Coin Game \ Magic Trick \ Maths: The Penney Ante Part 2 (Re: Derren Brown: How to Win the Lottery)
Penney Ante is a coin game devised in 1969 by a mathematician called Walter Penney. In it, two players predict three coin tosses. The prediction that appears first in a run of coin tosses wins. This should be a fair game. However, if Player 2 makes his prediction after Player 1, he can use mathematics and probability to increase his chances of winning. On Wednesday 9th of September 2009 (09-09-09) UK magician Derren Brown predicted the national lottery numbers on live TV. The following …
Tags: ante, Brown, coin, Derren, Game, How, Lottery, magic, Math, Mathematics, maths, penney, probability, problem, puzzle, the, To, trick, win
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
sorry but i lost everything you said lol i lost you when you brought up the chart with all those whacky nubers lol sry, but i see what you mean, theres more chance of winning if you go THH than HHH
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
If only you had been my math teacher! Thank you so very much for posting these lessons online. You are providing a wonderful service to anyone who would like to finally learn how to work out probabilities! Thank you for your generosity, singingbanana.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Probability is difficult for some people to fully understand but you explain things clearly.
I am studying for a degree in Mathematics and probability is my favourite part of Maths. After watching your videos you helped me fully understand this game so thank you.
I wish when I worked things out on paper they were that neat.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Yea good explaination. Derren is pesuasive I could imagion him leading them on to take a choice with low probability then use the higher proberbility outcomes for himself. Well done with the diagrams helped.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I still don’t get it, it’s not the game “who has the most good picks” right? Otherwise it would still 50-50?? Well maybe I’m a dumbass :p…
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
…makes no sense …….???????
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
That was marvellous - and now my brain has turned to jelly! Great video. x
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
The first video is the extreme case. It isn’t obvious in the other cases until you do the maths. However that is where most expanations on the web stop.
But if you look at the large table in part 2, a lot of player 2’s choices just give him a 50% or worse chance. You have to do all this maths before you find the strategy. The idea of flipping the middle coin isn’t significant, it’s just a way to remember the best choice. And for four or more coins the way to remember best choice is different
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
hmm im not entirely sure that the second video was neccisary, i thought it was pretty clear how it worked after the first video, very clever tho, sometimes the obvious, hides from those who over complicate things
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Yes, search for user waackomann
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
But i am a little skeptical…Oh uhh did the explanation video came out i cant find it anywhere
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Wow.This was really cool Thanks Very much!
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
YouTube is your friend. Search “Derren Brown lottery”.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
i wish i could watch Derren Brown it sounds good…
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
nice trick and you are really smart!!
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I try to be as clear as possible, but if I could I would make some changes. Dash it. The end result is pretty cool though.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
He is good. I will be watching. The week after is gambling, which sounds quite similar to the lottery show - in that there will be some maths in it. I think Derren quite likes the maths, he uses it a lot, to brilliant effect.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I did your puzzle while this was rendering. It’s full of mistakes I want to change, but I thought it was important to get this one up quickly as it’s in response to something topical. 14 slides took blummin’ ages.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
On friday:Derren Brown how to control the nation i cant wait for it !!!!!
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
This was incredibly complicated, but I’m sure it was worth it.
Thanks for the explanation, Singingbanana!
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
You worked hard on this one! You completed my puzzle the same night you did this?!
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
hahaha
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I weighed six oxen and can predict next week lotto balls to be 02 19 20 21 32 and 5000.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Terrific! Can I win the Lotto now please?
October 31st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Nice trick.
I’m gonna try this on my friends!