What are the chances in a million

Last week I told you about our friend Ian hitting back to back straight flushes.

I am still stunned to think that I witnessed a 1 in 5,211,973,636 chance, and forgot to tell you that he also hit an ordinary common or garden straight on the very next hand at meagre odds of just 255-1, giving a three hand odds combination of 1,329,053,277,180. This is 1,329 Billion to 1.

So I thought, what are the chances of other extraordinary events happening? What are the chances of being struck by lightning? Well, you have a 1 in 750,000 chance of being hit in any given year, and a 1 in 10,000 chance throughout your lifetime. What about getting a hole in one at golf? If you are a regular full time player, like a golf pro, then you have roughly a 1 in 3,800 chance.

An enthusiastic amateur’s odds drift out to 1 in 15,000. What about the old saying “You’ve got more chance of being run over by a bus” Strangely enough there is data on this and the chances come out at 1 in 500,000 if you live in the UK.

How about winning the Lottery! Of course this varies as to which one you participate in but let’s take the Euro Millions lottery. We have a 1 in 116 million chance.

Not only then did Ian have more chance of winning the lottery than back to back straight flushes, it is also more likely that he gets a hole in one and gets struck by lightning at the same time or run over by a bus on the way home. What can this game throw up for me next?