What Is the Probability of Drawing a Four-of-a-Kind in a Five-Card Poker Hand?

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The probability of any one of those arrangements is 4.8 x 10^-5. So the probability of any one of those five arrangements is 5x4.8 x 10^-5= 2.4 x 10^-4. In summary, the probability of getting 5 cards with a four-of-a-kind is 2.4 x 10^-4.
  • #1
tennishaha
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52 cards, 13 values (A to K) and 4 suits. what's the probability of getting 5 cards with a four-of-a-kind (same value)?
My solution: first card 52/52, second 3/51, third 2/50. fourth 1/49, fifth 48/48
so (52/52)*(3/51)*(2/50)*(1/49)*(48/48)~4.8e-5
The solution provided by the book 13x48/(C 52 5)~2.4e-4
My solution is 1/5 of the answer. Did I miss something? I think both ways of solving it make sense

Thanks
 
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  • #2
Your solution is the probability that the first four cards dealt are from the same suit and the fifth card from a different suit. It is easy to show that the probability of "second, third, fourth, fifth cards from the same suit but first card from a different suite", "first, third, fourth, fifth cards from the same suit, second card from a different suit", etc. are the same. That "different suit" card can be anyone of the five cards dealt so the value you got is multiplied by 5.

More formally, there are [tex]\begin{pmatrix}5 \\ 1\end{pmatrix}= 5[/tex] ways of arranging five things, four of which are the same.
 

1. What is probability and how is it calculated?

Probability is a measure of the likelihood of an event occurring. It is calculated by dividing the number of desired outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes.

2. What is the difference between theoretical and experimental probability?

Theoretical probability is based on mathematical calculations and assumes that all outcomes are equally likely. Experimental probability is based on actual data and reflects the observed outcomes.

3. What is the difference between independent and dependent events?

Independent events are events where the outcome of one event does not affect the outcome of another event. Dependent events are events where the outcome of one event does affect the outcome of another event.

4. How do you calculate the probability of multiple independent events?

The probability of multiple independent events occurring together is calculated by multiplying the individual probabilities of each event. P(A and B) = P(A) x P(B).

5. Can probability be greater than 1?

No, probability cannot be greater than 1. A probability of 1 means that an event is certain to occur, while a probability of 0 means that an event is impossible. All probabilities must fall between 0 and 1.

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