Poker hands
Poker is a card game that is loved by millions world-wide. Its appeal is in that it is easy to learn but very tough to master, and many young people take up the game for this reason – the limitless potential for improvement.
The very first step in learning to play poker is becoming comfortable with poker hands. These are the various five-card combinations a player must make to win throughout the game. The strongest card a player can hold is an Ace and the weakest is a 2. In some cases, for example as part of Straight or Straight flush, an Ace can be used as a low card equal to the value of “1″.
In poker, strength of hand is firstly determined by the numeric value of the cards, whilst all suits are ranked equally and only considered in cases of a Flush or Straight Flush. The order in which a player receives their cards is not important. Creating the following combinations will increase the strength of a player’s hand, in the following order:
Royal Flush – The highest possible hand in poker. It’s a straight from 10 to Ace with all cards of the same suit (A-K-Q-J-10).
Straight Flush – Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same numeric value.
Full House – Two cards of the same numeric value combined with another three cards of the same numeric value.
Flush – Any five cards of the same suit.
Straight – Five consecutive cards of different suits. Ace can count as either a high or a low card.
Three of a Kind – Any three cards of the same numeric value.
Two Pair – A combination of two cards of the same numeric value with another two cards of the same numeric value. The highest pair of the two determines the strength of the hand. If two players have equally strong highest pairs, lowest pairs are considered.
Pair – Any two cards of the same numeric value.
High Card / No Pair – A set of cards without any of the above combinations.