The Hands Of Poker

4/15/2022by admin

There are 52 cards in a deck, divided into four suits of 13 ranks each. The suits are all of equal value - no suit is higher than any other suit. In Poker, the Ace is the highest card and the 2 card (Deuce) is the lowest. However, the Ace can also be used as a low card, with the value of 1. Below you will find a list of poker hands in order from highest to lowest to help you get started, as well as the top starting hands for Texas Hold'em. Click the button on the right to get a cheat sheet that displays the traditional poker hand rankings, which are used in the most popular variants of poker (such as Texas Hold‘em).

Understanding the Different Types of Poker Hands

Two Simple Hands

Strictly speaking, in most standard poker games like Texas Holdem, there are only two types of hands that you should be concerned about: starting hands and the actual five-card poker hands. Let’s take a look at each one below:

Please note the following card references:

(h) Hearts (d) Diamonds (c) Clubs (s) Spades

Starting hands

As the name implies, a starting hand is made up of the initial cards that you are dealt. In games like Texas Holdem, it consists of a pair of cards that you could later on turn into a full five-card poker hand once all community cards are revealed.

Now, while there’s really no way to know for sure whether or not a specific starting hand would turn into a winner come showdown time, seasoned players know, based on experience (and a little bit of math), that certain starting hands have a better chance of building into something strong later in the game over others. These are called premium starting hands. In Texas Holdem, they are as follows:

AA
KK
QQ
AK (suited)
JJ

If you’re a beginner, it would be a good idea to start out only playing when you get any of these starting hands and just folding when you get anything else. Of course, the more games you play and the better you get at strategizing, reading your opponents, and bluffing (which you can learn more about here), the more starting hands you can add to your play list.
Let’s now move on to the next type of poker hands you should familiarize yourself with:

Five-card hands

Most standard poker games, even the three- and seven-card varieties, only compare the strongest five-card hand the players can build come showdown time.

Listed below are all the five-card hands at your disposal:

#1 Royal Flush

The most difficult hand to come by in poker, the royal flush only has a 0.000154% probability of occurring. It is made up of five suited cards of consecutive values and uses an ace its highest card. It is considered the strongest hand in poker.
Ex: Ac Kc Qc Jc 10c

#2 Straight Flush

This hand is pretty much the same as a royal flush. The only difference is that it has a king or lower as its highest card, which is why it only comes second on the list.
Ex: 10s 9s 8s 7s 6s

#3 Four of a Kind

Made up of four same-valued cards and an additional random fifth card, the odds of any player getting this hand are 4,164:1.
Ex: 8d 8h 8s 8c As

#4 Full House

This hand is made up of two parts: a trip and a pair. A trip consists of three cards of the same value while a pair, as you may have figured out by its name, is made up of two same-valued cards.
Ex: 4d 4h 4s 8s 8c

#5 Flush

Remember the straight flush? Well, this hand is pretty much the same thing except that it doesn’t require your card values to be in consecutive order.

Mathematically speaking, there are 5,108 ways you can build a flush with a standard deck of 52 cards. Regardless, the hand is still quite difficult to get. In fact, your odds of doing so are just 508:1.
Ex: Kh 9h 6h 4h 2h

#6 Straight

Another hand that’s derived, if you will, from a straight flush, a straight does not care about the suit of your cards. All you need to build one are five cards of consecutive values.
Ex: Kd Qc Js 10c 9h

#7 Three of a Kind

With a 2.1128% probability of occurring, this hand is essentially just the trip part of a full house plus two additional random cards to complete the set.
Ex: 3h 3s 3c Qd 8s

#8 Two Pair

Remember the pair part of a full house? Well, just take that then add another pair plus one more random card and you have a two pair hand.
Ex: Jd Jh 8d 8c 3s

#9 One Pair

No need for long explanations for this one. It’s just a pair of same-valued cards plus three other random cards to meet the five-card requirement.
Ex: Qd Qh As 3c 2s

#10 High Card

If you can’t build any of the preceding hands, then you get this one by default. It’s made up of just five totally random cards.

Needless to say, it is the weakest hand in poker.
Ex: 10d 8c 7s 5h 3h

You’re now a poker hand type master!

Now, are you ready to enjoy some real money poker action online? Then sign up for a www.safeclub.com account today! And check back again soon for more poker guides, tips and tricks like this one!

This week we’re highlighting a common spot in a cash game where you 3-bet preflop from the Button vs a Middle Position open raise.

You should have a fairly high c-bet frequency in this spot in general. As the preflop aggressor, you’ll have a range advantage on most boards and can apply pressure with a continuation bet. You should often size down c-bets to 25% of the pot on static flops, since larger sizing is not necessary on flops where the Villain is less likely to connect.

Larger c-bet sizing can be used on dynamic boards with a more polarized range that consists of bluffs with blockers and vulnerable but high equity value hands. For example, firing a bigger size with a gutshot is often the preferred line as this provides good semi-bluff balance to your stronger made hands.
When value betting strong hands, be sure to size your bets on the turn such that
you can easily get all the chips in on the river. Remember that missed draws are often good candidates to round out a pure bluffing range and provide overall balance to your aggressive lines. Consider bluffing with them some of the time when your draw fails to hit by the river.

You will often be put to tough decisions with marginal hands, with the correct decision often coming down to understanding the effects of blockers and the specific suits you hold. When you block value hands that your opponent can hold, you should be more willing to continue against their bets and raises. When you block potential bluffs they could have, you should be more willing to fold.

To see more examples and test your skills, you can play through five free solved hands from this scenario.

To access the free five hands, visit this page.

Poker Card Value Chart

Regular play on the WPT GTO Trainer will help you adjust your decisions closer and closer to GTO strategy.

You don’t have to be the world’s best player to use GTO Strategy, and thanks to the WPT GTO Trainer, now you don’t have to buy expensive software or have expert level knowledge to study GTO.

Why use the WPT GTO Trainer?

The WPT GTO Trainer lets you play real solved hands against a perfect opponent in a wide variety of postflop scenarios for cash game and tournament play.

Show Me The Hands Of Poker

If your goal is to be a tough poker player then you should try the WPT GTO Trainer today.

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