Poker Hands - A Guide For Beginners

If you're new to online poker (or even offline poker) and don't know your Full House from your Royal Flush then read on - all will be revealed.

If you're new to playing poker then you'll be forgiven for being confused about poker hands. You might have a basic understanding of what cards make up a decent hand but it can be tricky to spot exactly what hand you've got in the middle of a game. This guide should set you straight so you don't back a lousy hand all the way to the river, thinking that you've got a monster hand!

The Hands - The Cards And The Hands They Make

Here they are - all poker hand you can ever make. They're listed in order of strength, so a Royal Flush beats anything, a Full House beats a Pair, etc.

Royal Flush - This is the highest hand in Poker and consists of the following cards - A, K, Q, J, 10 all of the same suit (any suit but they all must be the same, ie. all diamonds or all hearts).

Straight Flush - As described by the name; a combination of a straight and a flush, a sequence of cards all of the same suit (e.g. 7, 8, 9, 10 and Jack of Hearts)

Four of A Kind - four cards of the same kind (e.g. four 9's)

Full House - three cards of one kind and a pair of another (e.g. three 9's and two Jacks)

Flush - five cards all of the same suit (e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8 and King of Spades)

Straight - five cards of different suits in a sequence (e.g. 2, 3, 4 of hearts, 5 of spades and 6 of Diamonds)

Three Of A Kind - three cards of the same kind (e.g. three 4's)

Two Pair - two pairs of cards (e.g. two Queens and two 2's)

Pair - two cards of the same kind (e.g. two 8's)

High card - a hand with none of the above is classed by the highest card in it's hand (e.g. a hand of 2, 4, 6, 9 and King of differing suits would class as King High)

If two players have the same type of hand, the player with the highest value card in use wins (e.g. a pair of Kings would beat a pair of Jacks; a Flush ending in an Ace would beat a Flush ending in a 10 etc.)