Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
83:17 means that for for every 17 losses there will be 83 wins. Or perhaps looking at a simpler example will help.
Rolling a dice will have the odds of 1/6 to roll any one number. but for a ratio, it is 1:5 in favor of rolling that number. Basically if you roll the dice until you get the number you are looking for, you should roll five of the other numbers and then one of the one you are looking for.
Hopefully you notice in the dice example the sum of the two sides of the ratio add up to the total number of possibilities. This is the detail we are going to use for your question.
Anyway 83:17 will have a total of 83+17 possibilities. And of those 83 are a win. so that's 83/100, which is .87.
I will admit, talking about a slot machine would usually make me assume a low probability, something closer to 0. But reading the question that is what I understand the answer to be.
