---
title: Second in the Expected Value Series
description: Welcome back to the second in a series of posts from our good friend Craig Hilsenrath at Option Workbench.
---

[Tradier Blog ](https://blog.tradier.com/blog)

# [Second in the Expected Value Series](https://blog.tradier.com/blog/2014/04/second-in-the-expected-value-series.html)

 Written by [Craig Russell](https://blog.tradier.com/blog/author/craig-russell) | Apr 17, 2014 4:00:00 AM

Welcome back to the second in a series of posts from our good friend Craig Hilsenrath at [Option Workbench](http://optionworkbench.com/). In the first Craig introduced us to the concept of Expected Value and why it is important to options trading. With this post that is taken one step further to give us some of the math behind it all and help us to think like the house in a Vegas casino to always put the odds in our favor. We here at [Tradier](https://tradier.com/) believe the more you know the better off you are. Enjoy the read and stay tuned for the next installment.

**Expected Value**  
In plain language the expected value is the best estimate of a value at some time in the  
future. The estimate is calculated by computing the weighted average sum of a set of  
possible values. Ideally we’d like to use all possible values to calculate the expected  
value but that is not always possible. In general the weighted average is calculated by:

  <http://tradier.typepad.com/.a/6a019b00aa8013970c01a3fcf26a24970b-pi>

In a simple average the weight associated with each value is 1 divided by the total  
number of values, or n in the formula above. For the expected value calculation the  
weight for each value is the probability of that value occurring.   
The probability associated with a particular value, xi, is found by taking the ratio of the  
number of times the xi can occur divided by the total number of observations. A simple  
example of this type of calculation is the roll of a single die. The probability of rolling any  
of the numbers on the die is 1 out of 6 or 16 2/3 percent.

To make this a little more interesting, suppose a game was constructed where the  
operator would roll a fair die and payout 3:1 on a bet to someone who picked the  
number that comes up on the die. If a person bets $25 the operator would give them  
back $100, their $25 bet plus $75. At first glance this might seem like a good way for the  
operator to lose $75. But applying the expected value calculation reveals a different  
story. The probability of the operator having to pay out $75 is 1/6 and the probability of  
them keeping the $25 is 5/6. So the expected value of this game is:

***-75 x 1/6 + 25 x 5/6 = 8 1/3***

So on average the operator would expect to make approximately $8.33 per $25 bet. It  
should be noted that the operator cannot make $8.33 on any single roll. This illustrates  
that the expected value need not be one of the possible outcomes.  
To drive this point home consider the expected value of a roulette wheel from the  
perspective of the house. A roulette wheel has slots numbered 1 to 36, half of which are  
colored black and the other half red. There are two additional slots numbered 0 and 00  
colored green for a total of 38 slots. There are two main types of bets that can be made  
at a roulette wheel. In the first type of bet the gambler picks a number from 1 to 36 and  
if that number comes up the gambler gets paid 35 times the amount bet. In the second  
type of bet the gambler picks a color, black or red, and if the color comes up the  
gambler receives a 2:1 payout. So if $1 is wagered on red and the ball lands in a red  
slot the bettor gets back $2. The expected value of these bets for the house are:

***Bet 1: -35 x 1/38 + 1 x 37/38 = 0.0526***  
***Bet 2: -1 x 18/38 + 1 x 20/38 = 0.0526***

From the above, the casino expects to make 5.26 cents for every dollar bet at a roulette  
wheel. Conversely, a gambler should expect to lose 5.26 cents for every dollar bet at a  
roulette wheel.

Using expected value does not guarantee that ANY roll of a die or spin of a roulette  
wheel will have a positive outcome for the game’s operator. It does indicate what the  
AVERAGE outcome will be over many such rolls and spins and gives the house an  
edge over time - essentially the expected profit for the house. Considering the billions of  
dollars in annual revenue generated by the gaming industry, expectations do not need  
to be very high if many games with positive expectation can be played. This is all very  
interesting for casino operators and traveling dice games, but how does it pertain to  
trading options?

Coming next week Expected Value in your options strategies. See you then!

[View full post](https://blog.tradier.com/blog/2014/04/second-in-the-expected-value-series.html)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Craig Russell"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-04-23T17:59:53.531Z",
  "datePublished" : "2014-04-17T04:00:00Z",
  "headline" : "Second in the Expected Value Series",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 60,
    "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
    "width" : 60
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.tradier.com/blog/2014/04/second-in-the-expected-value-series.html",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Welcome to the Tradier Blog"
  }
}
```