Random Card Generator
| 5-card hand | Ways out of 2,598,960 | Probability | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|
| royal / straight flush | 4 | 0.0002% | 1 in 649,740 |
| straight flush | 36 | 0.0014% | 1 in 72,193 |
| four of a kind | 624 | 0.0240% | 1 in 4,165 |
| full house | 3,744 | 0.1441% | 1 in 694 |
| flush | 5,108 | 0.1965% | 1 in 508 |
| straight | 10,200 | 0.3925% | 1 in 254 |
| three of a kind | 54,912 | 2.1128% | 1 in 47 |
| two pair | 123,552 | 4.7539% | 1 in 21 |
| one pair | 1,098,240 | 42.2569% | 1 in 2 |
| no pair | 1,302,540 | 50.1177% | 1 in 1 |
A shuffled 52-card deck can sit in 52! different orders - a 68-digit number, roughly 8 x 10^67, which is why MIT's probability course opens counting with it: every fair shuffle deals an order no one has ever held before. Type how many cards you want, hit Draw, and this generator deals them - naming your five-card poker hand when you draw five.
The twist worth sharing: every deal is seeded, and the seed lives in the URL. Send a friend the link after a draw and their browser replays your exact hand - same cards, same order - which settles game-night disputes, lets a teacher deal the same practice hand to a whole class, and lets a magician rehearse against a known layout. Every press of Draw rolls a fresh seed; the math behind it is a standard shuffle algorithm, chosen for replayability, not casino-grade secrecy.
How to use
- Type a card count - 5 for a poker hand, 7 for Texas hold'em, anything from 1 to 52 - and hit Draw.
- Hit Draw - the cards appear with your hand named if you drew five, and the URL gains the seed that reproduces this exact deal.
- Share the URL to deal someone else the same hand, or Draw again for a fresh shuffle and a new seed.
Frequently asked questions
How many different ways can a deck be shuffled?
52 factorial: 52 choices for the first card, 51 for the second, down to 1 - about 8 x 10^67 orders. The probability of two independent shuffles matching is 1 in that number, which is why the claim 'no one has ever shuffled into the same order twice' is safe for all practical purposes. MIT's introductory probability course uses exactly this number to teach counting.
Is this shuffle really random?
Honest answer: it is a seeded pseudo-random shuffle - a standard algorithm started from the seed in your URL. It passes the eye test and the game-night test, and replayability is the point: same seed, same deal, verifiable. It is not a cryptographic random source, so do not build a casino on it; for a casual draw, an online deck, or a classroom demo, it does exactly what a deck of cards does.
What are the odds of being dealt each poker hand?
In five cards: a royal or straight flush lands about 1 draw in 6,497, four of a kind 1 in 4,165, a full house 1 in 694, a flush 1 in 509, a straight 1 in 255, trips 1 in 47, two pair 1 in 21, one pair 1 in 2.4 - and just under half of all hands are the no-pair kind. The table under the tool carries the exact counts out of 2,598,960.
Why did my friend get the exact same hand?
Because you shared the seed: the URL carries the number this shuffle started from, and the same seed always deals the same cards in the same order - that is the feature, not a glitch. Press Draw again and a new seed rolls, dealing something new. Long-press-copy the URL before a round if you want the same layout on two screens.
Are jokers included in the deck?
No - the deck here is the standard 52: thirteen ranks in four suits. Jokers are late additions owned by specific games (euchre's one-spot rules, chess-like variants, wild-card house rules), so a clean 52 keeps the odds table honest. Draw 53 at your own peril - the cap stops you.