odds help

[prowannabie]

can someone explain the process of this equation for holding a specific pair?

. 2
C = 6
. 4
(disregard the dots,,,only way i could get to indent)

[basementproject]

It's a combination. There are 6 combinations of a specific pocket pair that you can be dealt.

I have no idea what the theory is behind this. Ask pzhon for the mathematical proof.

What i do know is how to use it. Say you want to determine the # of ways you can be dealt 6 6. There are four 6s in the deck. You want two of them in your hand. You want to figure out how many different ways you can be dealt 6 6.

On any decent calculator there's a button "nCr". This is the combination function. You're gonna do the following to figure out the ways in which you can be dealt 4 4.

4 nCr 2 = 6

where n = the number of elements to choose from and,
r = the number of elements to choose.

You can do this to find out the number of ways you can be dealt any specific holecards. To figure out AK, for instance:

8 nCr 2 = 28

If you want to know how many holdem hand combinations there are in holdem:

52 nCr 2 = 1326

Just as another example to drive the point home, if you want to see how many possible boards there are in holdem, you calculate as such:

52 nCr 5 = 2598960

To take your original question a step further, let's calculate the probability of being dealt a pocket pair rather than just the # of ways we can get one. The probability of getting 6 6 is going to be:

4 nCr 2 / 52 nCr 2 = 6 / 1326


Hope this helps!

[basementproject]

BTW, here is a pretty rad all-purpose probability/stats calculator page that I quite often use. It includes a combination calculator:

super sweet awesome math calculator