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247.Ruined on Schedule

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random walksCh. 2 — Axiomatic and Conditional Probability444+ Problems in Probability
A gambler starts with $n\$n, where n1n \ge 1 is an integer. Each round, the gambler wins or loses $1\$1 with respective probabilities pp and 1p1-p. Once the gambler has $0\$0 left, he leaves the table. The probability that the gambler is ruined after exactly n+2kn + 2k rounds (k0k \ge 0 an integer) can be written as a function f(p,n,k)f(p, n, k). Compute f(1/3, 5, 3)f(1/3,\ 5,\ 3) to the nearest ten-thousandth.

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