1
COM571
Consider the set of all possible five-card poker hands dealt fairly from a standard deck
of fifty-two cards.
a. How many atomic events are there in the joint probability distribution (i.e., how many
five-card hands are there)?
The number of potential five-card hands that may be dealt from a typical 52-card deck equals
the number of atomic events in the joint probability distribution. We may utilize the idea of
combinations to compute this.
A typical deck has 52 cards. Out of the 52 cards available, we must select 5 cards to make a
five-card hand. The combination formula yields the variety of methods to select 5 cards from
a deck of 52:
C(52, 5) = 52! / (5! * (52 - 5)!) = 2,598,960.
Therefore, There are 2,598,960 atomic events in the joint probability distribution for five-card
hands from a standard deck of fifty-two cards.
b. What is the probability of each atomic event?
One may determine the probability of each atomic event by dividing the number of favorable
outcomes (the particular five-card hand) by the entire number of potential outcomes (all five-
card hands).
The solution to component a, 2,598,960, reveals the total number of possibilities that are
feasible.
When the cards are dealt properly, each atomic event (five-card hand) has an identical
likelihood, hence the probability of each atomic event is:
P(atomic event) = 1 / 2,598,960.
Therefore, The probability of each atomic event is 1/2,598,960.
c. What is the probability of being dealt a royal straight flush? Four of a kind?
By dividing the number of favorable possibilities (the particular hands) by the total number of
potential outcomes, we may compute the likelihood of receiving a royal straight flush or four of
a kind.
2
COM571
The hand known as a royal straight flush consists of the cards 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace,
all of which are from the same suit, such as the heart suit. Each suit only has one royal straight
flush in a normal deck. There are 4 positive outcomes (one for each suit).
Being handed a royal straight flush has the following likelihood:
P (royal straight flush) is equal to 4/2,598,960.
We require four cards of the same rank (for example, four Aces) together with any other fifth
card in order to have four of a kind. A deck of cards has 13 ranks, and there are C(4, 1) methods
to select four cards from each rank and C(48, 1) ways to select the fifth card from the remaining
cards for each rank. Thus, there are a total of the following beneficial outcomes for four of a
kind:
The formula is 4 (ranks) * C(4, 1) (four cards of the same rank) * C(48, 1) (fifth card), which
equals 624.
Being dealt four of a kind has the following likelihood:
P (four of a kind) is equal to 624/2,598,960.