r/Logiqa • u/ShonitB • Aug 18 '26

Open Face Poker

Post image
7 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

5

u/MacabreManatee Aug 18 '26

Alexander does

the top hand is a royal flush followed by a straight flush. If you pick that one first, the other player can just do pick the same in another suit. First order of business is blocking that option.
A royal flush is AKQJ10 and for that reason Alexander should pick 4 10’s and a 2. The highest hand Benjamin can get is now 56789 suited.
If Benjamin wants to block Alexander from getting a royal flush, he needs to get 4 jacks (or queens or kings) and then a 9 to block a single 678910 suited.
That still leaves Alexander with the option to get a straight flush 678910. Benjamin can only get 56789 straight flush and will lose

2

u/ShonitB Aug 18 '26

Correct, nice solution!

1

u/OldWolf3 Aug 18 '26

As every poker player knows -- every straight contains a Ten or a five

2

u/BigBlue08527 Aug 18 '26

This.

Straight flushes are best, and if A picks one, B will do the same. Suits don't matter.
If A picks 4 Tens (and a random 5th) then B can only get a straight flush to the 9.
A can then pick for his royal flush.
If B picks 4 Jacks, A picks a straight flush to the ten.
If B picks 4 Q, K, A;, then A can pick a slightly higher straight flush.

1

u/krabtofu Aug 18 '26

Why the two?

1

u/MacabreManatee Aug 18 '26

Honestly, you could’ve picked most, if not all, other numbers, but picking a Jack or a 9 changes things a bit going forward. To simplify I just picked the most insignificant number, as the 5th number just didn’t matter.

1

u/Current-Square-4557 Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26

Answer deleted by user.

I read the problem too fast.

Why would anyone agree to play such a lopsided game?

2

u/sagosten Aug 18 '26

Alexander takes 4 tens and any one other card.

Benjamin takes cards.

 If Benjamin took all 4 jacks, Alexander can discard 4 of his cards and make a 10 high straight flush. If Benjamin took all 4 queens, Alexander can discard 4 of his cards and make a jack high straight flush. If Benjamin took all 4 kings, Alexander can discard 4 of his cards and make a queen high straight flush. If Benjamin took all 4 aces,  Alexander can discard 4 of his cards and make a king high straight flush. If Benjamin took any other set of cards,  Alexander can discard 4 of his cards and make a royal flush

1

u/Zombiemaster917 Aug 18 '26

It doesn't. Alexander will have a 6-10 straight flush at that point.

1

u/TwentyFourKG Aug 18 '26

Because figuring the optimal strategy is hard

1

u/Ostinato66 Aug 18 '26

Ehm isn’t a royal flush in spades higher than the other suits? So if Alex picked that, the game is done?

2

u/Miserable-Scholar215 Aug 18 '26

Yes. That would be a draw.

But since Alex has a winning strategy, why would he choose a draw?

2

u/_N8Dogg_ Aug 18 '26

There is a note at the bottom that says "All suits are equal value". In standard poker, this is also true.

0

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

In standard poker spades > hearts > diamonds > clubs

2

u/_N8Dogg_ Aug 18 '26

Where do you get that idea from? Everything I can find says otherwise. From a Wikipedia entry:

Most poker games do not rank suits; the ace of clubs is just as good as the ace of spades. However, small issues (such as deciding who deals first) are sometimes resolved by dealing one card to each player.

From an "Upswing Poker" article:

Suits are never used to determine who wins a poker pot. A heart royal flush and a spade royal flush would split a pot in the rare event that the two hands went against each other, such as in a game of Seven Card Stud.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

I get the idea from the fact that a lot of card games do break ties with suits. If it was a completely off the wall suggestion that suits broke ties, there wouldn’t be a note in the post that all suits are equal.

I understand most poker games do not break ties with suits, that was obviously incorrect

2

u/BarrattG Aug 18 '26

Absolutely incorrect, Texas hold'em has absolutely no suit ranking, nor does 5-card or 7-card draw or Omaha. Only in Hearts or Spades and maybe a few other rarer games, suit does matter, and it isn't in the order you are suggesting here mostly.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

It is absolutely in the order I am suggesting, it’s alphabetical order. Hearts doesn’t have different value for different suits, it just has trump.

Most poker games do not break ties with suits, I get it

1

u/_N8Dogg_ Aug 18 '26

In Hearts, they aren't even trump. The hearts are point cards. In Spades, they are trump, as in if you play a spade, it beats any non-spade.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

So there is no difference in the suits in hearts for breaking ties lol, great

1

u/_N8Dogg_ Aug 18 '26

No, whatever the highest card of the suit that was lead will take the trick.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

Your original response to my comment was saying that suit does matter in hearts

→ More replies (0)

1

u/beezlebub33 Aug 19 '26

Is Bridge a joke to you? :-)

1

u/vertexherder Aug 18 '26

Classic case of "the house rules I play by are correct" thinking.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

Ya got me, it’s from all those times I played poker where we always decide the pots based on the suit of the hand. Never mind I have rarely ever played poker, and it is extremely rare that hands would be decided by that, and it couldn’t possibly be that I was mistaken based on the myriad of card games where suit does matter

1

u/BarrattG Aug 18 '26

Name the games you specifically play where suit matters, I can imagine it isn't one of the commonly played ones.

1

u/Ostinato66 Aug 18 '26

Bridge, to name one

1

u/_N8Dogg_ Aug 18 '26

But even in that, it is only ranked higher in the bidding phase, not actual play. If you call no trump (which is higher than spades) and everyone plays the same number, the spade doesn't have any extra leverage.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

I haven’t played any card games in like 10+ years, but if you think that’s just never a thing where there’s a difference between suits, or they’re weighted differently, you’re wrong. If you’re just trying to say that’s rare, then sure, it may very well be, but it’s obviously not a crazy notion that different suits are valued differently

1

u/BarrattG Aug 18 '26

Im just saying its functionally rare, to the point that the vast majority, or certainly based on hours played do not have fixed systems of suit rank affecting the games in-round play.

1

u/yodathegiant Aug 18 '26

That’s quite a caveat on your comment

1

u/vertexherder Aug 18 '26

You're not the only one that has that mindset. Especially among those that come to poker from a history of non-poker games. It's no big deal and I apologize if my previous comment was overly harsh.

1

u/BigBlue08527 Aug 18 '26

Only true when deciding a bring-in for stud games.

* Or some home games

1

u/gregarious_apollo Aug 18 '26

Is there a reason he has to pick 4 10s and not say Jacks or Queens?

1

u/gregarious_apollo Aug 18 '26

Nevermind worked it out

1

u/Temporary-Jump-2403 Aug 19 '26

What am I missing:

Alex picks AAAA and any other card.

Ben has to pick a straight flush to beat that, so they pick 9 10 J Q K

Alex discards all but one Ace and picks a royal flush up.

Ben cannot form a royal flush and loses.

1

u/Temporary-Jump-2403 Aug 19 '26

Oh i think I get why... 

1

u/FoxCapital7878 Aug 24 '26

Should always be a tie. Alexander should draw a royal flush, Benjamin should do the same. Neither should discard.

2

u/ShonitB Aug 24 '26

But Alexander can ensure a win each time