Poker hand rankings

1. Introduction

As in every game, in order to win at poker, it is important to know the value of the cards, and what a good and what a bad hand entails.

In this article you will learn...

... what a poker hand is.
... how to build a hand.
... how the different hands are ranked
... how to compare different hands among players in order to determine the winner.

2. What is a poker hand?

A poker hand is always a combination of five cards.

In Texas Hold'em every player receives two cards at the beginning of each round. During the course of the round, five additional cards are put on the table face up, the so called community cards.

A player can use the five community cards as well as his/her own two cards, for a total of seven, to build his/her hand. This is a combination of five out of the seven cards which are available to the player.

As long as there are a total of five cards, it does not matter how many of his/her own cards or community cards a player uses to build his/her hand.

Question 1: How many cards make up a hand?
a) 3
b) 4
c) 5

Question 2: Which cards is a player allowed to use to build his/her hand?
a) The player can use any of his/her own cards and any of the community cards.
b) The player has to use his own two cards and three arbitrary community cards.
c) The player has to use at least one of his/her own cards and three or four community cards.

Solutions in annex

3. card values

Just as in other card games, the cards at poker also have different values and weights. The following list shows the values of the cards, starting with the card most highly valued.

1.	Ace		2.	King
3.	Queen		4.	Jack
5.	Ten		6.	Nine
...	...	...	13.	Deuce

Question 3: Which card has the higher value - Ace or King?
a) Ace
b) King
c) Both are of equal value

Question 4: Which card has the higher value - Ten or Jack?
a) Ten
b) Jack
c) Both are of equal value.

Solutions in annex

4. The poker hands

The rank of a hand is measured by its rarity. The rarer a hand is, meaning the less likely it is to occur, the more it is worth, and the more other hands it can beat. A royal flush, e.g., is very rare. It is hence the strongest hand a player can have.

A hand can beat another hand when it has a higher rank. In case two hands have the same rank, the value of the cards determines who wins. The cards with the highest rank are used to determine the value. Suits do not have any value.

Name	Example	Explanation
Royal Flush		Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in one suit.
Straight Flush		Five connected cards in one suit. In case there are two straight flushes, the straight flush with the higher valued cards wins.
Quads		Four cards of a kind. If there are two quads, the quad with the higher valued cards wins. In case both have the same value, the value of the fifth card, the side card, determines the winner.
Full House		Three of a kind and a pair. If there are two full houses, the one with the highest three of a kind wins. In case the three of a kind are equal, the one with the highest pair wins.
Flush		Five cards of the same suit. In case there are two flushes, the one with the higher valued cards wins. The suit does not matter as suits do not have a value.
Straight		Five consecutive cards. If there are two straights, the one with the higher ranked cards wins.
Three of a kind		Three cards of the same rank. If there are two three of a kind, the one with the higher ranked cards wins. If they are both the same, the rank of the two side cards determines the winner.
Two Pair		Two pair. If two two pairs compete, the one with the higher ranked pairs wins.
Pair		Two of a kind. If two pairs compete, the one with the higher ranked pair wins. In case the pair is the same, the rank of the three side cards determines the winner.
High Card		If there was neither a pair nor a hand better than the other, the rank of the highest cards determine the winner.

Question 5: What do you call a hand which has five cards of the same suits?
a) A straight
b) A full house
c) A flush

Question 6: What do you call three of a kind and a pair?
a) Full House
b) Trips
c) Straight Flush

Question 7: Who wins if two players have a full house?
a) The player with the higher pair.
b) The player with the higher trips.
c) Both.

Question 8: What do you count as a hand if a player has neither a pair nor a better hand?
a) The five highest cards, which are available to him/her.
b) Nothing, he did not qualify and loses in any case.
c) The suit of the cards

Question 9: When does one hand beat another?
a) In case the hand has a higher rank or in case of the same rank, the player with the higher valued cards wins.
b) In case the hand has a higher rank or in case both rank the same, the higher suit wins.
c) Only if the hand has a higher rank.

Solutions in annex

5. Examples

Your cards	Community Cards	Your hand
		A pair of fives
		A straight, ten to ace
		High card ace as highest card, queen as second highest card...
		A set / three of a kind queens
		A flush in hearts
		A straight, three to seven
		A flush in spades
		Two pair, kings and fours
		A full house with jacks full of aces.
		Quads deuces

6. Side cards / Kicker

Let's regard the following situation:

Player A	Player B	Community cards

Both players obviously have a pair of aces, but the winner of this hand is player A. The question why is easy to answer once you have started building the best combination of five out of the seven available cards, their so called poker hands.

Pokerhand Player A	Pokerhand Player B

We have already established at the beginning that a hand consists of five cards. This is a fact that is often ignored by many beginners. They see a pair of aces at the flop and forget that their opponent might also have a pair of aces, in which case the side card, the kicker, counts and elects who wins.

The cards which do not determine the rank of a hand are called kickers.

In the above example, the rank of both the hands of player A and B are determined by the two aces. The third, fourth and fifth card are side cards, or kickers, which are important when both players have the same hand as in this case.

If two players have the same hand, meaning the hands have the same rank and value, the value of the side cards/kickers determines the winner and loser. The highest side cards are compared. If they have the same value, the second to the highest side cards are compared.

Question 10: What are kickers?
a) Exceptionally exciting hands.
b) The trips at a full house or the highest pair when you have two pair.
c) The cards which do not determine the rank of a hand, but whose value can determine the winner in case of doubt.

Question 11: When do the kickers become important?
a) If several players have a hand of the same rank
b) If several player have a hand of the same rank and value.
c) If no one bets.

Solutions in annex

7. Examples

Your cards	Community cards	Your kicker
		The ace, eight and seven are the kickers.
		There are no kickers, since all five cards of the hand are used to build the rank - a straight.
		The ace is the highest card. Queen, ten, nine and seven are the kickers.
		The ace and the jack are the kickers.
		There are no kickers. All of the five cards are used to rank the hand - a flush.
		A pair of threes with king, seven and six as kickers.
		Two pair: tens and eights. The queen is the kicker.
		The ace, ten and seven are the kickers.
		There are no kickers. All of the five cards are used to rank the hand - full house.
		The ace is the kicker since the hand is quads of twos and the pair of fives cannot improve the hand.

8. Conclusions

One of the most important and also one of the easiest rules at Texas Hold'em is: A hand consists of five cards. Keep this in mind and remember that not only the rank of a hand is important, but also recognize the value of the side cards/kickers. This can help you find out whether your hand is in fact good, or maybe just mediocre.

Many of the mistakes beginners make lie in this area. They do not pay attention to the kickers or the ways a hand can be improved using community cards. If you simply pay attention to them, you are already ahead of most beginners.

9. Annex: Solutions

Question 1: How many cards make up a hand?
Answer c is correct: a hand consists of five cards.

Question 2: Which cards is a player allowed to use to build his/her hand?
Answer a is correct: The player can use any of his/her own cards and any of the community cards.

Question 3: Which card has the higher value - Ace or King?
Answer a is correct: The Ace has the higher value .

Question 4: Which card has the higher value - Ten or Jack?
Answer b is correct: The Jack has the higher value.

Question 5: What do you call a hand which has five cards of the same suits?
Answer c is correct: Five cards of the same suit are called a flush.

Question 6: What do you call three of a kind and a pair?
Answer a is correct: A trips and a pair are called a full house.

Question 7: Who wins if two players have a full house?
Answer b is correct: If two players have a full house, the values of the trips are compared and the player with the highest trips wins.

Question 8: What do you count as a hand if a player has neither a pair nor a better hand?
Answer a is correct: The five highest cards, which are available to him/her are his/her hand.

Question 9: When does one hand beat another?
Answer a is correct: A hand beats another in case the hand has a higher rank or in case of the same rank, if the hand has higher valued cards.

Question 10: What are Kickers?
Answer c is correct: The cards which do not determine the rank of a hand, but whose value can determine the winner in case of doubt.

Question 11: When do the kickers become important?
Answer b is correct: Kickers become important if several players have a hand of the same rank and value.