Poker Hands Ranked
The game of poker, in almost all its variations, relies on the value of different combinations of cards. The cards that you have in your hand are what decide whether you win or lose, bet or fold. Certain combinations outrank others, and it is important to familiarise yourself with the winning and losing combinations so that you recognise them when they appear. Poker hands are ranked on the likelihood of their appearance, so the combinations that appear less frequently are of course ranked more highly. Check out http://www.pokerforfree.org. At the end of a poker game, the player with the highest hand wins the pot. Here is a list of poker hands ranked from highest to lowest.
A Royal Flush is the best combination of cards. It consists of the 5 highest cards of the deck, the 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all in the same suit. What suit it is doesn’t matter, as long as all 5 cards are the same.
A Straight Flush consists of any five cards of the same suit in consecutive order, for example 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 all of hearts.
Four of a Kind means four cards of the same denomination, for example all the Queens in all the four suits. The fifth card can be any other card from any other suit.
A Full House is a hand that includes three cards of the same denomination, such as 3 4s, as well as a pair of cards from any other denomination, such as 2 Jacks. The overall hand therefore would be 4, 4, 4, Jack, Jack. Ties are broken by the worth of the three of a kind and then the pair.
A standard Flush is five cards of the same suit but in non consecutive order, such as the 2, 5, 7, 10 and King of hearts.
A Straight hand is five consecutive cards that don’t have to be of the same suit. You could have the 3, 4 and 5 of diamonds, the 6 of hearts and the 7 of spades, for example.
Three of a Kind is when you have three cards of the same denomination and two different ones, for example 3 Queens, a 4 and a 9.
A Two Pair is when you have two pairs of cards of the same denomination and one different one, for example 2 8s, 2 4s and one Jack.
A Pair is any two cards of the same denomination and three different ones, for example 2 Queens, a 5, a 9 and a 10.
If no other hand is achieved, the highest card held wins. The value of cards goes from 2 to 10, then Jack, Queen, King and Ace. The Ace is the highest value card of all, although sometimes it is also used to represent the lowest value in a consecutive streak.
