First Ace to Appear

Probability
Cards
Easy
A standard deck is shuffled. Among the four aces, which ace is most likely to appear first?
Hint 1

There is nothing distinguishing the aces from each other besides their labels.

Hint 2

Think about the relative order of just the four aces within the shuffled deck.

Show worked solution
  1. 1. Symmetry argument

    Only the relative order of the four aces among themselves determines which is first, and all orderings of the aces are equally likely under a uniform shuffle.

  2. 2. Conclude

    By symmetry, each ace is first with probability .

Answer: All four are equally likely.

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