7 out of 52 means, that although you build your hand using 5 cards, you still have 7 cards from which to choose these 5. In the case of Texas Hold'em, there's the 2 pocket cards and 5 on the board. This way of working out the probabilities would be the more accurate way - however, just to note, the probabilities worked out on 5 of 52 are. These numbers tell you the exact long-term winning percentage of every hand in Hold’em against specific numbers of opponents holding random cards. Here’s the bottom line: I believe that long-term average winning percentage is the perfect way to rank starting hands in Texas Hold’em.
- Texas Holdem Card Chart
- Texas Holdem Winning Strategy
- Texas Holdem Card Hands
- Texas Holdem Card Game
- Texas Holdem Card Winning Order
There are 10 different hands ranks in Texas Hold’em – from a Royal Flush to a Straight to a lousy High Card. Here’s a comprehensive list of all Texas Hold’em poker hand rankings:
You can also print and download the Official Texas Hold’em hand ranking as a PDF file.
Chart: Poker Hand Ranking
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- Official Poker Hand Rankings Image
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Official Poker Hand Rankings
- Royal flush: A straight from a ten to an ace with all five cards in the same suit.
- Straight Flush: Any straight with all five cards in the same suit.
- Four of a Kind or Poker or Quads: Any four cards of the same rank. If two players share the same four of a kind (on the board), the larger fifth card (the “kicker”) decides who wins the pot.
- Full House or Boat: Three cards of the same rank along with two cards of the same rank. In short: trips and a pair.
- Flush: All five cards of the same suit (not necessarily consecutive). The highest card determines the rank of the flush.
- Straight: Five consecutive cards (not necessarily the same suit). Aces can count as either high or low cards, but not as both at once. Meaning, a straight cannot go “around the corner”.
- Trips: Three cards of the same value. If two players have the same trips the highest kicker decides who wins the pot.
- Two Pair: Any two cards of the same rank together with two other cards of the same rank.
- One Pair: Any two cards of the same rank.
- High Card: Any hand that is none of the above hands.
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Poker Hand Rankings Explained
- If two players have a Straight or Straight Flush, the higher Straight or Straight Flush wins.
- If two players have a quads, the player with the highest quad wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins.
- If two players have a flush, the player with the highest card in the flush wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, then the third highest, and so on. The suit of the flush does not matter.
- If two players have a full house, the player with the higher trips wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins.
- If two players have two pairs, the player with the bigger pair wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are also identical, the player with the highest kicker wins.
- If two players have a pair, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins, then the second highest, then the third highest.
- If two players have a high card, the highest card wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, etc.
How many Poker Hands are there?
There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations.
Poker Hand Odds for 5-Card-Poker
The poker hand ranking charts are based on the probability for each distinct hand rank. More unlikely combinations are ranked higher. Those are the probabilities and odds for all 5-card poker hands:
Poker Hand Odds for Texas Hold’em
If you’re playing Texas Hold’em, you have 7 cards to chose your hand from. There are 133,784,560 to deal 7 random cards. This changes the odds and probabilities for all poker hands a bit. Those are the probabilities and odds for all Texas Hold’em Poker hands:
Technically it’s more likely that you’re dealt at least a pair in Texas Hold’em than holding only high card. But “High Card” still remains the lowest rank.
FAQ: Poker Hand Rankings
Does 2 pairs beat a straight?
When playing Texas Hold’em (or any other popular poker variant) 2 pairs are always ranked below a straight.
Does 3 Aces beat a straight?
3 Aces are just trips (or three of a kind) in poker. When playing regular Texas Hold’em a straight is ranked above trips. There are however rule variations where trips can bet a straight, namely Short Deck Hold’em, a poker variant where all cards below 5 are removed.
Does 5 of a kind beat a royal flush?
In regular poker variants there are is no 5-of-kind rank. When playing with wildcards (joker) 5 of a kind are possible. In this case 5 of a kind are the highest possible poker hand and beat a royal flush.
Does a full house beat 3 aces?
Every full house always beats trips, no matter the rank of the trips. Even trip aces are always ranked below every possible full house.
Does Royal Straight beat flush?
A Royal Flush is the best possible poker hand and of course always beats any other flush.
Does straight beat a full house?
Every common poker variant, including Texas Hold’em, ranks a Full House above a straight. So no, a Straight never beats a Full House in Poker.
What beats a royal flush?
In all regular modern poker variations (including Texas Hold’em and Omaha) a Royal Flush is always the highest possible hand rank. A higher rank is only possible when playing with a Joker. In this case 5 of a kind (4 Aces plus Joker) beats a Royal Flush.
What can beat a flush in poker?
A Flush is a very strong hand in poker. The only hands that beat a Flush are Full House, Quads, Straight Flush, and Royal Flush.
How rare is a royal flush?
A Royal Flush is extremely rare. When playing Texas Hold’em you’ll only get one every 31,000 hands. And that assumes you never fold. The hand is so rare that most poker players can remember all Royal Flushes they have been dealt in their life time.
What are the odds of hitting a straight flush?
Straight Flushes are almost as rare as Royal Flushes. When playing Texas Hold’em you will hit a Straight Flush roughly every 3,600 hands (assuming you never fold any hand that can make a Straight Flush).
Can you have 3 pairs in poker?
There is no “3 pair” hand rank in poker. When playing Texas Hold’em it’s technically possible to have three pairs, but since a poker hand only consists of 5 cards only the 2 highest pairs are in play. For example, if you hold Q-J and the board reads Q-J-6-A-A you only have two pair: Aces and Queens.
Does Royal Flush have to be spades?
A Royal Flush can be any of the 4 suits, spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs. It’s just that usually a Royal Flush is depicted in spades or hearts. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter which suit, a Royal Flush is always the best Texas Hold’em Poker Hand.
How many kickers can you have in poker?
A poker hand can consist of up to 5 kickers. A player with no pair only has kickers. A player with one pair has 3 kickers, a player with trips has 2 kickers, and a player with 2 pair or quads has 1 kicker.
Is Ace a 1 in poker?
When building a straight an Ace can be used as a virtual “1” in poker. Meaning, A-2-3-4-5 is a straight. There are also lowball poker variations where the Ace counts as the lowest card.
Is an Ace 2 3 4 5 a straight?
Yes, the ace can count as the lowest card in a straight and function as a “1” when combined with 2-3-4-5.
Is JQKA 2 a straight?
A straight cannot go “around the corner”, the Ace can only be either the highest or the lowest card, not a card in the middle. So no, J-Q-K-A-2 is no straight in poker.
Is Queen King Ace 2 3 a straight?
A straight cannot go “around the corner”, the Ace can only be either the highest or the lowest card, not a card in the middle. So no, Q-K-A-2-3 is no straight in poker.
Is there a kicker on a straight?
For a straight you need to use all 5 cards. There are no cards left for a kicker. The rank of the straight is determined by the highest card. E.g. an ace-high straight beats a queen-high straight.
What is a flush in poker?
A flush in poker is hand which consists of 5 cards of the same suit. The same color (red or black) is not enough. It has to 5 spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
What is the highest royal flush in poker?
There are no distinctions between the 4 possible Royal Flushes in poker. A Royal Flush in spades is as good as a Royal Flush in hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
What is the highest suit in Texas Hold’em poker?
Only in very rare occasions (for example when dealing for the button) the suits are ranked in poker. In this case the ranking is: 1. spades, 2. hearts, 3. diamonds, 4. clubs. Suits are otherwise generally not ranked in poker. A Flush in spades is as good as a flush in any other suit, only the ranks of the cards matter.
What is the lowest pair in a game of poker?
In poker the lowest possible pair is a pair of Deuces (twos).
How do you win bad beat jackpots in poker?
To win a bad beat jackpot in poker you need to lose with a very strong hand, usually a strong Full House (Aces Full). It’s also necessary that both, the winning hand losing player, user both of their hole cards. E.g. losing with quads on the board does not count.
What are the odds of hitting a bad beat jackpot in poker?
The odds of hitting a bad beat jackpot in poker depend on the rules for the jackpot. If you have to lose with Aces Full or better your odds of hitting the bad beat jackpot are 1:58,948. If you have to lose with quads or better your odds are 1:624,609 (assuming a 10 player table where nobody ever folds).
What is a bad beat in poker?
If you lose with a very strong hand against an even stronger hand this is called a “bad beat”. It is also a bad beat if you lose an all-in while being far ahead and you opponent wins by catching some miracle cards.
How many 5 stud poker hands are there?
5 Card Stud is one of the oldest poker variants where each player is dealt 5 cards. There are exactly 2,598,960 different 5 stud poker hands possible.
How many poker hands are there?
There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations. If you’re playing Texas Hold’em, you have 7 cards to chose your hand from. There are 133,784,560 to deal 7 random cards.
What happens if two hands tie in poker?
It’s possible (and not too uncommon) for two players to have the same hand in poker. In this case the pot is split and both players receive half the pot.
What happens if two people have a royal flush?
When playing Texas Hold’em it’s almost impossible for two players to have a Royal Flush. For that to happen the 5 community cards need to form a Royal Flush. In that case all players in the hand win and split the pot.
What happens if two poker hands are the same?
If two players have the same hand, the pot is split and both players win half of it. This can happen for example if both players have the same cards (e.g. Ace-King) and nobody makes a Flush.
How do you hit a royal flush on video poker?
In Video Poker you can win the jackpot when you hit a Royal Flush. To maximize your chances you should always keep all suited cards 10 or above (if you have at least 2) and discard the rest. You will see a Royal Flush roughly once every 40,000 spins.
What are the odds of hitting a royal flush on a video poker machine?
The odds of hitting a royal flush directly are only 1 in 649,739. But since you can draw one time your odds increase. If you play perfectly your odds of hitting a royal flush are roughly 1 in 40,000.
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11:46
23 Jan
Texas hold’em is by far the most popular variant of poker in the world today. It has been that way for decades but never more so than during this millennium following the poker boom.
The origins of the variant are shrouded in mystery, with very little known except the birth of the game being around the early 1900’s in Robstown, Texas. For decades the game spread like wildfire around the Lone Star state, but no further than its borders.
It wasn’t until 1967 when legends Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, and Crandell Addington upped sticks and moved to Las Vegas that people began to wonder what his new, exciting game was all about.
Beginning of an Era
At the beginning, Texas hold’em was only found at the Golden Nugget Casino, which hindered the game’s growth as the card room there wasn’t the nicest around. In fact, most professionals who were resident in the city wouldn’t consider going there.
Texas Holdem Card Chart
It wasn’t until the road gamblers played a game in the entrance of the Dunes Casino that word started to spread. This was right in the middle of The Strip giving the game maximum exposure.
Around the same time a man called Tom Moore was trying to get the best poker players in the world to play at an event named the Gambling Fraternity Convention. For whatever reasons he couldn’t pull it off, so in stepped Benny and Jack Binion who bought the rights from Moore and changed the name to the World Series of Poker.
In 1970 the WSOP circus headed to Binion's Horseshoe Casino where a series of cash games would be the format. Several games were spread with one of the variants being no limit Texas hold’em.
The Binions Take a Risk
This didn’t go unnoticed by observers who persuaded the Binions to change the format to what we still have today—a NL hold’em tournament.
Texas Holdem Winning Strategy
It definitely took a while for the game to grow. In 1972 there were only eight entries, but this grew to around 10,000 at the peak of the poker boom.
During the 70’s Texas hold’em continued to grow in popularity, but not by as much as the top players hoped. Those guys could really see what a great game it is and wanted others to understand. It wasn’t nicknamed the Cadillac of Poker without reason.
Doyle Brunson then took matters into his own hands by writing the original classic Super System. This was the real beginning of poker growing into what it is today.
The growth, although welcome, wasn’t exactly booming. It took a few events for it to really get going.
The year 1998 was significant for a couple of reasons. It was the release date for the classic poker movie Rounders, and also when online poker was introduced to the world. Poker started to make some serious headway at this point but nothing prepared us for what was to come five years later.
In 2003 an accountant from Tennessee called Chris Moneymaker won the NL Texas hold’em WSOP Main Event after winning his seat in an $86 online qualifier.
All of a sudden, Texas hold’em was synonymous with poker. Everybody now knew the game where you got dealt two cards and had to make a five-card hand in combination with the five community cards.
And it looks so simple. Almost everybody who played the game thought they were great at it. The poker boom that took place over the next few years was unlike anything seen before because of this.
Texas Holdem Card Hands
The game of NL Texas hold’em is why poker is what it is today. It is still the most popular poker variant in the world despite serious competition from pot limit omaha, and we expect that to remain the case for many years to come.
Texas Holdem Card Game
New fans of poker could do far worse than learning how to play Texas hold’em.
Texas Holdem Card Winning Order
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