Are you just a little bit confused about poker hand rankings and what beats what? Don’t worry most infrequent players experience the same feeling. However, this quick read will clarify once and for all.
Save this as a reference for future 888 poker games where you need to quickly check. We’ve also included a little bit of insight into why the poker hand rankings are what they are.
Why It’s Important to Know the Poker Hand Rankings
It doesn’t matter if you’re playing live poker, real money poker or just for fun on a free app. You’ll need to have the basic knowledge of where every poker hand stands in comparison to others. So, you can make the right decisions when it’s your turn to act.
Try your best to remember this list every time you’re playing poker. Don’t worry, you will naturally start to memorize them as you spend more time playing.
From highest to lowest, here are the poker hand rankings:
- Royal Flush – The absolute best hand you can get in poker is a combination of ten, jack, queen, king and ace, all in the same suit.
- Straight Flush – A straight flush is the next best hand in the rankings to get. It’s a hand that consists of cards in sequence and in the same suit
- Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same numerical value
- Full House – Three of the same numerical value and a pair
- Flush – Five cards all of the same suit, in any sequence
- Straight – Five cards in sequence, of any suit
- Three of a Kind – Three cards of matching numerical value
- Two Pair – Two pairs of matching numerical value
- One Pair – A pair of cards of the same value
- High Card – The highest card when no player has any other combination wins
The Logic Behind These Rankings
Most frequent poker players learn the hand rankings by hand, simply from experience. So, there is no need to worry or spend much time focussing on them as the game is going on. And you will to if you continue playing enough.
Moreover, every variation of poker game uses the same ranking of the cards. Whether you’re playing seven-card stud, Texas Hold’em or Omaha. These haven’t changed since the game started back in the 19th century.
That’s because there is a logic behind these poker hand rankings. Which are based on the likelihood of the combinations coming up.
For example, a royal flush which is five cards ranked from ten to ace all of the same suit. The probability of this happening is very rare, which is why it’s the highest combination you can achieve. In fact, players might go their entire lives without ever experiencing a royal flush.
Whereas flushes or regular straight flushes happen much more regularly, which is why they are ranked lower.
Ready to Play?
The best way to learn is by doing. This goes for poker as well as anything else. Now it’s time to practice free and real money poker, right here at 888 Casino.
