Want to try your luck at poker? Knowing the different poker hands and what it takes to get them is the first step to winning a poker match. Most poker style games will use the classic poker hands, or a variation, and knowing those hands will help you play any game.
How are Poker Hands Determined?
Standard poker uses a 52-card deck where each player is dealt five cards. From those five cards the player must make a hand. A hand is simply a series of cards, and in poker the highest hand wins.
There are some variations to this rule. Some games will only deal three cards, while other games will deal seven cards, and a few games will use a joker as a wild card.
Poker Hands from Worst to Best
High Hand: A high hand in poker occurs when no player has a winning combination. If no player can show a pair or better, the winner is sometimes determined by who has the highest card in their hand.
Pair: A pair in poker occurs when a player has two cards of matching rank from two different suits.
Two Pairs: Two pairs in poker occurs when a player has two cards of matching rank from two different suits, and two cards of another matching rank from two other suits.
click here to see most Popular PagesThree of a Kind: A three of a kind in poker occurs when a player has three cards of matching rank from three different suits, or three of the same suit.
Straight: A straight in poker occurs when a player has a sequence of five cards. The sequence can be ascending or descending, but must go in order. The type of suit does not matter for a straight.
Flush: A flush in poker occurs when a player has any five cards from the same suit. The cards do not have to follow any sequence.
Full House: A full house in poker occurs when a player has a pair and a three of a kind in the same hand.
Four of a Kind: A four of a kind in poker occurs when a player has four cards of matching rank from any suit.
Straight Flush: A straight flush in poker occurs when a player has five cards from the same suit in a sequence. The sequence can be ascending or descending.
In poker, the highest hand wins. While a player should always strive to have the highest hand, it is possible to win with just a pair depending on the other player’s hands.
