The Poker Hand determines the Winner when playing Poker

The basic poker rules are not very complicated. At first, you only have to memorize the card combinations determining the game. This is what poker is all about: the winner is determined by the respective hand of the player, consisting of a 5 card combination. It doesn’t matter, if it is flush or full house – there are many possibilities to get a hand as high as possible. There are the following categories – lowest first, highest last:

High Cards:

If a player does not have a valuable combination of cards in his hand, the highest card is used to determine the value of the hand. If two poker players have the same high card, the next highest card is used to determine the winner.

Pairs:

A pair consists of two cards of the same value (e.g. AA not suited). If there are two poker players with the same pair, the next highest card is used to determine the winner.

Two Pairs:

A hand with two pairs – e.g. JJ and KK. If there are two poker players with the same two pairs, the value of the fifth card is used to determine the winner.

Three of a Kind:

Three of a Kind is a combination of three cards with the same value. If there are two poker players with three of a kind, the higher one wins – e.g. QQQ beats JJJ.

Straight:

A straight is a numeric set of cards, regardless of the color of the cards. The Ace can be used both as the highest and the lowest card. If there are two straights, the poker player wins that has the highest card in his straight. The sequence 10-J-Q-K-A is the highest straight, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight.

Flush:

A flush is a hand consisting only of one suit (e.g. only hearts), but which cards are in no consecutive line. If there are two flushes, the hand with the highest card wins.

Full House:

A full house is a combination consisting of a pair and three of a kind.

Four of a Kind:

Four of a kind is four cards of the same value.

Straight Flush:

The straight flush is the most valuable hand when playing poker. It consists of a suited straight – i.e. a numeric sequence of cards with no gap. If there are two straight flushes, the winner is determined according to the rules of the traditional straight, i.e. by the highest card of the straight flush. Therefore, the best poker hand when playing poker is a straight 10-J-Q-K-A with cards having the same symbol, e.g. all hearts. This hand is also called a Royal Flush.