English

An Instance-Based Algorithm for Deciding the Bias of a Coin

Data Structures and Algorithms 2020-11-12 v1

Abstract

Let q(0,1)q \in (0,1) and δ(0,1)\delta \in (0,1) be real numbers, and let CC be a coin that comes up heads with an unknown probability pp, such that pqp \neq q. We present an algorithm that, on input CC, qq, and δ\delta, decides, with probability at least 1δ1-\delta, whether p<qp<q or p>qp>q. The expected number of coin flips made by this algorithm is O(loglog(1/ε)+log(1/δ)ε2)O \left( \frac{\log\log(1/\varepsilon) + \log(1/\delta)}{\varepsilon^2} \right), where ε=pq\varepsilon = |p-q|.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2011.05502,
  title  = {An Instance-Based Algorithm for Deciding the Bias of a Coin},
  author = {Luís Fernando Schultz Xavier da Silveira and Michiel Smid},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.05502},
  year   = {2020}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-23T20:04:05.357Z