Probablility gambling question

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a scenario in a casino where a man chooses between two slot machines with different probabilities of winning. He plays a second game based on the outcome of the first game, leading to a question about the overall probability of winning one game and losing another.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss constructing a probability tree to visualize outcomes and paths based on the man's choices and results from the slot machines. There are questions about how to calculate probabilities for different sequences of wins and losses.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively exploring the problem, with some providing insights into the structure of the probability tree and the need to ensure that the sum of probabilities at each branch equals one. There is an ongoing examination of different paths and how to combine probabilities for the various outcomes.

Contextual Notes

Some participants note confusion regarding the calculations leading to probabilities greater than one, indicating a need for clarification on the proper method of combining probabilities in this context.

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a man walks into a casino and sees 2 slot machines, he randomly chooses one.
the chance of winning on machine 1 is 0.4
the chance of winning on machine 2 is 0.3
if the man wins he plays a second game on the same machine, if he loses he changes to the other machine

what is the probability of him winning one game and losing one game

what i have been doing up till this question was building a tree diagram with the possibilities

A-win in first round
B-win in second round

since he randomly chooses a machine i have a 50/50 chance of playing on either machine

the problem is that i haven't dealt with such a large tree yet,

i think I am looking for P(A/\bar{B})+P(\bar{A}/B)+P(B/\bar{A}) +P(\bar{B}/A) and i need to do this for each of the 2 machines

but i don't get the right answer, in fact i get something bigger than 1
 
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at each branch node, the sum of the probabiltys on each branch should be 1.

Multiply the probability along a path to get the result, which has to be <1 as all the multpliers are <1.

the first choice will be which machine to start at, as its random, it will be P=0.5 for each machine
 
but i have 2 possible paths, win1-loss2 win2-loss1
do i add the results?
 
There are four paths to consider, not 2:
(1) Win on machine 1, then lose on machine 1
(2) Lose on machine 1, then win on machine 2
(3) Win on machine 2, then lose on machine 2
(4) Lose on machine 2, then win on machine 1

The probability for (1) is (.4)(.6) and the probability of (2) is (.6)(.3). Since the probability of starting on machine 1 is .5, add those two numbers and multiply by .5.

Do the same for (3) and (4)
 

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