Card rules · 2026-10-29
Repeating a Deal Is Different from Drawing a New Exercise
The same thirteen cards reopen in the same order. Trying a different arrangement now means solving the same starting hand again. Receiving a different hand would be a new exercise, even…
The same thirteen cards reopen in the same order. Trying a different arrangement now means solving the same starting hand again. Receiving a different hand would be a new exercise, even if the eventual score happened to be identical.
What is held constant?
A genuine repeat preserves the relevant starting conditions. If the exercise also uses a draw pile or a visible reference card, those belong to the initial state too. Matching the hand alone does not prove that every later possibility is identical.
What can the result show?
A better second attempt may show that the participant learnt something about this problem. It is not, by itself, evidence of the same performance on unfamiliar deals. Conversely, a new hand is a new exercise even if the score happens to match the previous result.
Describe the observed reset rather than guessing how it was generated. An identical starting display does not reveal a platform’s random seed or internal shuffle method. Record which conditions repeated and keep conclusions within that evidence.
Match the hidden conditions before calling it a repeat
Two exercises can start with identical hands but place different cards at the top of the draw pile. Their first decisions may look similar while the next draw differs. A replay comparison should say whether only the initial hand repeats or the complete starting state repeats. Otherwise a later difference may be wrongly attributed to the participant's choice.