Question

If a card is picked from a standard deck of cards. Determine the odds against and the odds in favor of selecting a card greater than 5 (ace is low)

Answer 1

There are 52 cards in a standard deck (discounting Jokers), so the probability of drawing a card is defined as (number of possible cards)/52:

a) there are 4 queens, so the probability of drawing a queen is 4/52 or 1/13

b) there are 13 hearts, so 13/52 or 1/4

c) there are 12 face cards, so 12/52 or 3/13

d) there are 8 cards in each suit > 5 (6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K) and 4 suits, so 32 possible cards; 32/52 = 8/13

To find the odds of NOT drawing these cards, simply subtract the odds of drawing them from 1:

a) 1 - 1/13 = 12/13