What Are Hands In Poker
The basic idea of poker is to play the strongest poker hands in early position, good hands in mid-position and a few more hands in the late (aka strongest) position. Over time, you'll naturally want to shake things up a bit. For now, stick with this and you'll never find yourself in trouble holding 7-2 off-suit. Poker odds calculate the chances of you holding a winning hand. The poker odds calculators on CardPlayer.com let you run any scenario that you see at the poker table, see your odds and outs,. TOP 10 MOST AMAZING POKER HANDS EVER!Help us to 200K Subscribers - you are reading this, comment what poker video you want to see next.
Understanding the Different Types of Poker Hands
Two Simple Hands
Strictly speaking, in most standard poker games like Texas Holdem, there are only two types of hands that you should be concerned about: starting hands and the actual five-card poker hands. Let’s take a look at each one below:
Please note the following card references:
(h) Hearts (d) Diamonds (c) Clubs (s) Spades
Starting hands
As the name implies, a starting hand is made up of the initial cards that you are dealt. In games like Texas Holdem, it consists of a pair of cards that you could later on turn into a full five-card poker hand once all community cards are revealed.
Now, while there’s really no way to know for sure whether or not a specific starting hand would turn into a winner come showdown time, seasoned players know, based on experience (and a little bit of math), that certain starting hands have a better chance of building into something strong later in the game over others. These are called premium starting hands. In Texas Holdem, they are as follows:
What Are Best Hands In Poker
- AA
- KK
- AK (suited)
- JJ
If you’re a beginner, it would be a good idea to start out only playing when you get any of these starting hands and just folding when you get anything else. Of course, the more games you play and the better you get at strategizing, reading your opponents, and bluffing (which you can learn more about here), the more starting hands you can add to your play list.
Let’s now move on to the next type of poker hands you should familiarize yourself with:
Five-card hands
Most standard poker games, even the three- and seven-card varieties, only compare the strongest five-card hand the players can build come showdown time.
Listed below are all the five-card hands at your disposal:
#1 Royal Flush
The most difficult hand to come by in poker, the royal flush only has a 0.000154% probability of occurring. It is made up of five suited cards of consecutive values and uses an ace its highest card. It is considered the strongest hand in poker.
Ex: Ac Kc Qc Jc 10c
#2 Straight Flush
What Are The Winning Hands In Poker
This hand is pretty much the same as a royal flush. The only difference is that it has a king or lower as its highest card, which is why it only comes second on the list.
Ex: 10s 9s 8s 7s 6s
#3 Four of a Kind
Made up of four same-valued cards and an additional random fifth card, the odds of any player getting this hand are 4,164:1.
Ex: 8d 8h 8s 8c As
#4 Full House
This hand is made up of two parts: a trip and a pair. A trip consists of three cards of the same value while a pair, as you may have figured out by its name, is made up of two same-valued cards.
Ex: 4d 4h 4s 8s 8c
#5 Flush
Remember the straight flush? Well, this hand is pretty much the same thing except that it doesn’t require your card values to be in consecutive order.
Mathematically speaking, there are 5,108 ways you can build a flush with a standard deck of 52 cards. Regardless, the hand is still quite difficult to get. In fact, your odds of doing so are just 508:1.
Ex: Kh 9h 6h 4h 2h
#6 Straight
Another hand that’s derived, if you will, from a straight flush, a straight does not care about the suit of your cards. All you need to build one are five cards of consecutive values.
Ex: Kd Qc Js 10c 9h
#7 Three of a Kind
With a 2.1128% probability of occurring, this hand is essentially just the trip part of a full house plus two additional random cards to complete the set.
Ex: 3h 3s 3c Qd 8s
#8 Two Pair
Remember the pair part of a full house? Well, just take that then add another pair plus one more random card and you have a two pair hand.
Ex: Jd Jh 8d 8c 3s
#9 One Pair
No need for long explanations for this one. It’s just a pair of same-valued cards plus three other random cards to meet the five-card requirement.
Ex: Qd Qh As 3c 2s
#10 High Card
If you can’t build any of the preceding hands, then you get this one by default. It’s made up of just five totally random cards.
Needless to say, it is the weakest hand in poker.
Ex: 10d 8c 7s 5h 3h
You’re now a poker hand type master!
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Every poker player knows that the Royal Flush is the strongest poker hand, but where do all of the other poker winning hands rank? Here is a comprehensive list of poker hands in order from highest to lowest ranking. If you are new to the game of poker, learning the different poker hands is a great first step in learning how to beat your opponents with the cards you are dealt.
#1 Royal Flush
The strongest poker hand is the royal flush. It consists of Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of the same suit, e.g. diamonds, spades, hearts, or clubs.
#2 Straight Flush
The second strongest hand in poker is the straight flush. It is composed of five consecutive cards of the same suit. If two players have a straight flush, the player with the highest cards wins.
#3 Four-of-a-kind
A four-of-a-kind is four cards of the same rank, e.g. four Aces. If two players have four-of-a-kind, then the one with the highest four-of-a-kind wins. If they have the same (if four-of-a-kind is on the board), then the player with the highest fifth card wins, since a poker hand is always composed of five cards.
#4 Full House
A full house is a combination of a three-of-a-kind and a pair. If two players have a full house, then the one with the highest three-of-a-kind wins. If they have the same one, then the pair counts.
#5 Flush
Five cards of the same suit make a flush. If two players have a flush, then the one with the highest cards wins.
#6 Straight
Five consecutive cards are called a straight. If two players have a straight, the one with the highest cards wins.
#7 Three-of-a-kind
A three-of-a-kind is composed of three cards of the same rank. If two players have the same three-of-a-kind, then the other cards, or both cards, determine the winner, since a poker hand is a always composed of five cards.
#8 Two-pair
Two-pair hands are, of course, composed of two pairs. If two players have two-pair, the rank of the higher pair determines the winner. If they have the same higher pair, then the lower one counts. If that is also the same, then the fifth card counts.
#9 Pair
A pair is composed of two cards of the same rank. Since a poker hand is always composed of five cards, the other three cards are so-called “kickers”. In case two players have the same pair, then the one with the highest kicker wins.
#10 High card
If you don’t even have a pair, then you look at the strength of your cards. If there are two players at showdown who don’t have a pair or better, then the one with the highest cards wins.
Any of the PalaPoker.com games use the standard rank of hands to determine the high hand.
However, at PalaPoker.com we also play “split pot” games, like Omaha Hi-Lo8 and Stud Hi-Lo8, in which the highest hand splits the pot with a qualifying (“8 or better”) low hand; therefore, we must also be familiar with:
Low Poker Hands List:
This method of ranking low hands is used in traditional Hi/Lo games, like Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo, as well as in Razz, the ‘low only’ Stud game.
Note that suits are irrelevant for Ace to Five low. A flush or straight does not ‘break’ an Ace to Five low poker hand. Aces are always a ‘low’ card when considering a low hand.
Please also note that the value of a five-card low hand starts with the top card, and goes down from there.
#1 Five Low, or “Wheel“: The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace.
In the event of a tie: All Five-high hands split the pot.
#2 Six Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Six.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6,4,3,2,A defeats 6,5,4,2,A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
#3 Seven Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third- highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
#4 Eight Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie. An Eight Low is the weakest hand that qualifies for low in Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo.
Check back here as you are learning the game of poker for a list that details the poker hands order. Sign up today to start winning real money!