Is It Normal to Struggle With the Coin Change Problem?

Watching an explanation several times is not unusual, especially for a first DP problem. Let the idea sit for a while, then try writing the solution yourself without the video. After that, work through a few simpler problems so you can practice defining the recurrence instead of memorizing one solution.

The coin change problem can feel especially confusing because there are multiple versions and more than one valid approach. Try starting with a small target amount, manually list the best result for each amount, and look for how the answer depends on previously solved amounts. That usually makes the table and recurrence easier to understand.

Yes, that’s completely normal. Dynamic programming isn’t one single technique—it can look very different from problem to problem. The key usually comes from identifying the state, deciding what each state means, and finding how smaller states build the current one. It takes practice before that pattern becomes intuitive.