English

Expectation of the Largest bet size in Labouchere System

Probability 2019-01-08 v3 Discrete Mathematics Information Theory Combinatorics math.IT

Abstract

For Labouchere system with winning probability pp at each coup, we prove that the expectation of the largest bet size under any initial list is finite if p>12p>\frac{1}{2}, and is infinite if p12p\le \frac{1}{2}, solving the open conjecture in Grimmett and Stirzaker (2001). The same result holds for a general family of betting systems, and the proof builds upon a recursive representation of the optimal betting system in the larger family.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1807.11729,
  title  = {Expectation of the Largest bet size in Labouchere System},
  author = {Yanjun Han and Guanyang Wang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1807.11729},
  year   = {2019}
}