In a standard deck of 52 cards, the number of different 2-card blackjack hands possible can be calculated using combinations. The formula for combinations is:
C(n, k) = n! / (k! * (n – k)!)
Where:
- n is the total number of items.
- k is the number of items to choose.
- ! denotes factorial, which is the product of all positive integers up to that number.
For a 2-card hand from a 52-card deck:
C(52, 2) = 52! / (2! * (52 – 2)!) = (52 * 51) / (2 * 1) = 1326
So, there are 1,326 different possible 2-card blackjack hands.