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Compare Two Five-Card Numeric Hands

RipplingSoftware Engineer · Technical Screen
MediumSoftware EngineerTechnical ScreenCoding & Algorithms

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Compare two five-digit numeric hands under a nonstandard multiplicity ranking and original-position right-to-left tie-break, using extensible category evaluators rather than standard poker rules.

Problem

Compare two five-card hands in a numeric card game. Cards are digits 1 through 9, repetitions are allowed, and the category ranking is intentionally different from standard poker.

Function Contract

Implement compare_hands(hand1, hand2). Each hand is a five-character digit string. Return 1 if hand 1 wins, 2 if hand 2 wins, or 0 for a tie.

Rules

  • Categories from strongest to weakest are: five of a kind, four of a kind, full house, two pair, three of a kind, one pair, high card.
  • Classify a hand by its multiplicities only; there are no suits, straights, or flushes.
  • When categories match, compare original cards from right to left. At the first differing position, the larger digit wins.
  • Do not sort a hand for the tie-break.
  • Use an extensible object-oriented category-evaluator abstraction so adding a category does not require rewriting the comparison flow.

Constraints

  • Both hands have length exactly 5.
  • Every character is a digit from 1 through 9.

Examples

hand1 = "33322"
hand2 = "99987"
output = 1

A full house outranks three of a kind under the specified order.