Futility Closet

“Tempting”: Solution

Posted in Entertainment, Puzzles, Science & Math by Greg Ross on April 29th, 2009

Solution to Tempting:

No, you shouldn’t accept. Surprisingly, the odds of receiving such a hand are 1,827 to 1, overwhelmingly favoring the earl.

It’s said that Charles Anderson Worsley (1809-1897), the second Earl of Yarborough, made a considerable amount of money offering this challenge to whist players. Even today such a hand in bridge is known as a Yarborough.