Whist players astonished after each receives full suit in one hand.. at odds of 2,235,197,406,895,366,368,301,559,999-to-one
Probability expert says perfect hand is probably the first time it has happened in history of the game
Pensioner says she was 'gobsmacked' when dealt the cards
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
25th November 2011
dailymail
It is an occurrence that comes with mind-boggling odds of a thousand quadrillion – or a thousand million million million million – to one.
But a group of whist-playing pensioners say they were stunned when each player was dealt a complete suit in an opening hand.
Wenda Douthwaite, 77, and her three friends were left ‘gobsmacked’ during the game in their village hall last week.
Amazed: A group of whist players were stunned when they were each dealt a complete suit in an opening hand
Mathematicians say the odds of this happening are a jaw-dropping 2,235,197,406,895,366, 368,301,559,999 to one.
The 28-digit figure is the equivalent odds of a person finding a specific drop of water in the Pacific Ocean.
Mrs Douthwaite, from Kineton, Warkickshire, who has attended whist drives for 50 years, said: ‘We’ve never seen anything like it before. Everything was done as usual.
Incredible: The group beat mind-boggling odds of a thousand quadrillion to one when they were dealt the opening hand
A GUIDE TO THE GAME OF WHIST
Whist is a classic English card game.
It is played by four players in two teams and dates back to the 17th Century.
It derives from the 16th Century game of Trump or Ruff.
Each player is dealt 13 cards and compete to win 'tricks'.
Players try to play cards which follow suit with the highest ranking card or 'trump' winning the hand.
Although the rules are extremely simple, there is enormous scope for scientific play.
‘The cards were shuffled, cut and dealt as normal but that was the only thing that was normal. And it was the first game of the night as well. As soon as I picked up my cards I saw I had a complete set of spades.
‘Suddenly someone around the table said they’d got a complete suit too. We compared cards and were totally shocked when one of us had all the hearts, another had the diamonds, another had the clubs and I had the spades. I was shaking when we laid the cards down on the table.
‘I think the expression is gobsmacked. It’s just a pity the Guinness Book of Records wasn’t there to witness it.’
Dealer Ron Coles, 73, said yesterday: ‘I would swear on my grandchildren’s lives it was not fixed. It was one of those strange things that happen in life now and again.’
Alan Beasley, 74, added: ‘We’re all buying lottery tickets this week in case we’re on a lucky streak.’ Norman Stone, 77, who was also playing in the hand, said: ‘It was absolutely amazing and will never happen again.’
Whist, which is played by four players in two teams, dates back to the 17th century. Players try to play cards which follow suit, with the highest ranking card or ‘trump’ winning the hand.
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