Trumpace

I think I have seen this before and seem to remember that if n is the number of people then probability of winning can be made 1 - O(1/2^n) (O = order of in asymptotic language) i.e as n increases, the chances of winning can be made close to 100%.

Ever been in a jail? Or know anyone who has? While you may have one or two (or even 4/5/6) who might be smart, you would not find 100 of them capable of performing this calculation all in the same prison, all at the same time. Hell, I have 5 quarters of calculus in my background (albeit some 25 years ago) and I am not even sure I could do it. Eh? I was just kidding (and was under the impression that you were too based on your smiley)... Apparently, you were being serious. Practically speaking, do you really think there will be such a warden? OR a prison with exactly 100 inmates and 100 guards? OR that the warden will be allowed to release them in such a way? OR that the prisoners will agree to have a number written on their foreheads? OR we will know about such events? Please... lets not discuss this any futher.

Well done guys (you know who you are). Blofeld, please create a new thread for the problem you had in mind. finnigan1, please re-read the thread ;) No "silly" solutions. bid_em_up, criminals can be smart/know math (unabomber?)... why not? (and just because they got caught does not mean they are stupid)

No. They are not allowed to signal each other in anyway. Are you willing to bet that it is an impossible problem?

A prison with 100 inmates has an eccentric warden (what's new?). He decides that he will release them if they are smart/lucky enough to win the game he is going to play with them: On a Sunday morning, every prisoner will be assigned a number (integer) from 1 to 100 (inclusive), which will be written on his forehead. Any number may be assigned to an arbitrary number of prisoners (repetitions allowed!) Every prisoner will see the numbers of the other 99, but won't see his own number. The prisoners then guess their own numbers simultaneously. (There will be a guard assigned to each prisoner to note down the guess: yes, it is a high security prison) If at least one prisoner guesses his number right, they are all released immediately. Otherwise, they will need to wait another year for another challenge. On the evening before, they are allowed to gather together and devise a strategy. What should the prisoners' strategy be?

Not sure if this forum software supports it, but I have seen forums where it is possible to rate single posts and as an added benefit, the rating of the poster is correspondingly affected. One can now probably pay more attention/less attention to a new post by a given user based on his/her rating. The moderators/people knowledgeable enough can probably help seed the ratings of some of the exisiting posters and let the mechanism handle the rest.

Don't worry, this has got nothing to do having a rating system etc. Some people have no clue as to what their rating should be and they (seem) to do it usually by the logic: "I am better than him, he is advanced, so, so am I" etc My suggestion is to use BridgeMaster demo deals you have, to suggest a rating to the people (What rating to suggest perhaps maps directly to the level and # of questions solved correctly by them) Perhaps have a link: "Unsure of your rating. Find out here: blah" which takes them to the demo deals of Bridgemaster. Will probably be a good ad for BridgeMaster too.

Very nice hand.. TylerE has got it I think... Reminds me of a hand from Deal of the Week (the actual source was Paul Lukacs' book I think) (the actual hand might be different, this is from my recollection...) [hv=n=s32h32dajt9876ct9&s=sakqha54dk2cakq65]133|200|Scoring: Rubber Contract 6NT.[/hv] West leads a spade. Contract is 6NT. (dburn, sorry for hijacking the thread)

What bid_em_up posted was not his analysis of the problem. I think he was responding to helene's post. I don't think bid_em_up ever claimed that 5 is max. I might be mistaken though, but it does look like he is talking about helene's solution. Let me assure you, there is no "cheesy" solution to this. It is a very legitimate answer and is very clever. All but one can survive, even with more than 2 colours. [edit] Gnome beat me to it [/edit]

TrumpAce is our resident cardplay expert :) Expert? No way! I showed this to a friend yesterday and I think he is still laughing... :) Thank you for the compliment though...

Yes, this is a very nice puzzle. In fact it can even be generalized to k colours.

Neat hand! ♣ ♣ Hope analysis is correct.

And the fish is in the net B)

If you know this already, please don't answer too soon. "U2" has a concert that starts in 17 minutes and the group members must all cross a bridge to get there. All four men begin on the same side of the bridge. You must help them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either one or two people, must have the flashlight to see. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each band member walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower man's pace, based on this information: * Bono: - 1 minute to cross * Edge: - 2 minutes to cross * Adam: - 5 minutes to cross * Larry: - 10 minutes to cross For example: if Bono and Larry walk across first, 10 minutes have elapsed when they get to the other side of the bridge. If Larry then returns with the flashlight, a total of 20 minutes will have passed and you will have failed. Note: There is no "trick" behind this. It is the simple movement of resources in the appropriate order. (Almost verbatim from: http://members.aol.com/DrMWEcker/BrdgPuzl.htm)

I don't buy this. Move this thread to General Bridge Discussion! It is out of place in the Water Cooler! :unsure:

I mark them as friends, and I usually don't have a problem going through the list finding them (the kibitz-worthy players). Their profile usually contains a star or I usually remember the id.

I think 3NT is an overbid even at IMPS, given the vulnerability. (But, I don't know squat about bidding...) It is not a gross overbid (IMO), and is no reason for a random partner to leave. My guess is that "experto" left because of the advertised rating. My comment about him being a true expert was an attempt at poking fun at experts and fake experts at the same time... :P :blink:

Most definitely! lol :P

You are kidding right? As others have pointed out, 3NT was an against the odds bid, which got lucky. Off topic: It does seem like the "experto" might not have been a fake one: 1) He was very rude :) 2) He had his bids. 3) He left. Inspite of getting a good result.

Quite strange. Perhaps since it is level 3, you don't think as much as you do for level 4? Or maybe you answered your question yourself: the more the possible lines of play, the less chances that you pick the right line. This probably indicates you need more experience with such hands... Good approach to learning though. The hands in BridgeMaster are really very instructive.

Why so? Just this hand is not justification enough. I am not saying it (the 1NT bid) is wrong or right (I have no clue), but the claim that this one hand justifies that bid is ridiculous.

Do we get to keep the money? What happens after we open the boxes and live, are we let go? Assuming we are let go with the money found and that the money is American $, I would just open a 1000 boxes to have a reasonable chance of becoming a millionaire and not dying in the process. btw, what is the point of this question? See how much ppl are willing to risk their lives for money? :)

Follow up question. This time you are in 2NT. [hv=n=sa2hkqdakj7654c32&s=skqhj32d32cqj9654]133|200|Scoring: Rubber Spade lead.[/hv] You are South in 2NT. You get a spade lead. Plan the play.

[hv=n=sa2hkqdakj7654c32&s=skqhj32d32caq7654]133|200|Scoring: Rubber Spade lead.[/hv] You are South in 3NT. You get a spade lead. Plan the play.

I like this line!