x or 1000x

[ELTEXAN]

Option A: Take $(x)
Option B: Flip a coin for 1000 times $(x)

What’s the minimum (x) where you take option A?

 

[rfjeff9]

Depends. Which one comes with boobs?

 

[Deep Dish Pizza Goat]

 

[Dolemite censored]

Option A: Take $(x)
Option B: Flip a coin for 1000 times $(x)

What’s the minimum (x) where you take option A?

No maximum. I would always opt for B. If it was much less than 1000 * (x) I might reconsider.

 

[Kburjr]

No maximum. I would always opt for B. If it was much less than 1000 * (x) I might reconsider.

I would take Option A. No risk involved.

 

[ELTEXAN]

I would take Option A. No risk involved.

You’d take a sure one dollar instead of a coin flip for a thousand? Weird.

 

[ELTEXAN]

No maximum. I would always opt for B. If it was much less than 1000 * (x) I might reconsider.

You wouldn’t take a sure billion? Weird.

 

[Kburjr]

You’d take a sure one dollar instead of a coin flip for a thousand? Weird.

If I am flipping "for", doesn't that mean I have a chance to lose $1000? If not, than any x > 1 is the answer.

 

[ELTEXAN]

If I am flipping "for", doesn't that mean I have a chance to lose $1000? If not, then any x > 1 is the answer.

You risk nothing at all here out of pocket.

 

[Handicappers]

 

[ELTEXAN]

If I am flipping "for", doesn't that mean I have a chance to lose $1000? If not, than any x > 1 is the answer.

So you’d take a sure $2 instead of a coin flip to get a free $2000? Weird.

 

[Kburjr]

You risk nothing at all here out of pocket.

The actual breakeven is $2. To be profitable $2.01 or greater.

 

[ELTEXAN]

The actual breakeven is $2. To be profitable $2.01 or greater.

Let’s hear from someone who isn’t breathing paint fumes

 

[Kburjr]

So you’d take a sure $2 instead of a coin flip to get a free $2000? Weird.

If not a $1000 was the question. I would take the flip an any amount greater than $2.

 

[Kburjr]

Let’s hear from someone who isn’t breathing paint fumes

What if x is .001?

Don't play odds and probability with me, son. I'll eat you up.

 

[Kburjr]

The actual breakeven is $2. To be profitable $2.01 or greater.

In order to flip for greater than $2, x must be greater than .002. Easy peasant, professor.

 

[DragonFromTo]

What if x is .001?

Don't play odds and probability with me, son. I'll eat you up.

If I am reading the question correctly, if x is .001 then option A gives you a guaranteed tenth of a penny while option B gives you a single coin flip to win $1 (and risk nothing), so the expected value of option B would be 50 cents. Which is much greater than a tenth of a penny. What am I reading/interpreting wrong/differently here?

(I suppose really this is a question for the person who posed the original question)

 

[DragonFromTo]

If I am interpreting the question correctly it doesn't really seem to be a statistical one. The coin flip is always the better choice, the question is how much guaranteed money can you convince yourself to turn down while your wife's mom needs that expensive cancer surgery?

 

[Kburjr]

If I am interpreting the question correctly it doesn't really seem to be a statistical one. The coin flip is always the better choice, the question is how much guaranteed money can you convince yourself to turn down while your wife's mom needs that expensive cancer surgery?

Double or nothing style bet. The odds are 50-50 flipping a coin.Bird in hand risk.

Like taking guaranteed return on your investments vs high risk return simplified. Sliding scale of something vs the risk of nothing.

 

[DragonFromTo]

Double or nothing style bet. The odds are 50-50 flipping a coin.Bird in hand risk.

Like taking guaranteed return on your investments vs high risk return simplified. Sliding scale of something vs the risk of nothing.

Right, the odds are 50-50 of winning a straight coin flip, but the coin flip also offers you a thousand times the return. As I said above, the expected value of the coin flip would seem to be 500 times higher than the guaranteed amount you're being offered. So I'm not clear on why you said earlier that you'd choose to take the guaranteed money if x was < 2 bucks. It seemed like you were answering/solving a different question/problem than the one that was asked.