Start here · Essential guide
Deck Probability in Card Games: Drawing the Cards You Need
How to work out the chance of drawing the cards you need from a deck, using counting, the hypergeometric idea and a few worked examples with real numbers.
Cards, Dice and Boards
Deck odds, draws and card pool math.
Start here · Essential guide
How to work out the chance of drawing the cards you need from a deck, using counting, the hypergeometric idea and a few worked examples with real numbers.
Card advantage and tempo explained with simple counting: how to track net cards, why trades are not always equal, and where the numbers stop being useful.
Why a deck of strong but fragile cards can lose to a modest but reliable one, with draw-odds examples for weighing consistency against raw power.
How to use draw probability to balance resource cards and spells in a deck, with worked numbers for 40-card and 60-card lists and the limits of any rule of thumb.
A practical explanation of the hypergeometric formula for drawing without replacement, with step-by-step card examples and a comparison against the binomial shortcut.
How to judge whether to keep or redraw a starting hand using conditional probability, with worked examples for a 40-card deck and the limits of any simple rule.
How published rarity rates translate into what you can expect from booster packs, with worked examples for any-rare and specific-card chances and why averages mislead.
A plain summary of what research on riffle shuffles says about mixing a 52-card deck, why seven is the famous number, and what that means for real card games.
How the popularity of strategies shapes deck and sideboard choices, with a simple weighted-matchup calculation and a look at why metagames shift over time.
How the coupon collector model estimates the number of random draws needed to complete a set, with worked numbers for sets of 10, 100 and 200 cards.
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