Poker is a popular card game that has been played for centuries. It’s a game of skill and strategy, and the winner is determined by the hand that has the highest ranking combination of cards.
But how do you know what hand wins in poker? In this tutorial, we’ll explore the different hands and their rankings in order to answer that very question.
The Basics
Before we dive into the rankings of poker hands, let’s go over some basic terminology. A standard deck of cards contains 52 cards, and each card has a suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) and a rank (2-10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace). In poker, the suits are all equal in value – no suit is higher or lower than any other suit.
The Rankings
There are ten possible hands in poker. Let’s go through them from highest to lowest.
1. Royal Flush: This is the highest-ranking hand in poker and consists of an Ace high straight flush (A-K-Q-J-10) all in the same suit. It’s extremely rare to get a royal flush – only once every 649,739 hands on average.
2. Straight Flush: This is any five cards of sequential rank all in the same suit.
For example: 7-8-9-10-J all in hearts would be a straight flush. If two players have straight flushes, the one with the higher ranking cards wins.
3. Four-of-a-Kind: Four-of-a-kind consists of all four cards of one rank and any other card.
For example: K-K-K-K-5 would be four-of-a-kind kings. If two players have four-of-a-kind, then the player with the higher ranking four-of-a-kind wins.
4. Full House: A full house is three-of-a-kind and a pair.
For example: Q-Q-Q-8-8 would be a full house queens over eights. If two players have a full house, the player with the higher ranking three-of-a-kind wins.
5. Flush: Flush is any five cards of the same suit, not in sequential rank.
For example: J-7-5-3-2 all in diamonds would be a flush. If two players have flushes, the player with the highest-ranking card wins.
6. Straight: A straight is any five cards of sequential rank, not all in the same suit.
For example: 9-8-7-6-5 would be a straight. If two players have straights, the one with the highest-ranking card wins.
7. Three-of-a-kind: Three-of-a-kind consists of three cards of one rank and two unrelated cards.
For example: 10-10-10-K-Q would be three-of-a-kind tens. If two players have three-of-a-kind, then the player with the higher-ranking three-of-a-kind wins.
8. Two Pair: Two pair consists of two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and any fifth card that is unrelated to those ranks or pairs.
For example: J-J-9-9-Q would be two pairs jacks and nines with a queen kicker. If two players have two pair, then the player with the highest-ranked pair wins.
9. One Pair: One pair consists of only one pair of matching ranks and three unrelated cards. For example: A-A-K-Q-J would be one pair aces with king, queen and jack kickers.If there are multiple pairs on board (like when two players have the same pair), then the highest remaining card is used as a tiebreaker.
10. High Card: If no player has any of the above hands, then the player with the highest-ranking card wins. For example: A-K-10-8-7 beats K-Q-J-5-3.
Conclusion
Now that you know what hand wins in poker, you’re ready to try your luck at the table. Remember, poker is a game of skill and strategy – not just luck.
So practice your skills and learn from your mistakes, and you’ll soon find yourself winning more often than not. Good luck!
