For Wed 9/9
For discussion: What does this chapter suggest to you about possible strategies for playing Yahtzee? (Please read other students comments and do not repeat ideas that have already been posted.)
posted by Anthony at
8:13 AM
Thursday, September 03, 2009
For discussion: What does this chapter suggest to you about possible strategies for playing Yahtzee? (Please read other students comments and do not repeat ideas that have already been posted.)
7 Comments:
Essentially, this article discusses the probabilities of rolling certain combinations of dice. Based on these understandings, it becomes mathematically obvious that rolling a yahtzee is very unlikely. Therefore, if the game is nearing its end and a yahtzee still has not yet been rolled, it is best to scratch it as opposed to any other choices that still remain on the scoring sheet. There may still be the option of using a chance, but never scratch the chance over the yahtzee! While this seems like the obvious strategy, some people still remain hopeful that they will get “lucky” and will soon roll a yahtzee. This article helps to disprove the idea of being “lucky” and instead explains that the rolling of five dice still follows the rules of probability, it is just much harder to compute the statistics in your head while playing. More often than not, choosing luck over mathematics will leave you on the losing side of the game!
By
Unknown, at Thu Sep 03, 03:39:00 PM 2009
This article is basically about the probabilities of dice. The more dice you roll the lower the chance you have at rolling what you want. If you roll one die and want to get a six, the probability is 1/6. Making the percent chance that you will roll a 6, 16.66%. When you roll more dice than just one you may have the same percent chance, but there are a lot more options than just six, so you are less likely to roll what you want. For example, the probability of rolling at least one 1 using three dice is 36/216. The percent being 16.66%. That is the same percent as when you roll one die trying to get a 6. The only difference is the number of options you have to roll. When you roll one die you only have 6 possible outcomes but when you roll 3 dice you have 216 possible outcomes. When rolling 3 dice there are a lot more outcomes that lead to not rolling what you want then when rolling 1 die. Therefore if you want to bet on dice then you should bet on the least amount of dice as possible.
By
Amy, at Fri Sep 04, 02:03:00 PM 2009
This chapter suggests that the possible strategies for playing Yahtzee can most likely not be determined, you may plan ahead and use smart thinking but the principles do not change when adding dice to throw, just the number of basic outcomes grows larger. All basic outcomes are equally likely, the process always produces one of the basic outcomes and the probabilities of all basic outcomes add up to one. When playing Yahtzee you choose which pot to add your score to, this aspect of the game involves smart thinking. Other wise the only pot not calculated is five of a kind, offering little chance because the totals do not have equal probabilities, therefore they cannot represent the basic outcomes when throwing the dice. Yahtzee can still be enjoyable without the possible strategies to gain advantage.
By
kaitlin barrett, at Sat Sep 05, 03:56:00 PM 2009
Amy: how does your comment relate to Yahtzee?
By
Anthony, at Mon Sep 07, 09:02:00 PM 2009
Kaitlin: unfortunately, for next week you are going to determine a strategy for Yahtzee - so, in fact, it can be done ;) Think a little bit about whether all the "basic outcomes" are equally likely - are you really as likely to roll four of a kind as you are to roll three of a kind? (if you mean something else by "basic outcomes" I am not following you.)
By
Anthony, at Mon Sep 07, 09:08:00 PM 2009
The article, The Theory of Dice, is about the prospects of rolling certain combinations of dice. I would use the mathematical strategies discussed in this reading to be better Yahtzee player. For instance, after rolling the first time I would calculate the probabilities of rolling certain numbers for a second time. From these calculations I would be better able to decide which dice to hold and which to reroll. Also, after reading this article I better understand the probabilities of rolling certain sequences. For example, I used to use the chance whenever I had no other place for something, even if I had very low numbers. I now realize that it would be to my advantage to use a space for something that I have a less of a chance of rolling and to keep my chance.
By
Katelynn Simcox, at Tue Sep 08, 04:48:00 PM 2009
Because the game of Yahtzee uses five dice, there are 7776 different combinations a person can get on their first roll. In the game Yahtzee, a "yahtzee" is when a player rolls five of a kind. The chance of getting this on a first roll is slim to none. However, in this game, each player gets three rolls per turn. This game is mostly luck, but there is some strategy to it also. If you get three of a kind on the first roll, it is best to save the three and roll the other two dice. There is now a 1/36 chance that you can get Yahtzee on the second roll (1/6 x 1/6). If only one die comes up with the desired number, on the third turn you now have a 1/6 chance of getting Yahtzee. However, if the three of a kind on the first roll are a number that you already used, and your three and four of a kind and chance boxes are already filled in, it is not smart to try to go for Yahtzee. If you tried for it and ended up not getting it, you would have to fill a zero in on a box that you may have had the chance to get some points from. The bottom line is that it is very
rare to actually get five of a kind, especially on the first two rolls. It is usually pure luck if a player gets Yahtzee. It is much easier to play this game for fun and without much thought, but this article shows that probability and mathematics play a big role in game strategy. Why not try it if it can make you a better player?!
By
rachelzomerfeld, at Tue Sep 08, 07:33:00 PM 2009
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