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Today Puzzle #679

Puzzle No. 679 – Wednesday 19 February

Mishal and Justin play game of chance in which the person who gets a 6 first, wins. Mishal throws a fair six-sided die, while Justin tosses a fair coin 6 times and needs 6 heads in order to win in his turn. Who has the more chances to win the game?

Today’s #PuzzleForToday has been set by Dr Nicos Georgiou, a senior mathematics lecturer from the University of Sussex.

Click here for the answer

Mishal has more chances, as her overall chance of winning in a single turn is 1/6 ~ 16.7%. Justin needs 6 heads; each one has a probability ½, so overall his chance of winning in a turn is 1/64~ 1.6%.

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