Both players are dealt $26$ cards from a regular $52$ card deck. He discards $1$ and makes $5$ hands (from the remaining $25$) in any order, each with $5$ cards. His score is given by the sum of points scored by each of his individual hands as per the following table:
- Royal flush - 10
- Straight flush - 9
- 4 of a kind - 8
- Full house - 7
- Flush - 6
- Straight - 5
- 3 of a kind - 4
- 2 pairs - 3
- Pair - 2
- High card - 1
The actual ranks used do not matter. You are playing against an omniscient opponent (who works directly against your goal). You, however, have hacked into the computer that shuffles the deck. Hence, you can decide exactly which cards to deal to whom.
Question 1: Deal $26$ cards to your opponent to minimize his score.
Question 2: Deal $26$ cards (from the same deck) each to yourself and your opponent to maximize the difference between your and your opponent's score.