Odds (as in gambling) are expressed as a ratio. For example, odds of "7 to 3 against" (7:3) mean that there are seven chances that the event will not happen to every three chances that it will happen. On the other hand, the probability of success is 30%. In every ten trials, there are three wins and seven losses.
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Famous quotes containing the word odds:
“Macbeth. What is the night?
Lady Macbeth. Almost at odds with morning, which is which.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Indeed the involuntary character of psychiatric treatment is at odds with the spirit and ethics of medicine itself.”
—Kate Millett (b. 1934)
“The new always happens against the overwhelming odds of statistical laws and their probability, which for all practical, everyday purposes amounts to certainty; the new therefore always appears in the guise of a miracle.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)