Joshua Zucker wrote, about Toss Up at 99-to-99:
This argument (that going first is good) doesn't make sense.
The second player won't adopt the same strategy as the first: the second player adopts the strategy of stopping when they get at least one point past the first player (or maybe stopping on a tie, if the first player was ambitious enough Knowing how many points the first player earned is a huge advantage. If the first player busts, you have an almost automatic win by just rolling once.
If the first player busts, then the game isn't yet about to end! It becomes the second player's turn, and the score is still 99-to-99, and we're back in the original game state with the players' identities swapped. (Perhaps I wasn't clear that I'm analyzing the original rules, in which busting only loses you the tentative points you've accumulated so far this turn. Points you've "banked" by voluntarily passing the dice are yours forever.) If the first player doesn't bust, then of course player 2 will adopt the strategy "beat player 1 or bust trying." But p2's probability of busting trying is just the same as was p1's of busting before reaching that point value in the first place. --Michael Kleber -- It is very dark and after 2000. If you continue you are likely to be eaten by a bleen.