Monopoly has a new card and people think they'll end up throwing it away

If you've ever played Monopoly, then you'll be able to attest to the fact that people can get seriously fired up when playing the game.

Now, the popular board game, which has been around since 1935 (yes, it's that old), has a new card - but fans think people will end up throwing it away.

The card was introduced back in 2018, and it's a seriously limited edition find that adds a whole new dimension to players' quests to dominate the board.

Why? Well, because it could see absolute carnage erupt in your home.

The card is known as 'The Money Grab Chance Card' and it was introduced to replace the 'Bank pays you dividend of $50' card.

As the card's name suggests if you're unlucky enough - or lucky enough - to get it, you need throw all the $100 bills in your bank up in the air.

Just like when there's a scramble at a wedding, players then need to race to grab them and potentially get an unexpected leg up in the highly competitive game.

Hasbro

However, as you can imagine, having a bunch of adults run for paper money probably isn't the safest idea in the world, especially if they have been playing the game after a vino or two (or three).

As one player noted: "What should be a relaxing sit-down game can turn into something where you have to get up and fight.

"Plus, you can pretty much guarantee that your Monopoly money is going to get ripped or crinkled."

And yet, even if you do happen to get this card in your edition of Monopoly, apparently there is a mathematically proven hack to help you win the game.

The news was revealed by the self-confessed Monopoly Master, who told Deadspin that he has literally done the maths.

He explained: "I study math in college and actually did a project on this and there have been numerous studies to predict the best strategies in Monopoly.

"Because it is all based on random chance, the exact probabilities can be determined by use of a Markov Chain.

"The 'Go to Jail' square acts as a kind of sink, depriving the spaces after it of opportunities to be landed on, where as the 'Jail' square acts as a source and allows spaces after it to get landed on more frequently.

"I have attached an exact probability distribution for your enjoyment.

"As you can see the Orange spaces have some of the highest probabilities."

Alamy / Andrew Greaves

He added: "The strategy does not just end there, though. If you take into account the money you put in, the money you get, and the probability of landing on that square, you can determine the Expected Return of that monopoly.

"The Orange monopolies still do very well in Expected Return and a player can expect to break even in the shortest amount of turns with these properties, so Orange is a very safe and good strategy.

"However, the Green properties actually yield the greatest Expected Return, but this is a much riskier move as the game must go on for a long time in order to see those investments pay off.

"So the choice is yours.

"Try to end the game quickly using the Orange monopolies, or humiliate your opponents by having them mortgage their kids to pay off rent at Green."

The more you know, eh?