Just Poker Talk

The following are a ranking from worst to best (in the order of top to bottom in this post) in a HIGH game of poker. High as opposed to low. These hands apply to many games of poker including Hold’em and Omaha. (They also apply to the high in Omaha High/Low).

Kickers:

No matter what the hand, kickers can come into play. Kickers are used when two players both have the best hand at the table. For example, if I have two Aces and you have the other two aces, then we tie. The next highest card in our possesion becomes our kicker. If my next highest card is a ten and yours is a queen, then you win the pot. If we both have the same kicker, we look to the next highest card and so on, with a pair of completely the same hand (very rare) resulting in a split pot (we each get half).

Trips/sets do not have kickers, the highest set wins. Your tens over my fours. Flushes and straights are decided on the highest non community card in them. If you have a ten high straigh and mine is an 8 high… you win. If we both have a spade flush, but you have the nuts in the form of the ace of spades, then you take the pot.

The hands:

High Card: High card applies to the highest card in your possession when making a hand. If you have King, Jack, Five, Four, Two in your hand, your best hand is “King High”.

Pair: A pair occurs when you have two of the same card in your five card hand. Two twos would be the worst pair, and two aces would be the best pair.

Two Pair: Two pair is just that, two pairs. If four cards out of your five card hand form two sets of pairs, then you have two pair. The higher set determines the winner if two players both have two pair and no one has a higher ranked hand. Your aces and twos beat my kings and queens. If we both have aces, then the rank of the second pair determines the winner.

Three of a kind: Another easy on to guess. Three of a kind occurs when you have three of the same card, such as the two of diamonds, two of spades, and two of hearts. The higher ranked set of three wins the hand if two players have trips and no one has a higher ranked hand at the table.

Straight: A straight occurs when all five of your cards are in sequential order, such as: 7,8,9,10,J. The suit of the cards do not matter, though if they are all the same suit, say spades, then you have a straight flush which is a higher ranked hand then a normal straight. If two players both have straights, then the highest card in the series takes the pot. Your 7-J over my 6-10.

Flush: A flush occurs when all five of your cards are the same suit. No suit is better than another, as is the same with all poker hands. If two players both have a flush, then the highest card in the flush wins, ace of course being high. If both players have the same highest card, the next highest is used, and so on.

Full house: A full house occurs when you have both a pair and a set in your five card hand, such as: three sevens and two threes. If two players both have a full house, the rank of the set in the full house determines the winner, with ace once again being high.

Four of a kind: A rare feat, but one which gives a great feeling. This occurs when four out of the five cards in your hand are all the same, such as the two of diamond, the two of hearts, the two of spades, and the two of clubs. If two players have quads, the highest ranking quad takes the pot, with ace being high.

Straight flush: Another rare feat. This occurs when all five of your cards are not just in sequential order (7,8,9,10,J), but ALSO of the same suit, such as 7,8,9,10,J all of hearts. If two players both have a straight flush, the highest card in the sequence (J in this case) determines the winner.

Royal flush: The best possible hand in poker, and an EXTREMELY rare find. It takes some serious luck to pull this one off. A royal flush is the same thing as a straight flush, but instead of ANY sequence working, a royal flush MUST be Ace to ten, and all of the same suit, such as: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, all of spades.

Hopefully this helps in your understanding of hand rankings. If anyone wants/needs clarification on anything, feel free to reply to this thread or email me. Enjoy your poker playing!

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