2000 USAMO Problems/Problem 3

Problem

A game of solitaire is played with $R$ red cards, $W$ white cards, and $B$ blue cards. A player plays all the cards one at a time. With each play he accumulates a penalty. If he plays a blue card, then he is charged a penalty which is the number of white cards still in his hand. If he plays a white card, then he is charged a penalty which is twice the number of red cards still in his hand. If he plays a red card, then he is charged a penalty which is three times the number of blue cards still in his hand. Find, as a function of $R, W,$ and $B,$ the minimal total penalty a player can amass and all the ways in which this minimum can be achieved.

Solution

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See Also

2000 USAMO (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 2
Followed by
Problem 4
1 2 3 4 5 6
All USAMO Problems and Solutions

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