Poker hands are the various combinations of five cards that players use to determine the winner of a poker game. There are many different versions of poker but in general most of the main types rely on a system where a combination of five cards are used to determine who wins and who loses.
The winner of a poker game is determined by a system of Poker Hands Ranking. That system is sometimes also called poker hands order. Whether you call it Poker Hands Ranking or poker hands order is not that important. What’s important is that you know and understand the list of poker hands so that in a game you can maneuver and use various strategies to attain one of the Best Poker Hands possible. Having great poker hands increase your chances of winning, having bad poker hands usually means that you will have to fold or bluff your way through a game , all the while hoping that no one calls your bluff.
You have to always remember that like every other card game, poker is a game of chance. That means regardless of the version of poker you play, the poker hands that you end up with will have a high random element built in. There is nothing that you can do to change that. It’s part of the game and adds greatly to the level of thrill and excitement. That does not mean that you just accept cards blindly and hope for the best. That is as far removed from the truth as you can get. In poker the player with the best understanding of the game usually wins much more often than a player who has not done his homework and makes bad decisions.Once you know the list of poker hands and you understand Poker Hands rankings you will be in a better position to make decisions based on the conditions available at the time. Making smart decisions with regards to what cards you keep and what cards you discard in large part will determine the frequency of your wins and losses. Understanding poker hands order, that is the system of ranking that determines what’s the best hand in any given game, is essential to winning . Remember the players who have the best poker hands are the players who win at poker full stop.
So let’s have a closer look at the various poker hands that there are and the order of their ranking. From the best hand to the worst the hands are as follows; Royal Flush, Straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair and high card. Remember a hand that is higher in the ranking order beats a hand that is lower in the ranking order. That’s it basically. Once you get familiar with the list of poker hands and the order of their ranking, you will be able to make in game decisions that will help maximize your chances of winning. Knowing which hands are more valuable than others will also help you with your strategies. For example, if you have a very strong hand you will be in a position to make larger bets with a greater deal of confidence. Its also important to remember that when multiple players have the same hand the player who possesses the higher level of card wins. For example if both players have one pair but one has a pair of threes while the other has a pair of queens, the player with the pair of queens wins.
There is one variation of the Straight Flush that is extremely rare. A hand containing Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of the same type is called a Royal Flush. It’s the best hand possible in a poker game. Make sure you look at our Poker Rules and Poker Strategy page for more tips on getting some of the best poker hands in a game.
