Poker Hands
Listed below, you will find information on poker hands
and how to determine winning poker hands from losing poker hands
starting with the almighty Royal Flush and ending with the lowly
high card hand. Learning poker hands is very important
as you will need to make split second decisions at in a live poker
game and your bankroll depends on your knowledge and ability to
remember the rank of poker hands.
Find out what beats a straight flush, does a full house beat a
flush? Does a flush beat a straight? Does 2 pair beat 3 of a kind?
The following poker hands are ranked in order of strength. If your looking for the nicknames of poker hands, click here.
Royal Flush - A royal flush is a 5 card sequence
of the same suit which includes Ten , Jack, Queen, King, and Ace.
This is the big daddy of them all when it comes to poker hands and
it wins over any other handl. The odds of receiving a royal flush
are 1 in 649,740. If you get one, take a snapshot of it, because
it won't happen often!
Straight Flush - A straight flush consists of
any five card sequence of the same suit (diamonds, clubs, spades,
hearts) An example of a straight flush would be having all clubs
and your cards reading seven,eight, nine, ten, jack. A straight
flush is the 2nd best poker hand you can obtain. The odds of being
dealt a straight flush are 1 in 64,974. Most poker games state that
a wild card can't be included to make a straight flush but some
home poker games may allow you to do so. A straight flush is the
ultimate natural hand (meaning no wild-cards are involved). Although
rare, if multiple players are dealt a straight flush, the player
that holds the hand ending in the highest card value of the straight
would be named the winner.
Four of a Kind - A 4 of a kind poker hand consists
of four cards that are numbered (or face cards) the same. An example
of a four of a kind would be if a player was holding 4 aces. A four
of a kind poker hand is the third strongest hand you can be dealt
in a poker game. It rules all poker hands except a royal and a straight
flush. The odds of getting a 4 of a kind are 1 in 3,914.
Full House - A full house poker hand consists
of 3 of a kind plus a pair. An example of a full house poker hand
would be: K,K,K,8,8. Any three of a kind and a pair make a full
house. If two players in the same game have a full house, the tie
is broken by the poker hand that contains the best 3 of a kind.
The odds of getting a full house are 1 in 586.1.
Flush - A flush poker hand consists of all five
cards being of the same suited cards. Example of a flush poker hand:
Ace of clubs, 2 of clubs, 4 of clubs, 8 of clubs, king of clubs.
As you can see, their all clubs and they don't need to be in any
particular order. A note should be made about having a flush. A
flush is a hand of five cards all of the same suit, not the same
color. Some novice players have been confused by this in the past
as indicated by emails to our customer service department. If 2
players at the same poker table have a flush, the winner is decided
by who holds the highest valued card. The odds of getting a flush
poker hand is 1 in 273.1.
Straight - A straight is a poker hand that consists
of 5 cards in order, but not in suit. With that being said, a straight
DOES NOT continue past the ace on the high end. What we mean by
this is let's say you have a King, Ace, Ace, Two, Three.... This
is not a straight as it has run past the Ace card on the high end.
The lowest card in a straight is an ace, while the highest card
in a straight is also can ace. An example of a straight would be:
7,8,9,10, jack. If two players at the table have a straight, the
player with the highest value card would be named the winner. The
odds of being dealt a straight are 1 in 131.8.
3 of a Kind - A three of a kind poker hand consists
of getting three of the same card. If there are (2) three of a kind
poker hands at the table, the highest set of three cards takes the
pot. The odds of getting a three of a kind are 1 in 34.8.
2 Pair - A poker hand containing two pair would
mean that a player has 2 pairs of the same cards. An example of
two pair would be: 9,9, J, J. If two players at the table have two
pair, the winner is decided by the player holding the highest pair.
The odds of getting 2 pair in a poker hand are 1 in 13.11.
A Pair - A pair is made up of (2) of the same
card. This is a very common poker hand and should only be pursed
further if the pair is a high pair. Keep in mind that there are
likely always going to be other players at the table with at least
a pair, especially in the later rounds. In a situation in which
a pair turns out to be the winning hand in a poker game, the winner
is determined by the player that holds the highest pair, in which
case a pair of aces would be the best poker hand you can have when
referring to a pair. If one guy has two 2's, and one guy has 2 8's,
the play with the 8's wins over the 2's. The odds of getting a pair
are 1 in 2.
High Card - High card refers to garbage poker
hands that don't have a pair or anything listed above. You basically
have nothing when you have high card and you will rarely win with
this hand unless you are a stellar bluffer.
Poker hands are only one of many rules of the game of
poker that you'll need to be familiar with if you expect to become
a solid poker player. We recommend you check out our selection of
Poker
Books to help you gain the necessary knowledge to hold your
own at the tables!
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