Financial Interview Question:

A straight flush beats a four-of-a-kind in poker because it is more unlikely. But think about how many straight flushes there are - if you don't count wraparound straights, you can have a straight flush starting on any card from two to 10 in any suit (nine per suit). That means there are 36 straight flushes possible. But how many four of a kinds are there - only 13. What's wrong with this reasoning?

Submitted by: Administrator

Immediately, you should think about what the difference is between a straight flush and a four-of-a-kind. One involves five cards, and the other involves four. Intuitively, that's what should strike you as the problem with the line of reasoning. Look closer and you'll see what that means: for every four of a kind, there are actually a whole bunch of five-card hands: 48 (52 - 4) in fact. There are actually 624 (48 x 13) of them in all.
Submitted by: Administrator