Poker Tips: A Cheat Sheet of Poker Hand Rankings
One of the great challenges with poker is remembering the different hands that you can get with five cards. Whether you are playing traditional poker or Texas Hold’em, you are using the best five cards between yours and the ones on the table to make a hand. If you struggle to remember the names and rankings of the different hands, we have created a poker cheat sheet that will help.
Below are all the hands you can get in a game of poker, ranked.
1. Royal Flush
The first and very best hand that you can get in a game of poker is the Royal Flush. Such a hand happens when you have five consecutive cards of the same suit, going from 10 to Ace.
If you have this poker hand sequence at the end of a round, you are the undeniable winner of that round. Royal flushes are extremely rare in a game of Texas Hold’em, so do not always count on getting one when there are one or two cards left to reveal.
2. Straight flush
Almost as impressive as the royal flush is the straight flush, which is a combination of any five cards in consecutive order from the same suit. An example would be 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of spades.
A straight flush is a little more common than a royal flush, which is why you have to watch out for an opponent that has an even higher one. Say the cards 6, 7, and 8 of spades are on the table, while you have the 4 and 5 in your hand. If your opponent has the 9 and 10 of spades, their straight flush would beat yours.
3. Four of a Kind
One of the simpler hands to remember in a game of poker, the four of a kind happens when you have four varieties of the same card. Say you get the Queens of aces, spades, diamonds, and clubs in your hand.
If you happen to get a four of a kind in a game of Texas Hold’em Poker, you should be confident about your chances of success in the game.
4. Full House
A lot of people assume that a full house is better than a four of a kind, but that is not the case. The odds of getting a full house are lower, which is why you should not go all in with this combination.
When you have a full house, it means that you have three identical cards, along with two other identical cards. For example, you could have three queens and two sixes in your five card combination.
5. Flush
A flush is when you have five cards that are all from the same suit. Say you receive the cards 3, 5, 7, 9, and 10, and they are all from spades.
That means you have a flush, which is a very good hand that is going to beat a lot of people during Texas Hold’em and regular poker.
6. Straight
A slightly easier combination of cards to receive is the straight, which happens when you have five cards in consecutive order from any suit in your five card set.
Say you receive a 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 in a game of poker, but they are from varying suits. That means you have a straight, which is a fairly good combination to win most rounds in poker.
7. Three of a Kind
As we enter the more common suits in poker, we focus on the three of a kind suit. Three of a kind refers to having three varieties of the same card in your hand.
If you were to receive a five-card combination that contains three 9’s from different suits, you would have a three of a kind. Even though getting this pair is very lucky, you should be careful before betting too much during a round, in case your opponent has something better.
8. Two Pairs
Two pairs are the next best combination after having a single pair, as they are fairly common in a game of poker. Two pairs would mean that you have two 6s and five 5s of different suits, as an example.
9. Pair
A pair in poker is when you have two varieties of the same card in your five card combination. Say you receive cards that contain two 6s. That means you have a pair right off the bat, even before any other cards are revealed on the table.
10. High Card
The very final way that you can win a round of poker is by having the highest card within a five card combination among the players that are remaining in the round.
Say you are playing against someone directly, with everyone else folding. If that person has no pair or other combination, and you do not either, the highest cards decide the round.
Ace is the highest card, with king being second highest, and so on.
Win at Poker With This Knowledge
With the information now at your disposal, you should have no problem improving on your poker skills. Now you can remember every single combination in the game, and create a betting strategy around each of those winning hands.
If you were struggling during previous tournaments because you were not sure if a two-pair beats a three of a kind, you can now put this list to memory.