gistfile1.ex

defrecord Poker.Card, face: 0, suit: "" do

  def value(record) do
    case record.face do
      "A" -> 14
      "K" -> 13
      "Q" -> 12
      "J" -> 11
      "T" -> 10
      int -> int
    end
  end

  def from_string(<< value :: utf8, suit :: utf8 >>)
  when suit in [?C, ?D, ?H, ?S] and ((value in ?2..?9) or (value in [?A, ?K, ?Q, ?J, ?T])) do
    Poker.Card.new(face: <<value>>, suit: <<suit>>)
  end    
end

hand = "8C TS KC 9H 4S"
      |> String.split
      |> Enum.map(function(Poker.Card, :from_string, 1))

IO.inspect hand