, it can’t hurt to have a leg up, no matter how small.—E. Sohn

Going Deeper:

Klarreich, Erica. 2004. Toss out the toss-up: Bias in head-or-tails. Science News 165(Feb. 28):131-132. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040228/fob2.asp . Peterson, Ivars. 2003. Flipping a coin. Science News for Kids (April). Available at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/pages/puzzlezone/muse/muse0403.asp .

Comments:

This is a very cool article. My friends and I always break a tie or make a

decision by flipping a coin.—Natasha, 13

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What do you call someone who bets a lot?

gambler. gamester. punter [chiefly British] wagerer. 5 days ago

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What is a 3 pick round robin bet?

However, in a round-robin wager, you are actually betting three two-team parlays involving your three selections: A two-team parlay where teams A and B must win, a two-team parlay where teams B and C must win and a two-team parlay where teams A and C must win.

How does a Round Robin Work?

A round-robin bet is a parlay or teaser with three or more games, or "legs," where you are actually betting multiple smaller combinations involving your selections instead of lumping them into one must-win-all wager.

Example:

You choose teams A, B and C to win their games against teams D, E and F, respectively. In a three-team standard parlay, teams A, B and C must win for you to collect. However, in a round-robin wager, you are actually betting three two-team parlays involving your three selections: A two-team parlay where teams A and B must win, a two-team parlay where teams B and C must win and a two-team parlay where teams A and C must win. If any two of your three teams win against the spread, you will win at least one of these bets. If all three win, you win each of the three two-team payouts. With a four-team round-robin, you can choose whether to bet the six different two-team parlay combinations, the four different three-team combinations, or both. Looking to place a round robin bet? For more details on online promotions, choose your state here: AZ, CO, IN, LA, MI, NJ, NY, TN, & VA. Promotions can vary by state.

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