Here are the poker hands described in more detail:
A Pair
is when you have two cards of the same "number" in your hand - for example a pair of nines. A pair of Aces is the best pair you can get and beats a pair of Kings which beats a pair of Queens and so on. If two people have the same pair, it is the value of your highest card (other than your pair) that counts. For example:
Player 1: K K J 8 7 Player 2: K K 6 4 2
In this example, both players have a pair of Kings. However, player 1 will win because his highest other card is a Jack. Player Two's highest other card is only a 6. If both players have the same highest card, you look at the next highest card and so on.
Two Pairs
, believe it or not, is when you have two pairs - for example, a pair of Eights and a pair of Fours. If two people both have two pairs, it is the player with the highest pair who wins. If they both have the same top pair, the value of the other pair is considered. If two players both have exactly the same two pairs, they must look at the value of their other card to see who has won.
Three of a Kind
is where a player has three cards of one number - for example, three Deuces (Twos).
A Straight
is where a player has 5 consecutive cards - for example 7 8 9 10 J. They do not have to be of the same suit, but you must have all five of your cards in a sequence - a run of four cards is no good at all and counts for nothing! An Ace can be used in either a high straight, 10 J Q K A (the best straight possible), or as part of a low straight A 2 3 4 5. (You cannot have a straight that goes "round the corner" e.g. Q K A 2 3.)
A Flush
is where you have all five cards in the same suit - for example five Spades. It must be all five cards in the same suit - four spades counts for nothing at all! If two players both have flushes, the player with the highest card wins. It doesn't matter which suit you have - no one suit is better than any other.
A Full House
is where you have three of a kind and a pair. A full house with three Aces beats a full house with three Kings and so on.
Four of a Kind
is where you have all four cards of one particular number - for example, four sixes.
A Straight Flush
is the best hand in poker - it consists of 5 cards in sequence, all of the same suit. For example, 2 3 4 5 6 - all Diamonds. The very best straight flush is when you have 10 J Q K A all of the same suit - this is known as a Royal Flush.
When you don't have any of the hands above, this is known simply as High Card. If no player has even a pair, their highest card counts to see who has won.
Player 1: A J 9 3 2 Player 2: K Q 9 8 3
In this example, Player One wins because his highest card is an Ace (he has "Ace High"), which beats Player Two's "King High." If two players have the same high card, the next highest card is looked at and so on!
Note:
- In some situations, two (or more) players may have hands of exactly the same value. In such cases, the pot is simply split evenly between them.
- The ranking of the poker hands is not random or based merely on some sort of tradition - it is firmly based on probability - the best hands are the ones you are least likely to get if you are dealt five cards at random. The worst hands are the ones you will get most often if you are dealt five cards at random.
- In many poker games, each player will finish the hand with more than 5 cards. In these games, the player must pick the best 5-card poker hand out of the cards they have available to them. Only these 5 cards are of any use to them - the other cards count for nothing!
