Puzzle for September

by Glenn Case

What is the probability that the World Series will be won in       4 games?,     5 games?,    6 games?     7 games?

For the sake of this exercise, assume that each team has an equal probability of winning any one game.  The Series is won when any team wins four games.     Note that four numbers are sought and they necessarily must add to 1.0.

For those who like more of a challenge, suppose Team A is favored over Team B.  That is on the average, Team A will win 66% of the time and Team B will win 33% of the time.   What are now the probabilities?

The answer will be published next month.  If your curiosity is simply unbearable and you would like to see it sooner, it can be viewed at http://pages.prodigy.net/gronjones/_wsn/puzzle.htm