Poker Hands Rankings – Your Key to Winning Poker Hands

As you learn to play poker, one of the most important things you will need to learn are the Poker Hands Rankings.

Most rankings list the hands from highest to lowest, but here they are shown from lowest to highest, as this is how you will encounter them most often. It is often noted that Las Vegas poker is played by slightly different rules than casinos in Europe, but all online games have agreed to use the Las Vegas Rules, as do the Texas Hold’Em poker tournaments shown on TV including the World Poker Tour and others. These rules for card games were first written down for live card games by Robert Ciaffone in 1984, and have become the standard for online poker and other games of chance played with cards.

In order to win at poker, you need to know how different hands rank: that is, which ones are assigned a higher value than others, and some idea of the odds of creating any particular hand out of your cards and those on the table.

The three fundamental rules of poker (5 or 7-card Poker, High and High-Low Split) are these:
* The deck is counted from 2 to Ace, so Ace is the highest single card.
* Each player can only use 5 of the cards (yours plus those on the table or those you draw) to make your best hand. Don’ t try to use six or all seven.
* The player with the highest-ranked hand wins.

How can you tell who has the highest-ranked hand: Is it you? Memorize these poker hands rankings and practice, practice, practice!

Here are the most-recognized poker hands rankings around the world for any five-card or seven-card poker game:
from Lowest to Highest Rank:

* High Card- you have five cards of all different values and suits, with one card a higher value than all the others.
Example: 3 of Hearts, 5 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and Jack of Clubs.
ODDS: 1 in 2 that you will get this hand.

* One Pair- you have two cards of equal value in your hand.
Example: 3 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and Jack of Clubs. Jack of Clubs, your highest card, is called the kicker. It will help you hold and win the hand. The value of the other cards
is also considered should another player also have the other pair of 3s (Spades and Clubs).
ODDS: 1 in 2.4 that you will get this hand.

Two Pair- you have two sets of 2 cards of equal value in your hand.
Example 3 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and 10 of Clubs. The kicker here is
the 7 of Spades. It will help decide if you win the hand, if someone else has two pairs of the same value.
ODDS: 1 in 21 that you will get this hand.

* Three Of A Kind – you have three cards of equal value in your hand.
Example: 3 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and 10 of Clubs, Jack of Clubs. The kicker here is
the Jack of Clubs. It will help you win the hand.
ODDS: 1 in 47 that you will get this hand.

Straight- you have five cards in sequence by value, in more than one suit, in your hand. Ace can be a high or low
card in a Straight. No kicker in this hand
Example: 7 of Hearts, 8 of Diamonds, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Clubs, Jack of Hearts.
ODDS: 1 in 255 that you will get this hand.

Flush- you have five cards of any value that are all in the same suit. No kicker in this hand.
Example: 3, 4, 7, Queen and King of Diamonds
ODDS: 1 in 509 that you will get this hand.

Full House- you have a pair plus three of a kind in your hand. No kicker in this hand.
Example 3 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds, 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and 10 of Clubs.
ODDS: 1 in 694 that you will get this hand.

* Four Of A Kind- you have all four of the cards of a given value in your hand. Fifth card is the kicker.
Example: 8 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 8 of Spades and 8 of Clubs, and 3 of Diamonds.
ODDS: 1 in 4,164 that you will get this hand.

* Straight Flush – you have five cards in sequence by value, all in the same suit. No kicker in this hand.
Example: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of Spades.
ODDS: 1 in 72,193 that you will get this hand.

* Royal Flush- you have the top five cards in value, all in the same suit. No kicker needed for this hand!
Example: 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of any of the four suits.
ODDS: 1 in 649,740

Remember, the more thoroughly you study the poker hands rankings, and the more you practice at internet and live play, the better you will learn to play poker — and the more you will win!