Outcome of coin toss lies in the wrist

Outcome of a coin toss depends on the technique used to flip it, say researchers.

A study, led by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada has found that with practice, it is possible to correctly predict the outcome of the coin toss up to two-thirds of the time.

During the study, research team asked 13 medical students to flip a coin 300 times and try to influence the way it landed.

The top two winners were told they would receive a prize of $20 or $10 respectively.

They found that within two minutes of practicing, students could make the coin land on the side they chose on average 54% of the time.

Researchers say coin-flip can be manipulated to turn up heads or tails.

Matthew Clark and Dr Brian Westerberg, who conducted the experiment, suggested methods to the students to improve their chances of predicting the outcome.

They said that side of the coin which is uppermost before it is flipped is less likely to land facing upwards.

This is because the disc does not spin symmetrically in flight.

Height, the angle of launch and the catch plays a vital role in influencing which side the coin lands.

By practising to gain consistency, the tosser can have an affect on the outcome.

"Therefore, the possibility of practising the task to reduce these differing elements can be considered," the Telegraph quoted authors as saying.

"If you try to toss the coin the same way each time you should be able to make the outcome significantly different than 50-50," they added.

Clark said: "The findings of my research show, to statistical significance, that it is easy to manipulate the toss of a coin."

"This raises questions as to the "motives" of the coin tosser (as they cannot be assumed to be honourable!), with potential implications to sports and to the validity of some game shows," he added.