Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch

In summary, the conversation discusses a variation of the Monty Hall problem where there are four doors instead of three. The objective is to select the door with the highest probability of hiding a car. After the first selection, the game host reveals two "joke" doors and the player is given the opportunity to switch to the remaining door. The summary then mentions a probability calculation, and a code snippet is provided to test the results of always switching doors.
  • #1
x^2
21
1
I had a question regarding a variation of the infamous Monty Hall problem. Assume four doors instead of the standard three. There is still one car and three goats, and of course the objective is to select the door with the highest probability that it is hiding a car.

You select a door. The game host reveals a joke door. You are given the opportunity to switch your selection to one of the remaining two doors. The game host then reveals a second joke door. You are given another opportunity to switch doors. Should you do it?

I think yes - regardless of the decision of your first selection, by the time of the second selection two doors have been revealed and only your selection and a final door remain. If I understand the probability correctly the door you have selected has a 1/4 probability of hiding a car. The remaining door has a 3/4 probability of hiding the car. But does the intermediate selection somehow effect this problem in a manner I have yet to recognize?
 
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  • #2
Finding out is a doddle.


Code:
import random
hist = {'won':0, 'lost':0}
for i in range(10000):
  game = ['c','g','g','g']
  p = game.pop(random.choice(range(4)))
  game.remove('g')
  game.remove('g')
  # always switch
  p = random.choice(game)
  if p == 'c':
    hist['won'] += 1
  else:
    hist['lost'] += 1
print(hist)

## trial run
##  {'won': 7527, 'lost': 2473}
 

What is the "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch"?

The "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch" is a variation of the classic Monty Hall Problem, which is a probability puzzle that is based on a game show scenario. In this variation, there are 4 doors instead of 3, and the player is given two opportunities to switch their chosen door after the host reveals a door with no prize behind it.

How does the "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch" work?

In this problem, the player is presented with 4 doors, one of which has a prize behind it. The player chooses a door, and then the host opens one of the remaining doors to reveal no prize. The player is then given the option to switch their chosen door with one of the remaining doors. After the switch, the player is given another opportunity to switch their door again. The objective is to determine whether it is better to stick with the original door or switch to one of the remaining doors.

What is the optimal strategy for the "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch"?

The optimal strategy for this problem is to always switch the chosen door after the first opportunity and then switch again after the second opportunity. This strategy gives the player a 75% chance of winning, as opposed to a 25% chance if the player sticks with their original chosen door.

Why does the "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch" have a different outcome compared to the classic Monty Hall Problem?

The difference in outcome is due to the increased number of doors and opportunities to switch. In the classic Monty Hall Problem, there are only three doors, so the player has a 33.33% chance of choosing the correct door. In this variation, the player has a 25% chance of choosing the correct door, but the extra opportunities to switch increase the overall probability of winning.

What are the practical applications of the "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch"?

The "Monty Hall Problem - But with 4 doors and two opportunities to switch" is a good exercise in understanding probability and decision making. It can also be used to demonstrate the concept of conditional probability, where the outcome of one event (the host opening a door with no prize) affects the probability of another event (the player choosing the correct door). This problem can also be applied to real-life situations where decision making and probability are involved, such as in business or financial planning.

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