Creating a Class for Poker Hands

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 2 views

Introduction

Project Euler is a series of mathematical and computational programming challenges that are designed to be solved by individuals. The problems are designed to be challenging, yet solvable with a good understanding of mathematics and programming concepts. In this article, we will be discussing Project Euler problem 54, which involves creating a class for poker hands. This problem is a great opportunity to practice working with classes in Python, and we will explore how to create a class that can represent a poker hand.

Problem Statement

Project Euler problem 54 states that we need to create a class that can represent a poker hand. A poker hand is a set of five cards that are dealt to a player in a game of poker. The cards are represented by a combination of a suit and a rank, where the suit can be one of four possible values (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades) and the rank can be one of 13 possible values (Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, or King).

Creating a Class for Poker Hands

To create a class for poker hands, we need to define the attributes and methods that will be required to represent a poker hand. The attributes that we will need to define are the suit and rank of each card in the hand, as well as the total value of the hand.

Card Class

Before we can create a class for poker hands, we need to create a class for individual cards. The Card class will have two attributes: suit and rank.

class Card:
    def __init__(self, suit, rank):
        self.suit = suit
        self.rank = rank

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"{self.rank} of {self.suit}"

PokerHand Class

Now that we have a Card class, we can create a PokerHand class. The PokerHand class will have five attributes: cards, suit, rank, and value.

class PokerHand:
    def __init__(self, cards):
        self.cards = cards
        self.suit = [card.suit for card in cards]
        self.rank = [card.rank for card in cards]
        self.value = self.calculate_value()

    def calculate_value(self):
        # Calculate the total value of the hand
        values = {'2': 2, '3': 3, '4': 4, '5': 5, '6': 6, '7': 7, '8': 8, '9': 9, '10': 10, 'J': 11, 'Q': 12, 'K': 13, 'A': 14}
        return sum([values[card.rank] for card in self.cards])

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"PokerHand({self.cards})"

Creating a Poker Hand

Now that we have a PokerHand class, we can create a poker hand by passing a list of five cards to the constructor.

# Create a list of five cards
cards = [
    Card('Hearts', 'A'),
    Card('Diamonds', 'K'),
    Card('Clubs', 'Q'),
    Card('Spades', 'J'),
    Card('Hearts', '10')
]

# Create a poker hand
hand = PokerHand(cards)

# Print the poker hand
print(hand)

Calculating the Value of a Poker Hand

In poker, the value of a hand is determined by the total value of the cards in the hand. We can calculate the value of a poker hand by summing the values of each card in the hand.

Calculating the Value of a Card

To calculate the value of a card, we need to map the rank of the card to its corresponding value. We can do this by creating a dictionary that maps the rank of a card to its value.

values = {'2': 2, '3': 3, '4': 4, '5': 5, '6': 6, '7': 7, '8': 8, '9': 9, '10': 10, 'J': 11, 'Q': 12, 'K': 13, 'A': 14}

Calculating the Value of a Poker Hand

Now that we have a dictionary that maps the rank of a card to its value, we can calculate the value of a poker hand by summing the values of each card in the hand.

def calculate_value(self):
    # Calculate the total value of the hand
    return sum([values[card.rank] for card in self.cards])

Conclusion

Introduction

In our previous article, we discussed Project Euler problem 54, which involves creating a class for poker hands. We created a Card class and a PokerHand class, and we demonstrated how to create a poker hand by passing a list of five cards to the constructor. We also calculated the value of a poker hand by summing the values of each card in the hand. In this article, we will answer some frequently asked questions about creating a class for poker hands.

Q: What is the purpose of creating a class for poker hands?

A: The purpose of creating a class for poker hands is to provide a structured way of representing a poker hand. A poker hand is a set of five cards that are dealt to a player in a game of poker. By creating a class for poker hands, we can encapsulate the attributes and methods of a poker hand in a single unit, making it easier to work with and manipulate.

Q: How do I create a Card class?

A: To create a Card class, you need to define the attributes and methods that will be required to represent a card. The attributes that you will need to define are the suit and rank of the card. You can create a Card class using the following code:

class Card:
    def __init__(self, suit, rank):
        self.suit = suit
        self.rank = rank

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"{self.rank} of {self.suit}"

Q: How do I create a PokerHand class?

A: To create a PokerHand class, you need to define the attributes and methods that will be required to represent a poker hand. The attributes that you will need to define are the cards, suit, rank, and value of the hand. You can create a PokerHand class using the following code:

class PokerHand:
    def __init__(self, cards):
        self.cards = cards
        self.suit = [card.suit for card in cards]
        self.rank = [card.rank for card in cards]
        self.value = self.calculate_value()

    def calculate_value(self):
        # Calculate the total value of the hand
        values = {'2': 2, '3': 3, '4': 4, '5': 5, '6': 6, '7': 7, '8': 8, '9': 9, '10': 10, 'J': 11, 'Q': 12, 'K': 13, 'A': 14}
        return sum([values[card.rank] for card in self.cards])

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"PokerHand({self.cards})"

Q: How do I create a poker hand?

A: To create a poker hand, you need to pass a list of five cards to the constructor of the PokerHand class. You can create a poker hand using the following code:

# Create a list of five cards
cards = [
    Card('Hearts', 'A'),
    Card('Diamonds', 'K'),
    Card('Clubs', 'Q'),
    Card('Spades', 'J'),
    Card('Hearts', '10')
]

# Create a poker hand
hand = PokerHand(cards)

# Print the poker hand
print(hand)

Q: How do I calculate the value of a poker hand?

A: To calculate the value of a poker hand, you need to sum the values of each card in the hand. You can calculate the value of a poker hand using the following code:

def calculate_value(self):
    # Calculate the total value of the hand
    return sum([values[card.rank] for card in self.cards])

Conclusion

In this article, we answered some frequently asked questions about creating a class for poker hands. We discussed the purpose of creating a class for poker hands, how to create a Card class, how to create a PokerHand class, how to create a poker hand, and how to calculate the value of a poker hand. We hope that this article has provided a helpful guide for those who are new to object-oriented programming and are interested in creating a class for poker hands.