[Math] Probability: Cards

probability

A 52-card deck contains 13 cards from each of the four suits: clubs , diamonds , hearts , and spades .
You deal 4 cards without replacement from a well shuffled deck, so that you are equally likely to deal any 4 cards.
The probability that you deal no clubs is?

Best Answer

Hints:

Combinatorial way 1: There are $\binom{52}{4}$ equally likely hands of $4$. There are $\binom{39}{4}$ no club hands.

Combinatorial way 2: Imagine dealing the cards one at a time. There are $(52)(51)(50)(49)$ equally likely strings of four distinct cards. How many strings of $4$ cards have no club?

Conditional probability way: Imagine that the cards are dealt one at a time. The probability the first card is not a club is $\frac{39}{52}$.

Given that the first card is not a club, the probability the second card is not a club is $\frac{38}{51}$. So the probability that neither of the first two cards is a club is $\frac{39}{52}\cdot \frac{38}{51}$.

Given that neither of the first two card is a club, the probability the third card is not a club is $\frac{37}{50}$. Continue.