Texas Holdem Poker Hands
Playing Texas Hold’em poker at home or online,has become a favorite pastime. Many people have watched Texas Holdem tournaments on television and it looks easy to play. However before you race down to the casino and sign up for a high stakes tournament you need to learn the basics of the gameand it pays to know your Texas Holdem hands.
Individual cards are ranked from the Ace, which is the highest card, downwards through King, Queen, Jack and then the number cards. The Ace is slightly different, in that as well as being the highest possible card, it can also be the lowest. This comes in handy when your Texas hold’em hand is a straight.
All poker games, including Texas Holdem, only consider the best 5 cards in your hand. There are no “tie breaks”. So it doesn’t matter what your sixth card is – it won’t be used to break a tie. Similarly, there is no ranking of suits – all suits are equal. In the event of a tie, the pot is split between the winners.
In descending order, the best Texas Hold’em hands are:
- 1. Straight Flush. This is five consecutive cards, all of the same suit. The best possible straight flush is a Royal Flush, which is made up of Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of the same suit.
- 2. Four of a Kind. Four cards of the same rank, plus a fifth card.
- 3. Full House. Three cards of the same rank and a pair of other cards. If more than one player has a full house, the highest ranking three cards determines the winner.
- 4. Flush. Five cards of the same suit. Flushes are ranked from the top down, so for instance A7532 beats KJT94. If there are two flushes with exactly the same cards, there is a tie.
- 5. Straight. 5 sequential cards, not of the same suit. Ace can be high or low in a straight so it could be used with 5432A or AKQJT. Remember that you cannot continue a straight “around the corner”, so 2AKQJ is not a straight.
- 6. Three of a Kind. Three cards of the same rank with any two other cards. In flop games like Texas Hold’em poker, it is possible for two or more players to have the same three of a kind, in which case the two “kicker” cards will determine the winner.
- 7. Two Pair. Two cards of one rank and another two cards of a different rank, plus a kicker card. As with three of a kind, it is possible in Texas Hold’em Sit’n'Go tournaments for two or more players to have the same sets of two pairs. In this case the kicker card will determine the winner.
- 8. One Pair. A pair of cards and any three other unrelated cards. In Texas Hold’em tournaments the same rules on kicker cards apply to this are with three of a kind and two pair.
- 9. High card. Where none of the other hands have one the game, the player with the highest single card in their hand is the winner. If two or more players have the same high card, the next highest card or cards are used to find the winner.
Learning to play winning Texas Hold’em requires reading and studying. If you read just one book about the game you will be ahead of about 80 percent of the other payers at the table. Spending the money for a good poker book is a lot cheaper than trying to get your education at the tables in a live game.
