Poker guides
Poker Hands
If you take into account that there are 52 cards in a deck, the amount of possible poker hands is in the millions. Luckily for beginners, knowing each combination is actually rather straightforward.
Hand Variations in Reverse Order:
High-Card Hand
The lowest hand possible in poker is a highcard hand, which refers to having a single card with the ace being the highest possible card followed by everything else in descending order.
Ace King Queen Jack 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
One Pair
The next is to have a pair of cards. This is two matching cards of any suit, and if two players have the same pair, the winner is decided based on the highest pair.
Example : A Jack of hearts paired with a Jack of clubs would beat a 10 of hearts paired with a 10 of clubs.
Two Pairs
Two pairs of cards is the next hand ranking. This is two sets of two matching cards of any suit, and if two players both have two pairs, the winner is decided based on the highest pairs.
Three of a Kind
Three of a kind is having three cards of the same value.
Straight
A straight is five cards which run in sequential rank. They can be any suit but must run in order. For instance: two, three, four, five and six.
Flush
A flush is five cards of the same suit. They can be of any value and if more than one player has a flush, the player with the highest value card will win.
Full House
A full house is three cards of the same value and two matching cards of a different value, essentially three of a kind plus a pair. If two players have a full house, the highest value of the three matching cards wins. Should they share the same 3 cards (2 being on the board in Texas Hold 'em or Omaha), the winner relies on the pair remaining in their hand.
Four of a Kind
Four of a kind is a self explanatory hand, i.e. four cards of the same value.
Straight Flush
A straight flush is five cards of the same suit which all run in sequence.
Royal Flush
The highest poker hand is the royal flush. This is the ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit. It is the rarest poker hand, therefore the most valuable.
The lowest hand possible in poker is a highcard hand, which refers to having a single card with the ace being the highest possible card followed by everything else in descending order.
Ace King Queen Jack 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
One Pair
The next is to have a pair of cards. This is two matching cards of any suit, and if two players have the same pair, the winner is decided based on the highest pair.
Example : A Jack of hearts paired with a Jack of clubs would beat a 10 of hearts paired with a 10 of clubs.
Two Pairs
Two pairs of cards is the next hand ranking. This is two sets of two matching cards of any suit, and if two players both have two pairs, the winner is decided based on the highest pairs.
Three of a Kind
Three of a kind is having three cards of the same value.
Straight
A straight is five cards which run in sequential rank. They can be any suit but must run in order. For instance: two, three, four, five and six.
Flush
A flush is five cards of the same suit. They can be of any value and if more than one player has a flush, the player with the highest value card will win.
Full House
A full house is three cards of the same value and two matching cards of a different value, essentially three of a kind plus a pair. If two players have a full house, the highest value of the three matching cards wins. Should they share the same 3 cards (2 being on the board in Texas Hold 'em or Omaha), the winner relies on the pair remaining in their hand.
Four of a Kind
Four of a kind is a self explanatory hand, i.e. four cards of the same value.
Straight Flush
A straight flush is five cards of the same suit which all run in sequence.
Royal Flush
The highest poker hand is the royal flush. This is the ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit. It is the rarest poker hand, therefore the most valuable.