Poker Hands

 

We have provided a table with which to get a visual overview of the following article, below the table is an explanation of the various types of hand. 

 

In poker, the winning hands are defined in ranks. Each suit, hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades, are ranked equally in a true poker game. If two hands in poker are in the same category (e.g. three-of-a-kind) then the winning hand is decided by rank (so that three-of-a-kind of 4’s beats three-of-a-kind of 3’s).

 

The individual card in a pack rank, in ascending order, as follows: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

 

The different poker hands rank in the following order (ascending):

 

- No Pair- here the winner is chosen by the rank of the hands only. For instance, A, 8, 5, 3, 2 beats a K, J, 8, 6, 3 or J, 10, 8, 5, 4 beats a J, 9, 8, 3, 2.

 

- One Pair- if the hands in a poker game are equal in category, then the high ranked pair wins. So, K-K beats Q-Q. If the pairs in the hand are equal, i.e. two people in the round each have pairs of 2’s, then the remaining cards in the hand determine who wins, and these win according to rank. For instance Q, Q, J, 8 and 5 beats a Q, Q, 9, 6 and 2.

 

-  Two Pair: the pair that ranks highest will win when two or more players have two pairs. If if the highest pairs that each player has are the same, e.g. one player holds K, K, Q, Q, J, and the other player holds K, K, J, J, 9, then the highest ranking remaining pair decides the winner (so the first hand wins). However, if two players remaining in the game have the same two pairs, i.e. they both hold a pair of Queens and a pair of Jacks then the remaining card will decide the winner.

 

- Three-of-a-kind: If there is a draw or more than one player has three-of-a-kind, then the player holding the highest ranking three-of-a-pair wins. For instance, A, A, A, 10, 9 beats a K, K, K, J, 10. There are no times when more than one player can hold three-of-a-kind the same, so the ranking of the remaining cards is irrelevant.

 

- Straight: This is a hand that comprises of five cards in an uninterrupted sequential order, in terms of rank. For instance, A, K, Q, J, 10 or 8, 7, 6, 5, 4. When two players have a Straight, then the hand with the highest ranking Straight wins, in the above example it will be the A, K, Q, J, 10 combination that wins. In a Straight, the Ace can count as either a one, or the highest card, beating the King, so you can have A, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10, J, Q, K, A. But if the Ace stands for one, it always represents one in that Straight, it has no special value, so A, 2, 3, 4, 5 loses against 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. This rule is also true for a Straight Flush.

 

- Flush: This is a type of hand where all the cards are in the same suit. As with other hands, if two or more players have a Flush, then the hand with the highest ranking wins, so, for instance K, Q, J, 8, 7 of one suit beats K, Q, J, 7, 6 of another suit. Occasionally, you may find that two players hold the same Flush, but in different suits. When this happens, although it is rare, the majority of casinos will have predefined rules to account for this, some may actually rank suits in order in this particular instance, so diamonds may beat clubs for example. It is therefore important to know the rules of the house in case you find yourself in this predicament. Other casinos will have other ways of identifying winners, some may even accept two winners and split the pot. In private games, the rules shoulf be prediefined before the start of play.

 

- Full house: This is a type of hand with three-of-a-kind plus one pair. Here, the hand with the highest rank of three-of-a-kind wins, (the pair is excluded from this ranking as the three-of-a-kind will always be unique). So, 10, 10, 10, 6, 6 beats 9, 9, 9, A, A.

 

- Four-of-a-kind: this is when a player holds four cards in the same rank order, e.g. K, K, K, K, 9. If two players have four-of-a-kind, then the player with the highest ranking card will win. For instance, J, J, J, J, 6 beats 10, 10, 10, 10, K. With Four-of a kind no two players can draw so the ranking of the one remaining card is irrelevant.

 

- Straight Flush: This is a hand that has five cards in numeric order, but also of the same suit. As in a Straight, the hand that wins is defined by the highest ranked card. For instance, Q, J, 10, 9, 8 in the same suit beats 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 in the same suit. The highest possible ranking Straight Flush is the Royal Flush, this is a hand consisting of A, K, Q, J, 10 all in the same suit. This is also the best possible hand that you can get in poker and can never be beaten. In very, very, very rare instances two people can be holding a Royal Flush, in this instance the winner is decided according to pre-defined rules, such as suits being ranked in order. The chances of one person getting a Royal Flush are unbelievably small, apparently most people will not get a Royal Flush in the whole time that they play.  

 

 

Although it was stated at the top of this article that suits are considered as equal, you can now see that in very rare cases, they may have a rank value. But, you will probably never see an instance of this in real life, but do make sure you check with your casino as to their rules before you sit down to play, or you may be very disappointed when you win with your first and only Royal Flush, only to be beaten by other player with a Royal Flush in a higher ranked suit. Hopefully, when this happens to you, you are playing in a casino that splits the winnings equally between two.

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