As much as I like Math, Probabillity has always been one of the subjects that I struggle to develop an intuitive sense for. It's really something I should sit down and relearn one of these days...
Anyways, I have a puzzle to present to anyone who would like to try to solve it. Its solution, or any ideas that could help me reach the solution, would be incredibly helpful for developing an Extra Credit Artificial Intelligence that can play a particular Card Game.
Here is the problem:
1) You have a standard card deck with 52 cards, 4 suits, cards 2 through Ace per suit, standard stuff.
2) You are dealt a hand of size N, that contains A 4 of a Kinds, B 3 of a Kinds, C 2 of a Kinds, and D singles. So 4*A + 3*B + 2*C + D = N.
3) Given the hand size N, what is the probability of drawing a particular combination of A, B, C, and D? Assume that your input is always correct (so 4*A + 3*B + 2*C + D = N).
That might be phrased awkwardly, so feel free to ask questions if that doesn't make any sense. I couldn't find any easy to use resources to solve it on my own in about 20 minutes of research, and really, anything, even a pointer in the right direction, will help tremendously.
Thanks!
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Edited by DTL: 12/17/2013 5:12:04 PMI barely passed this course with my sanity intact, but here's some notes I took. Not an identical problem, but somewhat similar. Perhaps it will help.. You randomly select a card from a 52-card deck. Find the probability of selecting a 2 or a 4. First, determine if the events are mutually exclusive. To do so, determine if it is possible for one card to be simultaneously a 2 and a 4 at the same time. If there is no possibility of the card being both a 2 and a 4, then they are mutually exclusive. The formula for mutually exclusive events is: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) The formula for events not mutually exclusive is: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A and B) For this particular scenario, it is not possible for the card to be both a 2 and a 4 at the same time. Therefore, the events are mutually exclusive. First calculate P(2) P(2) = 4/52 Next calculate P(4) P(4) = 4/52 Therefore, P(2 or 4)= 4/52 + 4/52 = 2/13 Hope this helps. Probabilities are a bitch.