Is java.util.Random really that random? How can I generate 52! (factorial) possible sequences?

Selecting a random permutation requires simultaneously more and less randomness than what your question implies. Let me explain.

The bad news: need more randomness.

The fundamental flaw in your approach is that it's trying to choose between ~2226 possibilities using 64 bits of entropy (the random seed). To fairly choose between ~2226 possibilities you're going to have to find a way to generate 226 bits of entropy instead of 64.

There are several ways to generate random bits: dedicated hardware, CPU instructions, OS interfaces, online services. There is already an implicit assumption in your question that you can somehow generate 64 bits, so just do whatever you were going to do, only four times, and donate the excess bits to charity. :)

The good news: need less randomness.

Once you have those 226 random bits, the rest can be done deterministically and so the properties of java.util.Random can be made irrelevant. Here is how.

Let's say we generate all 52! permutations (bear with me) and sort them lexicographically.

To choose one of the permutations all we need is a single random integer between 0 and 52!-1. That integer is our 226 bits of entropy. We'll use it as an index into our sorted list of permutations. If the random index is uniformly distributed, not only are you guaranteed that all permutations can be chosen, they will be chosen equiprobably (which is a stronger guarantee than what the question is asking).

Now, you don't actually need to generate all those permutations. You can produce one directly, given its randomly chosen position in our hypothetical sorted list. This can be done in O(n2) time using the Lehmer[1] code (also see numbering permutations and factoriadic number system). The n here is the size of your deck, i.e. 52.

There is a C implementation in this StackOverflow answer. There are several integer variables there that would overflow for n=52, but luckily in Java you can use java.math.BigInteger. The rest of the computations can be transcribed almost as-is:

public static int[] shuffle(int n, BigInteger random_index) {
    int[] perm = new int[n];
    BigInteger[] fact = new BigInteger[n];
    fact[0] = BigInteger.ONE;
    for (int k = 1; k < n; ++k) {
        fact[k] = fact[k - 1].multiply(BigInteger.valueOf(k));
    }

    // compute factorial code
    for (int k = 0; k < n; ++k) {
        BigInteger[] divmod = random_index.divideAndRemainder(fact[n - 1 - k]);
        perm[k] = divmod[0].intValue();
        random_index = divmod[1];
    }

    // readjust values to obtain the permutation
    // start from the end and check if preceding values are lower
    for (int k = n - 1; k > 0; --k) {
        for (int j = k - 1; j >= 0; --j) {
            if (perm[j] <= perm[k]) {
                perm[k]++;
            }
        }
    }

    return perm;
}

public static void main (String[] args) {
    System.out.printf("%s\n", Arrays.toString(
        shuffle(52, new BigInteger(
            "7890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890"))));
}

[1] Not to be confused with Lehrer. :)


Your analysis is correct: seeding a pseudo-random number generator with any specific seed must yield the same sequence after a shuffle, limiting the number of permutations that you could obtain to 264. This assertion is easy to verify experimentally by calling Collection.shuffle twice, passing a Random object initialized with the same seed, and observing that the two random shuffles are identical.

A solution to this, then, is to use a random number generator that allows for a larger seed. Java provides SecureRandom class that could be initialized with byte[] array of virtually unlimited size. You could then pass an instance of SecureRandom to Collections.shuffle to complete the task:

byte seed[] = new byte[...];
Random rnd = new SecureRandom(seed);
Collections.shuffle(deck, rnd);

In general, a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) can't choose from among all permutations of a 52-item list if its maximum cycle length is less than 226 bits.

java.util.Random implements an algorithm with a modulus of 248 and a maximum cycle length of only 48 bits, so much less than the 226 bits I referred to. You will need to use another PRNG with a bigger cycle length, specifically one with a maximum cycle length of 52 factorial or greater.

See also "Shuffling" in my article on random number generators.

This consideration is independent of the nature of the PRNG; it applies equally to cryptographic and noncryptographic PRNGs (of course, noncryptographic PRNGs are inappropriate whenever information security is involved).


Although java.security.SecureRandom allows seeds of unlimited length to be passed in, the SecureRandom implementation could use an underlying PRNG (e.g., "SHA1PRNG" or "DRBG"). And it depends on that PRNG's maximum cycle length whether it's capable of choosing from among 52 factorial permutations.