Weighted Decision Maker
Let chance choose between your options, but give the ones you lean towards a better chance of coming up.
Results
What this tool does
Sometimes the point of tossing a coin is not that you are indifferent — it is that you want the decision made. Write your options one per line with a number after each, and the number is how much weight that option carries. An option with a three is three times as likely as one with a one. The odds are laid out before the draw so nothing is hidden, and the whole thing runs from a seed you can share if someone else wants to check the result.
Formula
adds up the weights, draws a point within that sum, and returns the option whose interval the point fell in
Variables
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
items | Your options, one per line, with a weight | — |
seed | Seed | — |
OUT | It picked | — |
TB | The odds you set | — |
CH | Chance this one had | % |
FV | Most likely option | — |
FC | Its chance | % |
NO | Options | — |
Worked example
- Your options, one per line, with a weightPizza = 3 Sushi = 1 Burger = 2 Stay in and cook = 4
- Seed7
- It pickedPizza
- The odds you setPizza 3 30.0% Sushi 1 10.0% Burger 2 20.0% Stay in and cook 4 40.0%
- Chance this one had30.0 %
- Most likely optionStay in and cook
- Its chance40.0 %
- Options4
Limitations
- The calculation runs entirely in your browser. The values you type are never sent to a server.
Frequently asked questions
What are the weights for?
To let you be honest about not being indifferent. A plain random picker treats every option equally, which is rarely what you want: you are leaning towards one of them and would like chance to break the tie without pretending the tie was even. Give one option a three and another a one and the first is three times as likely. The percentages are shown so you can see exactly what you asked for before the draw.
Is the draw actually random?
It comes from a seeded generator, which means it is reproducible rather than secret: the same seed and the same list always give the same answer, in this browser and in the tests that check this page. That is a feature if you are settling something with other people, because you can publish the seed and anyone can verify the result. It is not suitable for anything where an opponent must not be able to predict the outcome.