Hand Rankings

Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (13 cards). Aces are worth more than Kings which are worth more than Queens which are worth more than Jacks, and so on. There are four suits for each rank, thus the 52 cards (13 x4 = 52).

The hands are ranked as follows:

royal flush Royal FlushThis is when a player holds a series of cards, all of the same suit ranking Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten. This is the toughest poker hand to get.
straight flush Straight Flush – This is when a player holds a five card sequence where all the cards are of the same suit. For instance, 5,6,7,8,9 of diamonds is a Straight Flush. If by rare chance two players hold a Straight Flush, the player with the one containing the highest card wins. Should both hands contain the same high card, the pot is split. Suits do not matter.
Four of a Kind Four-of-a-Kind – This is when a player holds four cards of the same rank with one other card of varying rank. In the rare case more than one player holds a Four-of-a-kind hand, the player with the highest ranking Four-of-a-Kind would win (Ace is high).
Full House Full House – This is when a player holds both a three-of-a-kind (three cards with the same rank) and a pair (two cards with the same rank). An example would be 8-8-8-K-K. In the case where two or more players hold a full house hand, the player with the hand containing the higher three-of-a-kind wins.E.g. (8-8-8-3-3 beats 7-7-7-A-A).
Flush Flush – This is when a player holds 5 cards of the same suit. In the case where two of more players hold a flush hand, the player with the highest card wins. Should the high cards be the same rank, the next highest cards are compared (and so on).
Straight Straight – This is when a player holds five cards in sequence, of mixed suits. Should two of more players hold a straight hand, the hand with the highest card wins. Should the hands be identical in rank, the pot is split between the players who hold the same straight. “Around the corner” (K-A-2-3-4) straights are NOT allowed. An A can be used as high or low E.g. A-2-3-4-5 or A-K-Q-J-10.
Three of a Kind Three-of-a-Kind – This is when a player holds three cards of the same rank with two other cards of varying rank (not a pair). The player with the highest ranking three-of-a-kind would win in the event where more than one player has Three-of-a-Kind hand.
Two Pair Two Pair – This is when a player holds two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and a dissimilar fifth card. Ties are awarded to the player holding the highest of the “high” pair, followed by the higher of the “low” pairs, and finally by the remaining card.
Pair One Pair – This is when a player holds one set of cards with the same rank (value). Highest pair wins ties. If two players have the same valued pair, the player with the next highest card wins. If tied still, then by next highest card and so on.
High Card High Card – This is the weakest of poker hands. The player with the highest ranking card wins the pot (Ace is High). In the event of a tie where two or more players hold the same high card, the player with the next highest card wins, and so on. Suits do matter when determining high card. If two or more players have all the cards being the same, then the players would split the pot.


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