Poker Hands

When you play Poker, the hands have ranking system which shows the strength of the hand that you can play.

Poker Hands – Beginners Guide to Poker

For those who are just starting to learn poker knowing the strength of different poker hands is essential for winning in Poker.

The strength of Poker hands are given below. Starting from the strongest possible to the weaker hands.

1. Five of a kind:

Five of a kind is the strongest possible hand but with a caveat; it is only possible where there are one or more wild cards (or Joker). The higher the value of the card, the stronger the hand is. Example. Five Aces is stronger than King, Queen, Jack and so on.

2. Royal Flush:

This is the strongest possible hand(without Wild cards) in Poker. It is five consecutive cards of the same suit viz. 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. Nothing beats this hand (without wild cards). Here too the higher the value of the card, the stronger the hand. Example. 10 to A, beats 9 to K, beats 8 to Q and so on.

3. Straight Flush:

This is the second strongest hand in Poker. They are five consecutive cards of the same suit. Example. 8,7,6,5,4. Among the straight flushes, the strongest are those with the highest cards. K,Q,J,10,9 being the strongest and 5,4,3,2,A being the weakest.

4. Four of a Kind:

The next strongest hands are the same cards in all 4 suits. Strength within the hands starting from four Aces to four 2s. In case of a tie between the same four of a kind cards, the higher fifth hand card will win.

5. Full House:

A full house hand consist of three same value cards of different suits plus a pair of same value cards. Example. three kings and a pair of 8s. The higher the card value, the stronger the hand. For example. 3 queens and 2 eights beat 3 queens and 2 sevens and so on.

6. Flush:

Flush is a five card hands of the same suit in any order. Example. A,10,8,6,4 of hearts. The higher combined card value of the five cards the stronger the hand is among the flushes. Example. A,K,10,8,2 beats A,K,10,7,2 and so on.

7. Straight:

Straight is a hand of five cards of consequential numerical value in any suit. Example, 5 of hearts, 6 of spades, 7 of clubs, 8 of diamonds and 9 of hearts. The higher the card value, the greater the strength. That means 10 to Ace will be the strongest of the Straight Poker hands.

8. Three of a Kind:

This hand has three cards of the same value. The higher value the stronger the hand. That means among the three of a king hand, three Aces is the strongest and three 2s are the weakest. Plus the other two card values will rank in case there is a tie of the same value.

9. Two Pairs:

These are two different sets of two cards with the same value. The higher pair value of the cards will be the stronger. Example, a pair of kings with a pair of 2s are stronger than a pair of queen and a pair of 10s. The highest remaining 5th card completes the hand which will be rank on its value in case of a tie of the pairs.

10. Pair:

This hand is a pair of cards of same value in different suits. Their strength rates according to their value from a pair of Aces down to 2s. The remaining three high cards complete the hand and will be used to rank in case there is a tie of the Pair hands.

11. High Card:

This hand is a random five cards of any suit any value. The higher the value, the stronger the hand. Example. A,Q,10,9,2 is stronger than A,Q,10,8,4.

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If you are a beginner at online poker games you may want to consult our guide on poker – How to play Texas Hold’em poker. You can also enjoy poker bonuses for playing poker games – Best Poker sign up bonuses.