I always play in Casino, in theory i wonder how can i tell if a deck
of card is shuffled randomly to be "as reasonable as possible"? Any
Maths/Estimation prob behind? I wish to know the details behind the
scene please.

Thanks
 

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Request for Question Clarification by mathtalk-ga on 15 Oct 2004 17:40 PDT 
Hi, rndgroup-ga:

It would help to prepare a cogent explanation if you described your
math background.

thanks,
mathtalk-ga
 
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My Mathematics level - some simple college probability like what's the
probability of getting 4-Aces in 52 cards

Thanks
I would like to see some "real calculation" not just explaining a lots
of words in the research paper saying shuffle 7 times means random -
why? and how they get that?, thanks again

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Request for Question Clarification by mathtalk-ga on 11 Nov 2004 05:53 PST

Hi, rndgroup-ga:

I can think of a couple of topics that involve "actual calculations"
that might be of interest to you:

  - statistical tests for randomness

  - the mathematics of a perfect shuffle

A "perfect shuffle" is where a deck of cards is divided exactly in two
and the cards of each half are perfectly interlaced (alternating cards
from each half).

Of course a perfect shuffle is anything but random, but understanding
how this operation affects a deck of cards gives an idea about how
useful 7 shuffles would be in reorganizing the contents.

Statistical calculations tend to be a bit dry and uninteresting, but
if you are interested I will try to liven up the discussion as best I
can!

regards, mathtalk-ga

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Clarification of Question by rndgroup-ga on 11 Nov 2004 20:50 PST

Of course a perfect shuffle is anything but random, but understanding
how this operation affects a deck of cards gives an idea about how
useful 7 shuffles would be in reorganizing the contents.--->Yes
please, I wish to know

Statistical calculations tend to be a bit dry and uninteresting, but
if you are interested I will try to liven up the discussion as best I
can!--->I am interested, please! and thanks!

One more question: there are many shuffle methods like riffle shuffle,
alpha shuffle etc? Is prefect shuffle the best to suit this case?

Looking forward for your answer

There is no such thing as a 'random' shuffle although a good card
sharp might convince most folks otherwise.

Sir Basil Zaharoff who used to own Monte Carlo always advised his
friends that it was impossible to win consistently in a casino.

So, if you want to win, buy the joint.

Good luck!