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A quick math/gambling-related question

Started by Cysma, November 15, 2009, 01:43:30 PM

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Cysma

If you're betting on say, a horse race, for instance, and each horse has a different payout, would it be possible to bet a certain amount on every horse and turn a profit or at the very least break even with your winnings no matter which horse wins the race?

Oniya

It would probably take a computer to calculate exactly how much to put on each horse...  After all, if a 50:1 horse won, then a dollar put on that horse would give you $49 that could have been distributed on all the other losing horses, while if a 2:1 horse won, each dollar that you bet on that horse would only give you a single dollar that could have been distributed on all the losing horses.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
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I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
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OldSchoolGamer

That would be an advanced calculus problem...you'd have to craft an equation and then take the first and possibly the second-order derivatives to determine the maximum profit. 

Trouble is, you're missing a key piece of data: the REAL odds of each horse, not what the handicappers believe.

Cysma

Thanks. I was asking this question because I play a game called Kingdom of Loathing, and each week there's a tournament where you bet on 8 different fighters, each one with a different payoff. The payoff rates are subject to change up until the day of the tournament, however.

Oniya

Horses or fighters, it's still going to go into advanced game-theory.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17