The short version
Illustrated guide to weighted sampling, including an explanation of Vose's alias method.
From the HackerLinks archive
Darts, Dice, and Coins
Illustrated guide to weighted sampling, including an explanation of Vose's alias method.
At a glance:
First seen:2026-10-08
Last seen:2026-10-08
Times seen:1
Website:keithschwarz.com
Why it caught our attention
The commenter explicitly identifies the linked guide as their favorite write-up.
Where it surfaced on Hacker News
2026-10-08
“For sampling from a distribution, the best method is Vose's Alias. https://www.keithschwarz.com/darts-dice-coins/ is my favorite write up.”
colmmacc · recommendation
Direct HN comment
When random is not actually random enough
Also surfaced in this discussion
Fixing Random
When random is not actually random enough
2026-10-08