The paradox of Parrondo's games
- 8 February 2000
- journal article
- Published by The Royal Society in Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
- Vol. 456 (1994) , 247-259
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2000.0516
Abstract
We introduce Parrondo's paradox that involves games of chance. We consider two fair games, A and B, both of which can be made to lose by changing a biasing parameter. An apparently paradoxical situation arises when the two games are played in any alternating order. A winning expectation is produced, even though both games A and B are losing when we play them individually. We develop an explanation of the phenomenon in terms of a Brownian ratchet model, and also develop a mathematical analysis using discrete–time Markov chains. From the analysis we investigate the range of parameter values for which Parrondo's paradox exists.Keywords
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