Asymptotic properties of the number of replications of a paired comparison

Abstract

A discrete random variable describing the number of comparisons made in a sequence of comparisons between two opponents which terminates as soon as one opponent wins m comparisons is studied. By equating two different expressions for the mean of the variable, a closed form for the incomplete beta function with equal arguments is obtained. This expression is used in deriving asymptotic (m-large) expressions for the mean and variance. The standardized variate is shown to converge to the Gaussian distribution as m→ ∞. A result corresponding to the DeMoivre-Laplace limit theorem is proved. Finally applications are made to the genetic code problem, to Banach's Match Box Problem, and to the World Series of baseball.