Flip a coin

When flipping coins on this page you can be certain that it is being done in a fair and unbiased way. Both sides of the coin always have the same probability independent of previous outcomes. Many people become suspicious when they see the same side coming up multiple times in a row but this is not as unlikely as one might think. The probability of getting the same side at least 5 times in a row when doing 20 coin flips is as much as 45 %, more than most people expect. In the long run it tends to even itself out so that the proportions of heads and tails are approximately the same.

Coin flipping is often used to choose between two options. If two persons cannot agree they can flip a coin to decide which one of them should be allowed to decide. Many team sports start their matches by flipping a coin to decide which side of the pitch the teams should start the match and sometimes also to decide who should start with the ball. To avoid cheating it's usually a good idea to let an independent person do the flipping. Before the flip takes place it's important that all involved parties have agreed on which side should lead to which outcome. When using the tool on this page it is therefore possible to attach a small description to each side of the coin.

When flipping a real coin it is important that it is thrown up into the air in such a way that it have time to rotate enough for the outcome to become truly random. The coin is often tossed into the air using the thumb. The coin can then be allowed to fall to the ground or land in the palm. Another common variant is to catch the coin with one hand and quickly put it on top of the backside of the other hand.

The two sides of a coin is often referred to as heads and tails. Heads is the front side of the coin that usually depicts the head of a prominent person, often a king or queen. Tails is the back side of the coin where it's often written how much the coin is worth.

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