Optimal Strategies and Rules for the Game of Horse

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the game of Horse, demonstrating that traditional rules favor easy shots and proposing alternative rules to increase game difficulty and engagement.

Contribution

It introduces Pops Rules as an alternative to traditional rules, leading to more challenging optimal shots and a more engaging game experience.

Findings

Traditional rules favor easy shots for optimal play.

Pops Rules increase shot difficulty and game challenge.

Alternative rules enhance game engagement.

Abstract

We investigate the probability of scoring a point when playing the basketball shooting game called "Horse". We show that under the Traditional Rules, it is optimal to choose very easy shots. We propose alternative rules called Pops Rules, and show that they lead to more difficult optimal shots, and thus to a more interesting game.