All About Probability (By Mackey Smith, Math Instructor)
Why are there professional blackjack players but not professional roulette players?
Back
In Statistics class, students played blackjack and simulated playing roulette to help illustrate the difference between independent and dependent events.
Dependent events (blackjack hands) are events where knowing previous outcomes changes the probability of the upcoming event. Clever blackjack players will track the cards that have been dealt and then change their betting strategy and/or game strategy based on what cards have been played but not put back in the deck.
Independent events (roulette spins) are events where the probability does not change based on previous outcomes. The probability of the ball landing in any of the numbered slots on the roulette wheel is 1 out of 38. This is true no matter what the previous outcomes were. If the ball lands on a black number five times in a row, the probability the next one will be black is still 18 out of 38 (18 black slots out of the 38 possible slots).
Dependent events (blackjack hands) are events where knowing previous outcomes changes the probability of the upcoming event. Clever blackjack players will track the cards that have been dealt and then change their betting strategy and/or game strategy based on what cards have been played but not put back in the deck.
Independent events (roulette spins) are events where the probability does not change based on previous outcomes. The probability of the ball landing in any of the numbered slots on the roulette wheel is 1 out of 38. This is true no matter what the previous outcomes were. If the ball lands on a black number five times in a row, the probability the next one will be black is still 18 out of 38 (18 black slots out of the 38 possible slots).
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