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What is the CDF of a discrete random variable? Is there an explicit formula of the CDF of a discrete random variable? I know that a CDF of a continuous (real-valued) random variable is: $$F_X(x)=\Pr[X\leq x]$$

Is there an equivalent formula for discrete random variable?

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    $\begingroup$ Same definition. $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 2, 2014 at 23:18

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$F_X(x)=\Pr[X\leq x]$ is the definition of a cumulative distribution function, whether the random variable has a discrete or a continuous distribution.

For a discrete random variable you can write $$F_X(x)=\Pr[X\leq x] = \sum_{y \leq x}\Pr[X= y]$$ while for a continuous random variable with a probability density function $f_X$ it could be $$F_X(x)=\Pr[X\leq x] = \int_{-\infty}^x f_X(y)\; dy$$

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