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Hand Rankings
This ranking of hand values is used in all official tournaments and is universally accepted. One must choose five cards among those available to make the best possible hand. When you compare two hands, you must always take all five cards into account.Hands are ranked from the least valuable to the most valuable. You will find various English names in parenthesis.
These rules apply to all versions of Hold’em, seven card stud, Omaha and five-card stud.
High Card
The hand contains no pair, no straight and no flush and its value is determined by the value of the best card. Here, the High Card is the King (King High).
Pair
Two identical cards with three un-matching cards. In this example, the player has a pair of sevens.
Two Pair
Two identical cards combined with two other identical cards of a different value, and a fifth card. Here, the player has two pair, sevens and fives, in hand.
Three of a kind (Set)
Three identical cards combined with two cards of different values. This player has a set of Queens.
Straight
Five cards that are of consecutive values but that are not of the same suit. The highest card determines the value of the straight. Here, the player has a strait, ten high.
Flush
Five non-consecutive cards of the same suit. The highest card determines the value of the flush. In our example, the player is holding a flush, Queen high.
Full House (Full, Boat)
3 identical cards combined with 2 identical cards. A full house is three of a kind plus a pair. The full house is classified by the strength of its three of a kind. Here, our player has a full house, sevens (since he has three of them), with a pair of aces.
Four of a kind (quad)
4 identical cards plus a fifth card. Our player has four Kings.
Straight flush
5 consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight flush is the combination of a flush and a straight. It’s also the most valuable hand in poker. The highest card determines its value. Here, the player is holding a straight flush, nine high.
Royal Flush
The straight flush where the Ace is the high card. This is simply the best hand in poker, and rare enough to make most players remember every one they’ve seen.
The kicker rule after the Royal Flush Rules for the Low Hand
If you play Hold’em, the following rules do not apply. They are strictly concerning varieties of poker like Seven Stud Hi/Lo or Omaha Hi/Lo.
In these versions of poker, two types of hands can take down the pot: the best and the worst. In order to determine the best hand, refer to the rules listed above.
Identifying the weakest hand
In order to have the lowest hand, a player must hold five cards lower than 8 and have no pairs. Thus, A, 2,2,35 is not an eligible hand. However, a low hand may contain a straight or a flush as long as all the cards are of a value less than 8. Therefore, 2s-3h-4c-5c-6h is a possible low hand and so is Ah-3h-5h-6h-8h. Both these hands also contain combinations making them eligible for the High, and so could conceivably take both pots. If two or more players have hands that fall into this category, the one with the lowest high card takes the pot. In the event of a tie, let us look at the following.
Example : 8-7-5-3-2 for player X versus 8-7-5-4-1 for player Y.
One might think that player y is going to take the pot since he has the weakest card, the ace. This is incorrect. Player X has the best hand. Let us refer to the rule stated above: “The highest low card”. Both players have an 8, a 7 and a 5. We therefore must look at the fourth card: a 3 for player X and a 4 for player Y. In this example, player X takes the pot.
A few more examples : :
7-5-3-2-A wins against 7-6-3-2-A
8-7-3-2-A wins against 8-7-4-2-A
8-5-4-3-2 wins against 8-7-3-2-A
In these versions of poker, two types of hands can take down the pot: the best and the worst. In order to determine the best hand, refer to the rules listed above.
Identifying the weakest hand
In order to have the lowest hand, a player must hold five cards lower than 8 and have no pairs. Thus, A, 2,2,35 is not an eligible hand. However, a low hand may contain a straight or a flush as long as all the cards are of a value less than 8. Therefore, 2s-3h-4c-5c-6h is a possible low hand and so is Ah-3h-5h-6h-8h. Both these hands also contain combinations making them eligible for the High, and so could conceivably take both pots. If two or more players have hands that fall into this category, the one with the lowest high card takes the pot. In the event of a tie, let us look at the following.
Example : 8-7-5-3-2 for player X versus 8-7-5-4-1 for player Y.
One might think that player y is going to take the pot since he has the weakest card, the ace. This is incorrect. Player X has the best hand. Let us refer to the rule stated above: “The highest low card”. Both players have an 8, a 7 and a 5. We therefore must look at the fourth card: a 3 for player X and a 4 for player Y. In this example, player X takes the pot.
A few more examples : :
7-5-3-2-A wins against 7-6-3-2-A 8-7-3-2-A wins against 8-7-4-2-A 8-5-4-3-2 wins against 8-7-3-2-A
