Best odds to win a slot tournament....

Question

Slot tournament 16 players , 1 on 1 elimination style, winner take all. If 2 of us are going to play, we have the option to both play in the same tournament or each play in a separate tournament. What would be better odds to win ?

Answer 1

It is best to look at the two scenarios from the perspective of what are the chances they lose.

In scenario one, let's say they both play in the same tournament. Assuming each player has equal odds of winning, they will lose 14/16 times or 0.875. Their chances of winning then is (1 - 0.875) or 0.125 or 12.5%.

In scenario two, if they split up, they each have a 1/16 chance of winning in their respective games which means each of their chances of losing is 15/16. For them to lose both games, that means you multiple the chances of them losing both games which is (15/16) * (15/16) = 225 / 256 = 0.8789. Their chances of winning then is (1 - 0.8789) or 0.1211 or 12.1%.

Therefore, they should both play in the same game to increase their chances of winning.