Then, for example, if the side showing face up was gold, the gambler would say, “The reverse side is either gold or silver as the card cannot be the silver/silver card. It is, therefore, either the gold/silver card or the gold/gold card, an even chance! I will bet even money one dollar that the reverse side is gold”.
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The snag here, and the reason why the odds were heavily in favour of the gambler and stacked against the punter by 2-1, in other words he will lose two games out of three, is that we are not dealing with cards but with sides.
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There were six sides to begin with, three of each:
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Gold
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1
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1
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1
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3
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The card on the table cannot be the silver/silver card, so by eliminating that one we are left with:
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Gold
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1
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1
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1
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3
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Puzzle 2
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A hand in bridge in which all 13 cards are a nine or below is called a Yarborough, after the second earl of Yarborough (d.1897), who is said to have bet 1000 to 1 against the dealing of such a hand. what, however, are the actual odds against such a hand? Was the noble lord onto a good thing?
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