Poker Hand Rankings

 Poker Hand Rankings

Seven-Card Stud Poker is the most well-known form of Poker. Texas Hold'em is the most popular. The highest ranking hand wins. These games feature a 52-card card deck (there is no joker) that includes four suits: hearts and diamonds, spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds.

Each suit is equal in its value and has 13 ranks. The ace is considered the highest ranking card of a suit. It is followed by king and queen, jack and then 10 through 2 (or duce), in decreasing order. An ace can also be used to rank the lowest card in a 5-high straight (5-4-2-3-A), also known as a wheel or bicycle.

Stud and Hold'em both require seven cards to play, but the best hand is the one with five cards. Hand rankings are a function probability. The rarer a hand, the greater its value. The figure shows the hand ranking in ascending value.

Royal flush; straight flush

A royal flush, which is simply an ace-high straightflush, is the best hand possible in Poker. There are only four possible: Ace through ten from each suit.

Straight flush means any five cards in the same suit that are arranged in a sequence of five, such the 9 through 5 or Queen through 8 of Diamonds.

Four-of-a-kind

Four-of a-kind (or quads) is a five card hand that consists of all of the cards from one rank and one unrelated. The better the hand, the higher the rank. For example, four kings is better than four jacks.

Full house

Three cards of the same rank, plus a pair of the same, make up a full house. The three-card combination determines the rank of a full house. Not the pair. A hand consisting of three 9s and two fives is called "nines filled with fives".

Flush

A flush is any five cards in the same suit. These cards are not in a particular order. If the cards were in order, it would be straight flush. If more than one flush occurs, the winning hand is determined based on the rank order of highest card (or cards) in the flush. A flush that includes the ace-queen, jack, 6 and 5 of heart, as well as the ace, queen and jack, is better than a flush with the ace or queen and jack, along with 4 and 3 spades.

Straight

Five consecutive cards from different suits make up a straight. If there are more than one straight, the winning hand is determined based on the highest card in that sequence. A jack-high straight from the jack through 7 diamonds will beat a 9 through 6 of spades nine high straight.

Three-of-a-kind

Three cards with the same rank as two cards unrelated to each other is known as three-of-a kind. This hand is also known as trips, or a "set". It could be called "trip 8s", "a set of 8s", or "a set" if it contained three 8s.

Two pairs

Two cards of one rank are combined with two cards of another ranking and one unrelated to make two pairs. The two pairs that are superior to each other will be determined by their rank. If two players have two pairs and they each have the same high pair, the winner will be determined by the rank the second pair. If two players have the exact same pair of pairs, then the rank and suit of the unrelated side cards determines who wins. If the hand is identical the players will split their pot. For example, queens and 8s are better than queens or 5s.

One pair

One pair is just two cards with the same rank and three unrelated card. The value of the unrelated cards is what determines which hand wins if there are two players who hold the same pair.

No pair

A pair cannot contain five cards that are unrelated. The rank order of unrelated cards determines which hand is the winner if there are no pairs. Example: If Harry has A-9-3-3 and Adrien has A-10-3-3, Harry wins, because A-9 ranks higher than AJ.

Low hands

Split-pot games such as Omaha/8 are split-pot. The best low hand of five cards, with rank 8 or below, is the one that captures half of the pot. A hand of 7-6-4-3A is better than 7-6-5-3-3A, but it will lose to 7-4-2-3-A. The considered poker hand rankings