Definitions of Poker Hands and What they Beat
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Any good poker player has to start somewhere, and the best place to start is from the ground up learning what the winning hands in poker are, and what they beat. So this article will teach you all the basic hands of poker in a simple, easy to comprehend manner.
· High Card: A hand that does not contain any higher combinations. Such hand is evaluated according to the highest single card.
· Pair: A hand that contains a single pair of two matching cards (cards of the same rank). For example, two 7’s
· Two Pair: A hand that consists of two pairs of matching cards. For example, two Jacks and two Queens
· Three of a Kind: A hand with three matching cards. For example, three Jacks
· Straight: A hand with five subsequent cards (cards that follow each other by rank). For example, 8-9-10-Jack-Queen
· Flush: Five cards of the same suit
· Full House: A hand that contains Pair and Three of a Kind. For example, Jack-Jack-Queen-Queen-Queen
· Four of a Kind: A hand with four matching cards. For example, four Aces
· Straight Flush: A hand that is flush and straight at the same time, which means that is contains five consecutive cards of the same rank. For example, 8 of Spades, 9 of Spades, 10 of Spades, Jack of Spades and the Queen of Spades.
· Royal Flush: Same as Straight Flush, but with cards of the highest rank: 10-Jack-Queen-King-Ace
The hands are listed from least likely to win, to top winning hand. Odds increase with the use of wild cards. In the event that two players have the same hand; the player with the high card wins.
These standard poker hands are configured using five cards, with a deck of 52 cards (full deck minus jokers) and are generally used throughout all different types of poker games. Knowing your hands and which hands rank higher than the others will definitely give you the foundation you need to be a better poker player.
Without the knowledge of the winning hands, you may as well not attempt to play. A great way to learn the basics of the hands and their card makeup is to play online versions of the game that are free against computers. Practicing here will give you what you need to be able to beat real players for real money!
