Odds to Robin Hood an Arrow

The odds to Robin Hood an arrow in archery are pretty low. This is where one arrow splits the other down the middle. Named after the Robin of Loxley, that guy in tights running around Sherwood Forest in the Middle Ages with his bunch of merry men. Sounds pretty suspect!

Introduction: Odds to Robing Hood an Arrow

I guess we should take into consideration the skill of the archer. Then we need to know if he’s aiming for the split shot as opposed to just shooting randomly and hoping. At what distance are we talking? Also the actual construction material of the arrow, as some will “flex” more than others. And most will not actually split!

Simplest Approach

The simplest approach, according to online gambling news in the UK,  would be to have the archer shoot a number of arrows at the center of the target. If you were then to calculate the size of the end of the arrow or nock, then see how many of these would fit into the radius of all his arrows. That’s your probability is right there. You can actually bet on archery.

Odds to Robin Hood an Arrow: Here Comes the Math

Let’s look in more detail. So, imagine that we have two arrows. One of them is already sticking out the center of the target. You want to accurately shoot the other arrow into the end of the first one. Let’s assume that you can land an arrow within a 5 cm radius. Then the shot area is around 78cm2. Now the nock of an arrow measures 0.5cm. That represents an area of 0.2 cm2. Or less than 1% of the target area. Even if we aim very well and score a hit on the back end of the arrow, it will not necessarily mean skill was involved. And it will probably not even split it.

That’s a lot of Arrows

If the second arrow strikes the edge of the nock, the arrow will fly off into the target without doing any damage to the first arrow. So the chances of actually splitting the arrow decrease even further. We can consider that 1 out of every 10 arrows that actually hits the nock will be dead center. So the chances of doing a Robin Hood are approx 0.025%. That’s roughly 1 to every 4,000 arrows shot. You get better odds betting with Unibet.

Skill or Luck

Then there’s the part that skill plays. Imagine continuously shooting arrows at a target until it’s full of arrows. Then your chance of hitting another in hugely increased. Sure that was a Robin Hood, but there was no other place left on the target for the arrow to go. But that’s not skill. Have a look at these online gambling sites in the UK to test your skill.

Odds to Robin Hood an Arrow: No Wood

Another point to keep in mind is the construction of arrows today. They are no longer made from wood with a quiver of goose feathers. Today’s arrows are either aluminum, carbon fiber, fiberglass or a combination. If you hit one of these from behind, then we have what’s known as “telescoping” as one arrow will break the plastic nock and just stick out from the first. The only way to completely split an arrow is for it to be made of wood. Check out some archery related bets on Unibet.