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Featured
Poker Article
Poker Hands What beats what
By: Rick Ellers
Suicide Kings, One-Eyed Jacks, Aces over Eights and a
Full House, for every poker hand out there you'll find a
hundred different ways of naming it. If you find yourself
forgetting what beats what when the cards are called,
review these hands, ranked in order from highest to
lowest. Next time you'll know whether to fold or raise
the stakes.
Royal Flush
Odds: 649,739/1
Possible hands: 4
The Royal Flush is the Holy Grail of poker hands, and you
could go your whole life without ever seeing one. But if
you happen to get dealt a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace
all in the same suite, and you're not dreaming, it's time
to start counting the pot because it's going to be yours.
Straight Flush
Odds: 72,192/1
Possible hands: 36
The Straight Flush is a little (but not much) easier to
come by than its royal cousin, and consists of five cards
in numerical order, all of the same suite. The hand can?t
wrap around (i.e., K, A, 2, 3, 4), and in the case of two
straight flushes at the table, the hand that ends with
the highest ranked card takes home the cash.
Four of a Kind
Odds: 4,164/1
Possible Hands: 624
In a game without wild cards, a Four of a Kind is almost
guaranteed to shut down the competition. As its name
implies, the hand consists of four cards of the same
numerical value, one from each suite. As with all poker
hands, the higher card value wins out with multiple
fours-of-a-kind are laid on the table.
Full House
Odds: 693/1
Possible Hands: 3,744
Compared to the hands above, you'll see Full Houses quite
a bit if the game goes on long enough. The hand is made
up of five cards, with three of a kind and a pair. If
there's more than one Full House, the three of a kind is
used to determine the ties breaker followed by the pair.
This means that a J-J-J-7-7 beats an 8-8-8-5-5, which in
turn beats an 8-8-8-3-3.
Flush
Odds: 508/1
Possible Hands: 5,108
It sounds fancier than it really is, but a well-timed
flush has been responsible for increasing the winnings of
many a poker player. Unlike a Royal Flush, a standard
Flush requires five cards all of the same suite, but of
any numerical value. In a tie, the highest card wins.
Straight
Odds: 254/1
Possible Hands: 10,200
Five cards in numerical order, regardless of suite. Just
like a Straight Flush, the cards have to number between 2
and Ace.
Three of a Kind
Odds: 46/1
Possible Hands: 54,912
Three cards of the same rank of any suite with two cards
that aren't a pair.
Two Pairs
Odds: 20/1
Possible Hands: 123,552
Two sets of pairs with a fifth unrelated card. This often
gets confused among novices as beating a Three of a Kind,
but a Three of a Kind beats Two Pairs every time.
One Pair
Odds: 2.4/1
Possible Hands: 1,098,240
A pair of cards with the same numerical rank along with
three non-matching cards. The most common hand in poker,
it can take guts to make a stand with just a pair. It's
paid off, though, especially if your skills at bluffing
are above par.
High Card
Odds: 1/1
Possible Hands: 1,302,540
If everyone is dealt nothing but garbage, no matter how
rarely this actually happens, then the player showing the
highest card when the bets are called wins the pot.
| Rick 'Stone Face' Ellers started
playing poker while he was a paratrooper
stationed in Fort Bragg, NC. He currently writes
part time for PokerListings.com where you can
learn about the exciting World Series of Poker and find
great information about Online Poker Rooms. |
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