How should I practice Best Poker Category with a Joker?

Start by reading the full statement, solve the visible examples, then compare the pattern against related Scale AI phone screen and onsite interview problems in FastPrep.

Is Best Poker Category with a Joker associated with Scale AI?

FastPrep tags this as a Scale AI phone screen and onsite interview coding practice problem when the problem catalog has that company and stage context.

Best Poker Category with a Joker

Scale AI● MediumFULLTIMENEW GRADPHONE SCREENONSITE INTERVIEW

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Problem statement

For this exercise, assume cards contains exactly five poker cards. A non-Joker card is encoded as its rank followed by its suit.

Ranks are 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T J Q K A.
Suits are C D H S.
At most one entry is the literal JOKER.

The Joker may represent any rank and suit; as a wildcard it may supply a fifth card of an existing rank. Return the strongest category that the hand can achieve, using this order:

FIVE_OF_A_KIND
STRAIGHT_FLUSH
FOUR_OF_A_KIND
FULL_HOUSE
FLUSH
STRAIGHT
NONE

A straight contains five consecutive ranks. Ace may be high in T-J-Q-K-A or low in A-2-3-4-5. A straight flush is both a straight and a flush. Only the listed categories are returned.

Function

bestPokerCategory(cards: String[]) → String

Examples

Example 1

cards = ["9C","TC","JC","QC","JOKER"]return = "STRAIGHT_FLUSH"

The Joker can become KC, producing the club straight flush 9-T-J-Q-K.

Example 2

cards = ["AS","AH","AD","AC","JOKER"]return = "FIVE_OF_A_KIND"

The four Aces plus a Joker form five of a kind, the strongest reported category.

Example 3

cards = ["2C","2D","7H","9S","KC"]return = "NONE"

The hand does not satisfy any listed category. Pair is deliberately not one of the possible return values.

Constraints

cards.length == 5.
Every non-Joker card uses a valid rank and suit.
Non-Joker cards are distinct.
At most one card is JOKER.
Return exactly one of the seven documented category strings.