Hand Rankings in Poker

When you are thinking about getting in to playing the exciting game of poker, there are a few things you want to learn before you jump right in. The first, most basic, and number one important thing to learn about is the hand rankings. You need to know which hands beat which off of the top of your head. Therefore, you will want to go through these hand rankings and remember them. You will also want to remember where they are on the list, from highest to lowest.

Straight/Royal Flush- This is the highest hand that you can have when you are playing poker. A hand that is considered a straight flush is a hand, which consists of five cards in a row that are all the same in suit. The royal flush is when you get the Ace to the 10 card, all in the same suit. The royal flush is the number one hand in the game of poker and will beat all others.

Four of a Kind- A four of a kind is when you have four cards, which are all the same rank. If there were to be two four of a kinds at the table, then the hand that has the highest suited four of a kind would win.

Full House- A full house consists of three of a players cards being in one rank, and two cards of another rank. One example of this would be three Jacks and two tens. As with the other hands, if there were two full houses at the table, the cards of the higher rank win.

Flush- A flush is when a player has five of any rank cards, which are all from the same exact suit. These cards do not have to be in any specific order. If there are two flushes on the table, the higher ranking card will win.

Straight- A straight is when a player has a hand, which contains five consecutive cards in it. For example, a ten, nine, eight, seven, and a six would be a straight. If there are more than one straight on the table, the higher one will win.

Three of a Kind- A three of a kind is when a player has three cards all in the same exact rank. If there are two three of a kinds, the higher one will win.

Two Pair- Two pair requires a player to have two cards of the same rank. If there are two of a pairs on the table, the higher cards win.

High Card- the Ace is the highest card in poker and if it comes down to single cards in a hand, the person with the highest ranking card will win.

Once you know the hands and you have memorized which hands win which, you can move on to learning more about poker in order to begin playing it. However, you never want to start playing until you know the hands. This is the number one basic thing that you want to know. Luckily, it is quite easy to learn the hands and the orders in which they win.