If you go to a gambling establishment and play the one-armed bandit, the outcome for each of your turns is determined by computer software. To write good code for that, you need to know how to generate random numbers.

I once consulted for a gaming establishment  involved in a lawsuit. I examined the software for a number of machines and became an expert in generating them. But interestingly, computer code can’t generate truly random numbers. The best it can do is generate pseudo-random numbers. To make sure that the pseudo-random number generator works, those who write software for gambling or sweepstakes must have their code analyzed by a third party to make sure that the pseudo-random number generator is working accurately.

To win at gambling, you need probability on your side. In pure chance games like roulette, craps, and one-armed bandits, the house edge guarantees you’ll lose over time. In probability theory, this is guaranteed by the Law of Large Numbers. That’s right. It’s the law: You lose.

On the other hand, skill does matter in games like poker, blackjack and the stock market.

In blackjack, card counting lets you track low-value cards to decide when to bet big. In the documentary Holy Rollers (2011), a team of Seattle missionaries funds their work by counting cards in Vegas. It’s possible to win, but you must know the card counting rules. In 2023, here at Mind Matters News, I interviewed Sal Cordova, a skilled card counter who was a consultant on the film. Cordova was eventually banned from the Vegas Strip — and even flagged at tribal casinos. On the podcast he explains the math of gambling and tells how one player flipped the odds to win millions. It’s a fun listen.

Another great movie about beating the gambling odds, again based on a true story, is Jerry and Marge Go Large (2022) starring Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame and Annette Bening. It’s about a retired couple who exploit a lottery loophole. Jerry knows probability theory and they end up winning big bucks.

So here’s this week’s Micro Softy about probability that tests your chances as a gambler:

The puzzle comes in two parts:

Two identical decks of 52 playing cards are thoroughly shuffled together. There are no Jokers, just 52 cards. The shuffled cards, numbering 104, are then separated into two piles of 52.

Here’s the puzzle. There are a number of red cards (hearts and diamonds) in the left deck and a number of black cards (spades and clubs) in the right deck. What is the probability that this number differs by at most two?

Part 2 of the puzzle is the same question, except there are now two Jokers in each deck. So each deck has 54 cards. They are shuffled together and separated into two piles of 54 each.

We’ll give the answer here next week at Mind Matters News. And now about last week’s puzzle:

Solution to Micro Softy 78: Two Proud Texans 

Here is last week’s Micro Softy. There are two Texans.  One is recognized as the father of the other one’s son. There are no adoptions, divorces or sperm banks involved in the answer. How can this be?

This is the fourth Micro Softy that reveals sexist bias in those who can’t solve it — so shame on you if you missed them all! The others were Micro Softies 22, 51, and 76.

In this cases, the two Texans are a married couple. So the father, the man, is the father of his wife’s son. The wife is the “other Texan.” It is surprising how often we assume that all the characters in a scenario like this are men.

Duh.

The Monday Micro Softy is a weekly feature of Mind Matters News. Here are the links to all the puzzles and answers to date:

Monday Micro Softy 76: The Smoking Gun explains a computer scientist or engineer, a law enforcement officer often relies on abductive reasoning to crack a case, so with this in mind, you will have to crack last week’s puzzle. You can find puzzles 55 through 75 here as well.

Monday Micro Softy 55: “It happens every spring.” Baseball, that is. Here’s a puzzle that takes in baseball’s summer. To solve last week’s puzzle, you don’t need to know the distance. Check the problem again for the number you do need to know. You can find puzzles 51 through 54 here as well.

Monday Micro Softy 50: Cutting through the cornbread. How did Yuri Senior cut the cornbread into eight identical portions using only three straight cuts? You can guess the answer to Microsofty 49 if you try the test question yourself at home, using a small mirror. Links to Microsofties 46 through 49 are here as well.

Monday Micro Softy 45: Can Tony beat the fast-food curfew? An early curfew on fast food service motivated a boy to exercise more vigorously. But how fast was he pedalling? To solve Micro Softy 44, recall that Tony doesn’t need to take the individual pills each day, only the prescribed amount of each. You will find links here to Micros Softies 41 through 44 as well.

Monday Micro Softy 40: The fate of a false prophet. He wasn’t actually fired for being a false prophet but for something that his prophecy unintentionally revealed. The solution to Micro Softy 39 lies in considering an alternative possible meaning of a word commonly used in sports. You will also find links to Micro Softies 30 through 39 and their answers here as well.

Monday Micro Softy 29: A funeral lament in four lines. The funeral director was puzzled by Dan’s description of his relationship to the deceased but there was no question that his grief was sincere Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 22 through 29.

Monday Micro Softy 21: Finding More of the Deadly Fentanyl Pills. Here, you will also find links to Microsofties 11 through 20 as well.

Monday Micro Softy 11: What Happened to That Other Dollar? Here you will find links to the first ten Micro Softies. Have fun!