What is probability?

Is winning a coin toss always just luck?

How can I get probability to be on my side?

Michael and his little sister Erin were both very hungry, but there was only one slice of pizza left. Michael said, "Let's flip a coin to decide who gets it." Erin quickly agreed. 

As Michael fished for a coin in his pocket he said to Erin, "Heads I win, tails you lose, ok?" 

Erin said, "Sounds good to me." 

Michael flipped the coin, "Heads, I win!" 

Erin, who really wanted that pizza said, "How about we do the best 2 out of 3?" 

Michael, confident that probability was on his side, said, "Ok, but that pizza is mine!" He flipped the coin again, "Tails, you lose!" He started reaching for the slice of pizza. 

Erin, who was not going to give up that easily, said, "Wait a minute you had heads and I had tails! We have to flip it one more time!" 

Michael replied, "You should have listened more carefully, when it is heads I win and when it is tails you lose, which means I win on tails also."

Sometimes you can make sure probability is on your side like Michael did, but it is important to understand more about it, so you can make wise decisions.

Let's lean more about probability...

• Probability is the likeliness an event is to happen.
• Probabilities are usually written as fractions and fall between 0 and 1.

• A probability of 0 means an event can never happen.
• A probability of 1 means an event will definitely happen.

• Probabilities can also be written as decimals and percents.  If you do not remember how to change a fraction into a decimal or percent click here.

These are some basic probability ideas, to find out more go to