Basic poker uses a standard deck of playing cards. The deck consists of
52 total cards, broken into four suits: clubs, diamonds, hearts and
spades. Each suit has 13 cards, ranked in order of precedence, consisting
of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. Many decks
have Jokers as well, but they are not generally used except in wild-card
variants.
The simplest form of traditional poker has a hand of five cards. It is
called simply 5 card draw poker. There are
literally hundreds of different kinds of poker games, some of them
employing less cards, many of them (like Texas Hold Em) employing more.
Players try to get the best poker hand possible, starting with what they
are dealt and then through either discard and draw, or by other means such
as the common cards available to all in Texas Hold Em.
The poker hands described below are ranked in order of precedence as
found in most poker games, from best to worst. The top listed, the Royal
Flush, the ultimate hand and one which is rarely seen because of the
extremely low probability of having the right cards in the right sequence.
Some players go for years before getting one. It is the best poker hand
that can be achieved in standard forms of the game. The weakest hand
(other than simply having the highest card shown) is One Pair. Keep in
mind that in some variants -- like Hi-Lo -- low ranking hands can also win
or tie.
For the purpose of this introduction, we will discuss the standard hand
ranking that is used throughout the world, and the chance of getting
certain hands based on a five card hand. The probability percentage shows
the likelihood of being dealt such a hand from a well-shuffled deck in
standard five card poker.
Hands are ranked here in order of precedence, from the best poker hands
at the top to the worst at the bottom. NOTE: In the case of ties by type,
the highest card determines the winner. For instance, if two players had
Flushes, one with a high card of a Queen and the other with a high card of
a 10, the "Queen high" Flush would win.
Royal Flush - The Best of the Best Poker Hands!
This is the best possible hand in standard five-card Poker. The Royal
Flush consists of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of the same suit.
Chance: 1 in 650,000 poker hands. Yes, odds are you'll be at it a while
before you get one!
Straight Flush
The Straight Flush is any combination of cards that are in sequence and
of the same suit. So, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7 of Diamonds would be a straight
flush. Chance: 1 in 65,000 poker hands. Rare enough to be a big deal!
Four of a Kind
If your hand contains four cards of the same value (e.g.: 4, 4, 4, 4),
you've got Four of a Kind. Chance: 1 in 4000 poker hands. A powerhouse
hand in five-card poker and rarely seen.
Full House
A hand consisting of Three of a Kind and a Pair is a Full House (e.g.:
9, 9, 9 and King, King). Chance: 1 in 3700 poker hands. Another powerhouse
hand and a near-sure winner.
Flush
When you've got five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence (e.g.:
2, 5, 9, Jack and Ace of spades), you've got a Flush. Chance: 1 in 500
poker hands. Odds are you'll win with this one, particularly if the top of
the flush is a face card.
Straight
If you've got five cards in sequence not from the same suit (e.g.: 7 of
hearts, 8 of clubs, 9 of clubs, 10 of diamonds and Jack of spades), you've
got a Straight. Chance: 1 in 250 poker hands. The most frequently seen of
the difficult-to-get winning hands.
Three of a Kind
If you've got any three cards of the same value (e.g.: Queen, Queen,
Queen), you've got Three of a Kind. Chance: 1 in 50 poker hands.
Frequently the big winner in draw poker.
Two Pair
When you've got two separate pairs (e.g.: 4, 4, Jack, Jack), you've got
Two Pair. Chance: 1 in 20 poker hands. Two pairs come up often enough that
if you've only got one, you'd better think about it!
Pair
If your hand contains two cards of the same value (e.g.: 8, 8), you
have a Pair. Chance: 1 in 2. Given that pairs come up half the time, if
you don't have a high pair you should consider folding most of the
time.
High Card
Should a poker hand have none of the above, It has no value and no chance of winning at
all -- unless everyone else has nothing as well. In this case, the hand
with highest card or cards wins.
