# I Didn't Want to Get Involved, but... (Monty Hall) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 12, 2000, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-want-to-get-involved-but-monty-hall/17970 "2000-04-12T02:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2000, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-want-to-get-involved-but-monty-hall/17970/21 "2000-04-14T00:31:00Z")
Pithiness is so rarely rewarded, yet I remain a simple man. [The Question, The Answer, The Applet](http://www.greylabyrinth.com/Puzzles/puzzle020.htm) ---
**Author:** ![dill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea5d25/32.png) [@dill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dill)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-want-to-get-involved-but-monty-hall/17970/22 "2000-04-15T05:48:00Z")
In my above post, I forgot to include the condition that the omniscient fellow who instructs the 998 others to scratch off their tickets let you know beforehand that whether or not you had the winning ticket, he would never tell you to to scratch yours off. This is akin to the assumption that Monty never reveals what’s behind the door you already **picked**. Well duh. ---
**Author:** ![Konrad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f475e1/32.png) [@Konrad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Konrad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-want-to-get-involved-but-monty-hall/17970/23 "2000-04-16T23:54:00Z")
The key to this problem is that Monty knows which door has the prize. The reason this problem is so famous is that people always tell it wrong and confuse others into thinking that Monty opens a random door. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-want-to-get-involved-but-monty-hall/17970.md?page=1)