| A poker hand consists of 5 playing cards. A deck consists of 52 cards. These cards are divided into 4 suits, with each suit having 13 ranks. In poker, the Ace is the highest card and the 2 (Deuce) is the lowest. However, the Ace can be used as a low card to form the straight 5-4-3-2-A. |
| Poker hands fall into one of several categories, such as flush, straight, or two pair. The player whose hand is in the higher category wins. If two players have hands in the same category, the tie is broken usually by who has higher cards. Below is a table of the hand categories, highest to lowest. |
| ♠ |
♥ |
♣ |
♦ |
| spades |
hearts |
clubs |
diamonds |
| A Straight Flush consists of 5 cards in numerical sequence, all of the same suit. The higher straight flush wins. A-K-Q-J-T is the highest straight flush, and is also called the royal flush. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest straight flush. |
| A Straight Flush consists of 5 cards in numerical sequence, all of the same suit. The higher straight flush wins. A-K-Q-J-T is the highest straight flush, and is also called the royal flush. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest straight flush. The winning hand is the second. |
| The follow hand is a straight flush too. |
| The higher 4-of-a-kind wins. If two players have the same 4-of-a-kind, then the highest 5th card wins. 4-of-a-kind is also known as quads. The winning hand is the second. |
| A full house consists of a 3-of-a-kind and a pair. The higher 3-of-a-kind wins. If two players have the same 3-of-a-kind, then the highest pair wins. The Full House is also known as a boat. The winning hand is the first. |
| A Flush consists of 5 cards of the same suit. The flush with the higher top card wins. If two flushes have the same top card, then the flush with the higher 2nd-to-top card wins, and so on. The winning hand is the second. |
| A Straight consists of 5 cards in numerical sequence. The straight with the higher top card wins. A-K-Q-J-T is the highest straight; 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest straight (5-4-3-2-A is also called a wheel). The winning hand is the second. |
| The follow hand is a stright too. |
| The higher 3-of-a-kind wins. If two hands have the same 3-of-a-kind, then the 2 kickers (unpaired cards) are used to break the tie. 3-of-a-kind is also known as trips. If you have a pocket pair in Texas Hold'em, and you form trips by the third card coming onto the board, this is known as a set. The winning hand is the first. |
| The hand with the higher top pair wins. If the top pairs are equal, then the bottom pairs are used to break the tie. If those are also equal, then the kicker (unpaired card) is used to break the tie. The winning hand is the second. |
| The hand with the higher pair wins. If the pairs are equal, then the kickers are used to break the tie, first by comparing the highest kicker, then the 2nd highest kicker, and finally the lowest kicker. The winning hand is the first. |
| If a hand does not fit in any other category, it is judged by high cards. Two hands are compared by taking the highest cards and comparing them. If those are equal, then the 2nd highests are compared, and so on. The winning hand is the first. |
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