Card Hands and Rankings in Poker
Poker is indeed one of the most enjoyable card games you can play with several people. There are many different variants of poker, with varying rules and styles. The game has been around for ages now and if ever you’re planning on starting to play, you’d best learn the basics first.
The most important thing you should know in the game is the different hands so that you’ll know whether you should be betting on them or not. We’ll start with the lowest to the highest ranking hand.
1. High Card - A High Card means that your hand doesn’t have any special combination of cards – no two of the same rank, the five cards are not in sequence, and not in the same suit. Basically, what counts for the showdown will be the highest ranking card from the five. This is the lowest ranking hand in the game.
2. One Pair - This hand is composed of two cards with the same rank together with three other unmatched cards. If ever two players have the same ranking pair, the winner will be decided through the highest ranking card from the three unmatched cards (the kicker).
3. Two Pairs – This hand is composed of two cards of the same rank, another couple of cards of another rank and any single unmatched card. To determine the winner between two hands both having two pairs, the higher pairs from the hands are compared. If ever they have the same ranking higher pair, the second pairs are then compared. If given the chance that they both have the same two pairs, it will then come down to their unmatched card, the kicker.
4. Three of a kind – The three of a kind is similar to the one pair, although instead of having only a couple of similar-ranked cards with three unmatched cards, the hand should have three cards with the same rank together with a couple of unmatched cards.
5. Straight – Getting a straight means having the ranks of all your five cards in a sequence, with different suits. Should more than a single player shows a straight during the showdown, their hands are matched by the use of the highest card in their straights. The highest ranking straight makes use of the ace as the highest card which is 10, J, Q, K, A. However, the ace can be used as part of the lowest ranking straight which is A, 2, 3, 4 5.
6. Flush – The flush is obtained by having your 5 cards belong to a single suit and not in a sequence. The winner between two players with flushes is determined by the highest ranking card in their flush. If both have the same highest ranking card, the second highest ranking card will then be used and so on.
7. Full House – The hand is composed of three cards with the same rank together with a couple of cards belonging to another rank. Should there be more than one hand with a full house during the showdown, the hand with the higher ranking three cards wins. When two hands have the same three cards, possible during community game variants, the remaining pairs are then compared.
8. Four of a Kind – You have a Four of a Kind hand once you have four cards with the same rank in it and any single card from another rank. To determine the winner between Four of a Kind hands, the four cards with the same rank, also known as quads, are compared. If the two have the same quads (possible during community games and wild card games), the remaining single cards are then compared.
9. Straight Flush – This is the highest ranking hand in the game, in fact. This includes five cards whose ranks are in a sequence and they belong in the same suit. The highest ranking Straight Flush would be the Royal Flush which consists of 10, J, Q, K and A.
