Ranking of Poker Cards and Hands
Poker remains to be one of the most popular games in the history of gambling. Winners in poker are determined by who among the players still in the game have the strongest card combination. It is extremely important for those intending to join poker matches to be well-versed with the ranking of poker cards and hands.
The cards used in poker are no different from the cards in a standard deck. The suits are Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. A suit has 13 cards each, adding up to 52 cards in a complete deck. None of the suits is superior to the others.
The ranking of cards in poker is very easy to understand. An ace can be considered a high or a low card, depending on the other cards a player has for a hand, or the card combination a player wishes to complete. The ranking of cards is follows this order: a high ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and a low ace.
Recognizing card combinations in poker may seem complicated at first, but it is easy to understand if one follows the simple logic of card rankings. There are 11 types of hands in poker. The strongest hand is the Five of a Kind. This happens only when a wildcard is announced by the dealer. An example of this is a hand of four kings and a joker.
The next rank is the Royal Flush. This is made up of a high ace, a king, a queen, a jack and a ten. The five cards must be arranged in this order and must all be of the same suit.
The Straight Flush comes next. This is made up of five cards that are in sequence and of the same suit. The strength of the Straight Flush depends on the card with the highest ranking. Thus, the strongest Straight Flush is composed of a king, a queen, a jack, a ten and a nine.
Four cards of the same rank plus any card, or what we call "Four of a Kind" comes next, followed by the Full House, made up of three cards with the same rank and a pair of cards also with the same rank.
A Flush consists of cards belonging to the same suit. A Straight, which comes next, consists of cards whose rankings are in sequence, regardless of their suit. The individual ranks of the cards determine which Flush or Straight will win.
A Three of a Kind is made up of three cards with the same rank and two unmatched cards. The winning hand depends on which three cards have the highest rank against other Three of a Kinds.
Two pairs and one unmatched card make up the next ranking hand, such as two jacks, two nines and a five. The two pairs with a stronger rank win. However, if two competing hands have the same two pairs, the unmatched cards determine who has the higher hand.
This hand is followed by the Pair, made up of two cards of similar rank and three unmatched cards. The weakest of all the hands is the No Pair Hand or the High Card. As its name suggests, this hand's strength is based on the card which has the highest ranking because no combination can be created among the five cards.
Expert and experienced poker players can automatically gauge the strength of their hand during play. Those who wish to play an excellent poker game should be able recognize these card and hand rankings immediately as well.
