Poker Hands from Soup To Nuts
Learning the basic poker hands is one of the first steps
players should take when beginning the game of poker. By
taking the time to understand how to make the best possible
poker hands and poker probabilities, you'll be able to enjoy
any poker game variant much more quickly. This guide to
poker hand rankings explains each of the poker hands in
detail, letting you understand why they are positioned where
they are in the poker hand rankings.
Study the material on this page and you'll know your
winning poker hands from soup to nuts!
Five Card Poker Hand Values
for High
Royal Flush:
The ultimate in winning poker hands, a Royal Flush is an
Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of the same suit. This is the
best poker hand you can have in high. Poker probabilities
state that the odds of getting this in 5-card poker are 1 in
649,740.
In the event of a tie, two or more Royal Flushes split
the pot.
Straight Flush:
A straight flush is five cards in sequence, of the same
suit. There are 36 different ways a player can get a
straight flush poker hand, with poker probabilities stating
that the odds of getting one in 5 cards is 1 in 72,193.33
In the event of a tie, the highest rank at the top of the
sequence wins.
Four of a Kind:
Four of a Kind is four cards of the same rank, and one
side card. Poker probabilities say that the odds for this
are 1 in 4,165, as there are 624 different ways to achieve
this poker hand in 5-card poker games.
In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins.
In community card games such as
Texas Hold Em where players have the same four poker
hands of a kind, the highest fifth side card ("kicker")
wins.
Full House:
A Full House is three cards of the same rank, and two
cards of a different, matching rank. The poker probabilities
for this hand feature odds of 1 in 694.16.
In the event of a tie, the hand with the highest three
matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where
players have the same three matching cards, the highest
value of the two matching cards wins.
Flush:
This poker hand features five cards of the same suit and
there are 5,108 different ways that players can get this
hand, with poker probabilities stating the odds for making
this being 1 in 508.80. In the event of a tie: The player
holding the highest ranked card in the poker hands wins. If
necessary, the second-highest, third-highest,
fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break
the tie.
Straight:
A straight features five cards in sequence. There are
over 10,000 ways in which a player can create this hand,
making the poker probabilities of getting a straight 1 in
254.80.
In the event of a tie, the highest ranking card at the
top of the sequence wins.
Please note that in this poker hand, the Ace may be used
at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card
that can act in this manner.
Three of a Kind:
Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side
cards. Poker probabilities peg the odds for making this
poker hand 1 in 47.32, and you can make this 54,912
different ways.
In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind
wins. In community card games where players have the same
three of a kind in their poker hands, the highest side card,
and if necessary, the second-highest side card wins.
Two Pair:
Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a
different matching rank, and one side card. One of the most
common poker hands, there are 123,552 ways to make this,
with the odds of having two pairs in your hand being 1 in
21.
In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have
the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both
players have identical pairs in their poker hands, highest
side card wins.
One Pair:
A single pair features two cards of a matching rank, and
three unrelated side cards.
In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have
the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary,
the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used
to break the tie.
High Card:
