<p>mathsciencedude totally killed the point of this thread 
Which was to give all us math wiz CCers a fun debate. 97-0-1-0-2 is correct. The website’s explanation is very thorough.</p>
<p>I did this problem a few weeks ago with my roommates (5 of them). Basically, if pirate 1’s plan is rejected then pirate 2 proposes 98-0-1-1 (contrary to what the website says), because if pirate 2 is rejected, then pirate 3 proposes 100-0-0. Pirate 4 cannot say no because he has a 50% of death (pirate 5 being evil or not evil) and wouldn’t get any gold either way. He picks pirate 3’s plan because he wants the MOST benefit, and guaranteeing his own survival is probably the best.</p>
<p>Going back, we know that pirate 5 would get 1 gold from pirate 2’s plan. Therefore, if pirate 1 were to propose 98-0-1-0-1, then pirate 5 has a 50% chance of rejecting my plan. Pirate 3 knows that if pirate 2 were to propose a plan, he wouldn’t get any gold. Therefore, pirate 1’s optimal plan is 97-0-1-0-2. Kudos to all who got the correct answer.</p>
<p>You guys can continue to debate other answers. I hope this problem was fun and kept your minds busy for at least 5 minutes each day!</p>