A Randomized Algorithm is an algorithm that employs a degree of randomness as part of its logic. The algorithm typically uses uniformly random bits as an auxiliary input to guide its behavior, in the hope of achieving good performance in the "average case" over all possible choices of random bits. Formally, the algorithm's performance will be a random variable determined by the random bits; thus either the running time, or the output (or both) are random variables.

In common practice, randomized algorithms are approximated using a pseudorandom number generator in place of a true source of random bits, such an implementation may deviate from the expected theoretical behavior.

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