The Essentials of Poker Hands
If you have played poker and are familiar with all of the ins and outs of the game, then you are, more than likely familiar with poker hands. If you are not, however, here is your opportunity to pick up some essential knowledge. A poker hand is whenever someone has had 5 cards dealt in their hands. As with any regular card game, there is a certain ranking for poker hands. Learning these rankings and becoming familiar with them is important if you plan on having any success in the poker arena. Listed below are some examples of poker hand rankings.
HIGH CARD - The high card is ranked by the value of the highest card. If your poker hand was 7, 6, 5, then the seven would be the highest card. If, however, two of the cards had the same value, then it is the next highest card.
PAIRS - This is almost self explanatory. If 2 of your 5 cards have the same value, you have a pair.
TWO PAIRS - This, as in the above example, would be a hand consisting of two different pairs.
THREE OF A KIND - In this hand, 3 of the 5 cards are the same.
STRAIGHT - The straight consists of 5 consecutive valued cards which are ranked according to the rule of the highest card.
FLUSH - A flush occurs when all 5 of the cards in the hand are of the same suit or classification.
FULL HOUSE - The full house is having 3 of the 5 cards with the same value while the remaining two cards are a pair.
FOUR OF A KIND - Having 4 of the 5 cards in your hand with the same value and is ranked by the value of the 4 cards.
STRAIGHT FLUSH - This hand combines a straight and a flush. Or put in other terms, the cards are the same suit with consecutive values.
ROYAL FLUSH - In this hand you have all of the best cards.
Alright, now that you have read this perhaps we can illustrate what is explained above in some simpler terms: High Card - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Pair - 4, 4 & 7, 7 Two Pairs - 3, 3 & Spade, Spade Three of a Kind - 5, 5, 5 & Queen, Queen, Queen Straight - 9 of diamonds & 5, 6, 7, 8 Flush - All the King of Spades (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Full House - 5, 5, 5, 7, 7 Four of a Kind - 8, 8, 8, 8 or Queen, Queen, Queen, Queen Straight Flush - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of diamonds Royal Flush - Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of diamonds
Knowing these essentials will get you on the road to a winning poker hand. If you are a beginner, you will become more and more familiar with these rankings the more you play. A complete understanding of this information, however, needs to be obtained before you can seriously consider poker playing. Don't worry, it should not take long to catch on to this, particularly if you are any kind of card player. Once you have mastered these basics, you can start climbing the road to poker success.
If you have played poker and are familiar with all of the ins and outs of the game, then you are, more than likely familiar with poker hands. If you are not, however, here is your opportunity to pick up some essential knowledge. A poker hand is whenever someone has had 5 cards dealt in their hands. As with any regular card game, there is a certain ranking for poker hands. Learning these rankings and becoming familiar with them is important if you plan on having any success in the poker arena. Listed below are some examples of poker hand rankings.
HIGH CARD - The high card is ranked by the value of the highest card. If your poker hand was 7, 6, 5, then the seven would be the highest card. If, however, two of the cards had the same value, then it is the next highest card.
PAIRS - This is almost self explanatory. If 2 of your 5 cards have the same value, you have a pair.
TWO PAIRS - This, as in the above example, would be a hand consisting of two different pairs.
THREE OF A KIND - In this hand, 3 of the 5 cards are the same.
STRAIGHT - The straight consists of 5 consecutive valued cards which are ranked according to the rule of the highest card.
FLUSH - A flush occurs when all 5 of the cards in the hand are of the same suit or classification.
FULL HOUSE - The full house is having 3 of the 5 cards with the same value while the remaining two cards are a pair.
FOUR OF A KIND - Having 4 of the 5 cards in your hand with the same value and is ranked by the value of the 4 cards.
STRAIGHT FLUSH - This hand combines a straight and a flush. Or put in other terms, the cards are the same suit with consecutive values.
ROYAL FLUSH - In this hand you have all of the best cards.
Alright, now that you have read this perhaps we can illustrate what is explained above in some simpler terms: High Card - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Pair - 4, 4 & 7, 7 Two Pairs - 3, 3 & Spade, Spade Three of a Kind - 5, 5, 5 & Queen, Queen, Queen Straight - 9 of diamonds & 5, 6, 7, 8 Flush - All the King of Spades (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Full House - 5, 5, 5, 7, 7 Four of a Kind - 8, 8, 8, 8 or Queen, Queen, Queen, Queen Straight Flush - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of diamonds Royal Flush - Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of diamonds
Knowing these essentials will get you on the road to a winning poker hand. If you are a beginner, you will become more and more familiar with these rankings the more you play. A complete understanding of this information, however, needs to be obtained before you can seriously consider poker playing. Don't worry, it should not take long to catch on to this, particularly if you are any kind of card player. Once you have mastered these basics, you can start climbing the road to poker success.
