Poker Hands

Poker has since been a classic game played by a lot of people. It has surged popularity because of the exposure it’s gotten from celebrities and television; additionally, the “famed” million-dollar winnings of professional poker players has made quite a big buzz.

Poker is a card game that basically deals with the strongest poker hand. A poker hand comprises of five cards. Poker hand ranking is categorized from highest to lowest; any hand that has higher category beats the lower category. Here are the different categories of poker hands in ranking:

Royal Flush
The royal flush is the strongest category for all poker hands; it comprises the five highest cards 10-J-Q-K-A in all the same suit. It doesn’t matter what suit, as long as they all have the same ensemble. Two people both having royal flushes will tie and split the pot.

Straight Flush
The straight flush is similar to the royal flush, which comprises any five cards that have the same suit in successive numerical order; for instance, 6-7-8-9-10 diamonds. When two players have a straight flush, the player with a hand that begins with a highest card wins; when both have the same high card, then the pot is split.

Four Of a Kind
This “hand” will comprise of four cards having the similar denominations such Q-Q-Q-Q-2; in this instance, there are four queens and a deuce kicker. If two players both have four of a kind, the one with the higher fifth card (kicker) wins.

Full House
The full house hand comprises of three cards having the same value, and any pair with a different denomination; for instance 8-8-8-Q-Q, which are three eights and two queens. In cases of ties, they are broken first through the “three of a kind”, then the pair.

Flush
The flush comprises any five cards that are non-consecutive but of the same suit such as five spades, diamonds, clubs, or hearts; for instance Q-J-7-6-10 diamonds – this is a queen-high diamond flush.

Straight
The “straight” is any five cards that is consecutive and of mixed suits; for example, 6-7-8-9-10 with different ensembles for each card.

Three Of A kind
This will comprise of three cards having the same value, plus two cards that are non-pair; for instance, 4-4-4-2-10. This is also called trips.

Two Pairs
This will comprise two cards having the same denomination, and another two cards having the same denomination; for instance, 5-5-8-8-A of different suits. If both hands have similar high pair, second pair prevails. If the two pairs tie, the one with high card wins.

One Pair
This is comprised of any two cards that have the same value such as 9-9-4-7-3. In case of a tie, the higher card wins.

High Card
High card is the lowest category of poker hands if there are no other types of hand category formed. When comparing two high cards, the player with the highest card held will win; for instance, 2-4-10-J-K, the king card is the highest card.

There are fifty-two cards in a pack, the ranking of each card from highest to lowest is as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 ,4, 3, and 2. No ranking exists between suits; for instance, a king of spades is equal to the king of diamonds. If a poker game deals more than five cards, the rest of the cards don’t play a role in ranking –the ranks are always based on only five cards.

There are a lot of poker game variations currently, but they all share a specific basic rule: the strong point of poker hands and the “pot”. So if you’re out to win the big bucks, then learn the strategies for poker hands –remember, the rule of the game is simple but it takes a lot of practice and skills to combine the right hand at the right time.