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A problem in arrangements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2016

L. Caccetta  and
W. D. Wallis
L. Caccetta
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Computing, Western Australian Institute of Technology, Bentley, Western Australia
W. D. Wallis
Affiliation:
Faculty of Mathematics, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
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Extract

The entertaining book, There’s one born every minute, by Harry Blackstone, presents many situations where most people would intuitively be prepared to wager even money on the outcome, whereas a proper study of the probabilities concerned shows that the bet is heavily biased. One particular problem is interesting because the author claims to have sought evaluation of the probability concerned, without success. It is as follows:

From an ordinary pack of cards, three denominations (example: Ace, Queen, Nine) are selected. You win if you find two of those demoninations adjacent in a randomly-shuffled deck.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 68 , Issue 444 , June 1984 , pp. 106 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1984

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References

1. Blackstone, Harry Jr., There’s one born every minute. St Martin’s Press (1976).Google Scholar