Question

In a game, you can get 20 points, 10 points, 2 points. You calculated the expected value of the game; expected value = 5.6. If you play the game many times, how many points can you get on average?​

Answer 1

If the expected value of the game is 5.6, this means that on average you can expect to earn 5.6 points per game if you were to play the game many times. However, since the point values available in the game are 20, 10, and 2, you cannot earn exactly 5.6 points in any single game.

Instead, over many games, the average number of points you would earn per game would approach the expected value of 5.6. For example, if you played the game 100 times, you might earn 2000 points if you got 20 points every time, 1000 points if you got 10 points every time, or 200 points if you got 2 points every time. But if you averaged your points across all 100 games, the average should be close to the expected value of 5.6 points per game.