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Samantha Ballesteros:
High School Portfolio
PROBABILITY
1. What were your overall feelings about this project?
I think this probability project was the most interestiig one we have worked on this year. Despite this, creating our own probabilty game made me realize how unfair gambling games are in general. In most of them it seems that whoever plays it has a high chance of winning, when he actually has a higher chance of losing.
2. Did this project help you understand probability any better?
This unit was easier than the previous unit for me, so I understood it quite well from the beginning. I don't think this project helped me undertand the unit any better, but it helped me see where we can find probability in the real world.
3. How did your group work together?
I think Jenny and I worked equally throughout the project. We both brainstormed until we came up with the idea of our game and then built it up.
4. Relevance:
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a) What have you learned about "fair games"?
After studying probability, I learned that fair games are the ones in which the gamemaster and the players have an equal chance of winning, although this is not common at all in the gaming industry around the world.
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b) What is your opinion about Las Vegas and the gaming industry?
After studying probability, I think the gaming industry is extremely unfair, yet very smart for the way they manage to keep people playing their games hoping they will win more money. When people begin playing at casinos or any gambling game in general, they get very engaged with the game, thinking they are getting more money, when they actually have quite a low chance of winning more money.
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c) Do you think it's fair to have establishments designed for people to lose money?
Seeing it from an ethical point of view, no, I think it is unfair. It is unfair because people who go to these establishments thinking they are going to have fun end up losing their money.
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d) What is your opinion on the lottery?
I think the lottery is a good idea of an engaging unfair game, since there's an extremely low chance of winning it. Yet people keep their hopes up and play it all the time.
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e) Would you advise your grandmother to play?
No. I think advising my grandmother to play the lottery would be like telling her to throw her money to the garbage for no reason. There's so many people who participate in it that it is almost impossible to win it.
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f) What do you think about gaming casinos?
Gaming casinos seem to be an entertaining place for people to play with their money. Although they are designed for people to lose moey, players still have a chance of leaving with more money than when they got there, but it is unlikely because once they start winning they keep playing and end up losing. So, despite being unfair, I think owning a casino is the smartest way of making money in a fast and constant way.
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