Finding Odds in Roulette A roulette wheel has 38 slots. One slot is 0, another is 00, and the others are numbered 1 through 36, respectively. You are placing a bet that the outcome is an odd number.

a. What is your probability of winning?

b. What are the actual odds against winning?

c. When you bet that the outcome is an odd number, the payoff odds are 1:l. How much profit do you make if you bet $18 and win?

d. How much profit would you make on the $18 bet if you could somehow convince the casino to change its payoff odds so that they are the same as the actual odds against winning? (Recommendation: Don’t actually try to convince any casino of this; their sense of humor is remarkably absent when it comes to things of this sort.)

3-2 Beyond the Basics