Winning poker hands in Texas holdem poker
The one thing you need to know and recognise in poker is the winning hands. So before you sit down to play a game remember these and start working out whether you have one of them, beginning with the royal flush and ending with the high card. More importantly start trying to figure out what your opponent has got. If you think he has a better hand than you and you cant catch up, get out of the hand.
Remember that the hands are made up by taking the best five cards out of the two in your hand and the five on the table. This is why Aces are a fabulous starting hand but can be overtaken by lots of other hands.
Poker hand ranking
1; Royal Flush
Starting with the best hand in poker, unassailable and always a winner, but very rare (649,739 : 1)and you are lucky to get one, the Royal Flush. You have a small chance of getting one of these, so if you do, enjoy it and hope to get paid off big time. It consists of Ace King Queen Jack Ten, all of the same suit, such as diamonds hearts clubs or spades. This is always a winning hand!
2; The straight flush
A bit more common than the Royal, but still not likely to turn up every month. Like the Royal, the trick is to get paid off for it by an unsuspecting opponent. Keep cool and let them get into you until the end of the hand when you raise tantalisingly.A straight flush is any five cards which are all the same suit and are in sequence. Can be Ace to five or nine to king, or anything in sequence in between.
3; Four of a kind
A great hand to get and can be well disguised, especially if you have a low pair in your hand and the other two cards flop to give you quads from the start. If four of the same end up on the board, then the person who has the highest card to go with them, such as an ace will win.
4; Full house
For this hand you need three of one type of card ie 6’s and two of another, lets say 5’s. But it can be any three card / two card combination.
5; The flush
A flush is a total of five (or more, but taking the highest five cards making the flush) cards all of the same suit. Two people can have a flush but whoever has the highest card in the flush is the winner. If the cards on the board are higher than each players’ (ie if one has a 2 and the other a 3) and the probability of flopping a flush when you have two suited cards is about 118/1. Otherwise starting with two suited cards the chances of making a flush on the river are 15/1.
6; The straight
Any five cards of any suit in sequence, such as 2,3,4,5,6 or 8,9,10,J,Q. If you flop one, be careful, very easy for someone to catch up and beat you on the river.
7; Three of a kind
Any three cards of the same rank.
8; Two pairs
Any two pairs of two cards of the same rank.
9; Pair
Any two cards of the same rank.
10; High card
If none of the above hands count for anyone then the highest card held wins – unless all the cards on the board are higher than all the cards the players are holding in which case its a split pot.
