Whether you`re playing with a group of friends at home or are sitting down for a live real-money tournament, you need to know the value of the cards in front of you to have any chance of winning. Most players know that a royal flush is better than a pair, but what about flushes and straights?
The ranking of poker hands is determined by the odds of you being able to turn or build that hand, so a flush beats a straight because it is easier to land. The high card is ranked lowest because it is the most likely outcome if five cards are dealt.
Poker Variants
Below, we look at the 10 basic hands that are found in five-card variants of poker. If you`re playing a game where hands are made up of fewer cards, some of the hands won`t be possible, but the order of the remaining hands is still the same.
There are many variants of poker played in casinos and online, like Texas Hold ‘em, which is the game used for most poker tournaments and online games. Even in jurisdictions like California and Hawaii, where online gambling is prohibited, Texas Hold ‘em is a common gambling activity, thanks to offshore CA online poker sites. Other common variants, according to Jamie Wright, include Omaha, 5-Card Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo - in all these variants, players need to make hands consisting of five cards.
Poker Deck
Poker is played with a single deck of cards, which means 4 suits consisting of 13 cards in each suit. Most poker variants treat all suits as being equal, whereas in games like bridge, some suits are more powerful than others, which can be used to help decide a tie. Although most decks include two jokers, these are rarely, if ever, used in live table games.
Hand Ranking
The following rankings and descriptions assume you are playing standard poker, and are especially geared towards the game of Texas Hold ‘em. They also apply for other games with five-card hands but do not apply for lowball games and for some other alternatives.
Royal Flush
A royal flush is the most powerful hand in poker and is so-called because it consists of all the royal cards in one specific suit. It consists of Jack, King, 10, Queen, and Ace all with a matching suit. The likelihood of landing a Royal Flush in Texas Hold ‘em is extremely slim, which means that many casual players will never play one and will rarely see one. A royal flush cannot be beaten, although two players could theoretically show royal flushes and the game would be a tie. In games with smaller hand sizes, there are mini royals. A mini-royal consists of a Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit.
Straight Flush
This is a rare hand, although nowhere near as rare as a royal flush. This hand consists of a straight, which means five cards in consecutive order, with all of the cards having the same suite. When two players have straight flushes, the higher flush wins. Because the hand uses all five cards, if two players have the same straight flush, the hand is tied. There is no kicker.
Four-of-a-Kind
This hand means playing all four of any number or face cards in a deck, so, for example, a hand that includes 10, 10, 10, 10 would be a four-of-a-kind. The higher the card value wins in the event that two players play a four-of-a-kind. Because poker is only played with a single deck of cards, it isn`t possible for a tie.
Full House
Originally called a full hand but later changed to a full house, this hand consists of a pair and three-of-a-kind. In the case of two players having full houses, the player with the higher three-of-a-kind wins, regardless of how high the pair is.
Flush
A flush is five cards, all in the same suit, but not in numerical order. If two players have flush hands, the one with the highest-ranked card wins the tie. When both players have the same highest-ranked card, the one with the next highest-ranked card wins, and so on. If both players have exactly the same cards, but in different suits, it is a tie. The best flush consists of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 9 of a suit. The name flush comes from the Latin, Fluxus, which means flood, indicating that the player has a flood of a particular suit.
Straight
A straight is made up of five cards in numerical order but not all in the same suit. For example, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 in different suits. If two players have a straight, the highest straight wins, and if both players have the same numbers, the game is a tie.
Three-of-a-Kind
Three-of-a-kind means a player has three cards of the same number or face. If two players have three-of-a-kinds, it is the player with the highest that wins. There can`t be any ties, which means kickers are irrelevant.
Two Pair
A two-pair hand means the player has two different pairs and in the event that two players have two-pair hands, the winner is the one with the highest pair. If both players have the same top pair, the player with the highest bottom pair wins. If both players have the same hands of pairs, the highest kicker wins the hand, and if the kicker is the same, the hand is a tie.
One Pair
A single pair consists of two of the same number of face cards. Ties are given to the player with the highest pair, and if there is a tie, it comes down to who has the highest kickers. Pairs are common in variants like Texas Hold ‘em, although a high pair can often be enough to take the chips.
High Card
A high card is one that does not contain any of the combinations of cards above. The hand is described as being, for example, an Ace high which means that the highest-valued card in the hand is an Ace. If two or more hands are high cards, the highest high card wins. If two players have a high card of the same value, the player with the next higher card wins, and so on.
Kickers
A kicker is a card that does not make up the main hand being played and is used to determine the outcome in ties. For example, if two players have identical pairs, the winner is determined by who has the highest kicker. If they are also the same, the winner is the player with the next highest hand. In the unlikely event that the players have exactly the same hands, there is no winner, and the hand is a tie. There cannot be any kickers in hands consisting of five cards, such as straights or flushes. In prize and money games, the pot is shared between the players that have tied, although this is rare.
Suit Priority
In poker, there is no suit priority. All suits have equal value. Therefore, a royal flush of hearts has the same value as a royal flush of clubs. This is true when playing some other card games, like blackjack, but in games like bridge, certain suits have a higher value than others.
The Bluff
The hand rankings above only count when hands are shown at the end of a round. In a lot of games, this isn`t the case, and all players but one will fold. Players have the choice of trashing their cards, not showing them to the other players, or showing them. This also means that a lot of players bluff that they have good hands, encouraging other players to fold and take the pot without competition. As players become more experienced, they may get more comfortable bluffing and rely less on luck and gambling horoscopes as they fine-tune their poker skills.
Poker Variants
There are a number of poker variants available in physical casinos, online casinos and even crypto casinos. Texas Hold ‘em is the most common poker variant and in this game type, players create hands consisting of five cards. Other game types, like Omaha and five-card draw, also have five-card hands, but some variants only use three or even two-card hands. In these cases, you can remove the hands that consist of more cards and the remaining hands will still be in the correct order.
In lowball games, the player with the least powerful hand wins, which means the ranking order is reversed and the aim is to get a high-card hand with the lowest ranking card.
It is a good idea to start with Texas Hold ‘em because it is such a common game and because most people already have an idea of the rules and rankings. There are different variations on the hold ‘em formula.
- · In limit hold ‘em which is the most traditional form, early bets and raises that occur during the first two rounds of betting must be equal to the big blind. Betting during the turn and river must be double the big blind.
- · In no-limit hold ‘em, players can bet any amount above the minimum bet at any stage during the game. This variant is popular in televised games and major tournaments and it can lead to considerable pots. When players want to raise during no-limit hold ‘em, they must raise at least the amount of the last raise.
- · In a pot-limit hold ‘em game, the player cannot raise anything more than the current size of the pot. They are limited by the pot size.
