Poker Hand Rankings

Studying how the game works, the poker terminology used and the hand rankings will bring you a step closer to your ultimate success in poker. Having power over the game is the key to your victory; that starts with knowing what you have in your hand and how to bet it. Poker hand rankings are one of the most significant parts of the game.

One of the most basic things you should know in poker is the hand rankings from the highest to the lowest possible hand. You need to know the general rules of poker. In doing so, you can manage your game and think effective tactics to beat your opponents and win the pot. If you don’t know what you have in your hand, or which hand you are trying to make, you are going to have a very difficult time betting and winning any money.

Understanding Poker Hand Rankings

In the game of poker, there are at least 10 poker hands you should be familiar with. According to the rules, these hands have a specific position and a specific value in the game. The value of each hand has something to do with how these cards are obtained.

For instance, the Royal flush, straight flush and four of a kind are really hard to get. You may go your whole lifetime without seeing a Royal flush. On the other hand, a Full house is difficult to make, but is the most powerful hand you will often see on any normal basis. Straights and Flushes are the most common powerful hand that people will try to get, often they fail to do so and get stuck with a high card hand. Three of a kind will usually be the winning hand if someone gets it; not often does someone get beat when they have already made triplets. Two pairs and one pair are most often the hands that win in poker and are far and away the most common hands to receive.

The Top Ten Poker Hand Rankings

It is significant to know the hierarchy of poker hands in order to have a stronger position that your opponents. Here are the top 10 poker hand rankings from the lowest to the highest value:

• 1. High card – the lowest possible card you can make during the game. This will not often be the winning hand. If you don’t get at least a pair, you should think about folding your hand.



• 2. Pair – refers to any two cards at the same rank. Example: the jack of hearts and jack of spades in the picture below make a pair



• 3. Two Pairs – refer to any two cards of the same rank with another two cards of the same rank. Example below shows a pair of nines and a pair of sevens



• 4. Three of a Kind – a set of cards with three cards of the same rank. Example shown: three 10′s



• 5. Straight – refers to any five consecutive cards of different suits. Example shown: five, six, seven, eight, nine with multiple suits



• 6. Flush – refers to any five cards of the same suit, not necessarily consecutive. Example: Ace of spades, Jack of Spades, Nine, Six and Four of Spades.



• 7. Full House – refers to any three cards of the same rank with another two cards of the same rank. Example: Three Queens and Two 8′s



• 8. Four of a Kind – refers to any four cards of the same rank. In case two players each have four of a kind, the player with the highest four of a kind wins. Example shown: four aces



• 9. Straight Flush – refers to having five consecutive cards of the same suit. Example: Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six of Diamonds



• 10. Royal Flush – the highest possible hand in poker. This is composed of a straight from ten to ace with all five cards of the same suit. Example shown: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 of Hearts

Now that you know this information, try to improve your poker skills. You may want to check these poker tips out.

If you like playing poker online, but your not very good yet, there are many online poker tools and poker strategy guides to help you improve your game. Since Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular versions of poker, you may want to check out tools like the poker odds calculator, which can really help you turn online poker losses around and get into the winning mentality that is so important in poker.