Question

A standard deck of 52 cards has 4 suits (spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds) with 13 different cards (ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king) in each suit. If you are dealt exactly two cards from the deck without replacement, what is the probability that you are dealt a pair (matching cards in different suits)

Answer 1

P(a pair with matching cards in different suits) = 1/52

Explanation:

We are told that there are 4 suites and each suit has 13 different cards. This is a total of 52 cards.

Thus;

Probability of selecting one card of a particular suit = 13/52 = 1/4

If we now want to select a matching card of another suit without replacing the first one, then, we now have; 52 - 13 = 39 cards. Now, there are only 3 matching cards of the 3 remaining suits that is same as the first card drawn.

Thus; probability = 3/39 = 1/13

Thus;

P(a pair with matching cards in different suits) = 1/4 × 1/13

P(a pair with matching cards in different suits) = 1/52