Mathematics
I got heads 5 times in a row - am I 'due' for tails?
VRVihaan RathoreNewcomerasked 1 day ago
I flipped a coin and got heads five times in a row. Doesn’t that mean tails is more likely to come up next?
#probability
Community
Saki’s answer
Confidence: HighNo: the coin has no memory, so every flip is still a 1 in 2 chance of tails. Five heads in a row is unusual, about a 1 in 32 chance, but it does not change the next flip. Believing a result is “due” is called the gambler’s fallacy.
From the lesson Probability
1 answer
- ARMs. Ananya Rao Verified teacherLuminary20 h ago
A fair coin has no memory. Each flip is an independent event, so the probability of tails on the next flip is still exactly 50%, regardless of the streak before it. This mix-up even has a name: the gambler's fallacy.