ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the concept of combinations in probability theory. It helps to utilize the "phone number" card trick to demonstrate the concept of combinations. The chapter also helps to understand how to apply combinations in the mathematics of poker and other games. The higher the index values of the three, the higher the memory storage and the better the long-term retrieval. The two card tricks that follow are effective techniques to illustrate the concepts of probability, since they are more interesting than typical classroom examples for the students to remember. The phone number requires a distinct order to the cards. The phone number or poker hand combination works for memory retention. Several students have come back later and computed on their own other rare events in game theory, gambling, and so on. Replacing a standard academic exercise with this method will likely break the resistance to learning a new and different area.
