Python flipping x coins x times using loops but receiving odd output

Question

I'm new to python and coding in general. I have an assignment for class to write a program that uses a loop to flip multiple coins multiple times. The code must:

1. ask for the number of coins and how many times to flip those coins.
2. Must ask again if the input is less then 0.
3. Print the result of flipping each coin the specified number of times and must be random.
4. Then print the total number of heads and tails. I do have to use random so suggestions of other modules or better ways to achieve randomization aren't something I'm looking for, thank you.

The output should look something like:

How many coins do you want to flip? 2
How many times do you want to flip each coin? 2

Coin 1
Flip: 1; Result: Heads
Flip: 2; Result: Tails

Coin 2
Flip: 1; Result: Tails
Flip: 2; Result: Heads

There were 2 Tails in total
There were 2 Heads in total

Here's what I tried: (I'm having to use my phone due to some irl problems to ask this so if the format is off I'm sorry!)

import random

heads = 0
tails = 0

coins = int(input("How many coins: "))

while coins !="":
    if coins \<= 0:
        print ("Invalid input")
        coins = int(input("How many coins: "))
    else:
        flips = int(input("How many times to flip: "))
        if flips \<= 0:
            print ("Invalid input")
            flips = int(input("How many times to flip: "))
        else:
            for n in range (0, coins):
                for i in range (0, flips):
                    print (" ")
                    print ("Coin %0d" %n)
                    print (" ")
                    n = coins + 1
                    for flip in range (0, flips):
                        flip = random.randint(0,1)
                        if flip == 0:
                            heads += 1
                            print ("Flips: %0d;" %i, "Result: heads")
                        else:
                            tails += 1
                            print ("Flip: %0d;" %i, "Result: tails")
                        i = flips + 1
print ("total heads:", heads)
print ("total tails:", tails)
break

What I get varies wildly by the numbers I input. I might flip 4 coins 3 times and it flips 6 coins. Or 1 coin 3 times and it flips 6 coins. But 1 coin 2 times flips 1 coin 2 times. The numbers counting the coins and flips also don't work right. I get results like:

Coin 0
Flip: 0; Result: Tails
Flip: 3; Result: Heads

Coin 2
Flip: 1; Result: Tails
Flip: 3; Result: Tails.

I'm stumped and at this point all the code looks like abc soup. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

I had put in the line 'for flip in range (0, flips)' not thinking that moving the 'for i in range (0, flips)' would tell the program the same thing. Which I wouldn't have figured out without Benjamin Davis or Scott Hunter and I greatly appreciate you both! So the middle part should actually be:

else:
    for n in range (1, coins +1)
        print (" ")
        print ("Coin %0d" %n)
        print (" ")
        for i in range (1, flips +1)
            flip = random.randit (0,1)
            if flip == 0:
                heads += 1
                print ("Flip: %0d;" %i, "Result: heads")
            else:
                tails += 1
                print ("Flip: %0d;" %i, "Result: tails")

Answer 2

I'd suggest re-looking into your code's flow control and variable usage once you get to the evaluation stage (when you are doing the coin flipping).

Specifically, you appear to be using the number of flips for two distinct loops: for i in range (0, flips): and for flips in range (0, flips):.

Additionally, the second one (for flips in range (0, flips):) is overwriting the flips variable which you are using to store the number of flips per coin that the user requested.