Table of Contents
Texas Holdem Hands
The value of the hands in the game of poker will decide who will win the game. So if you want to win the pot and impress the other players, then you should know the rankings of the poker hands.
In this guide, we will guide you through the top 10 poker combinations that you can make to earn the right to take home the pot.
Top Poker Hands, Ranked from Highest to Lowest
- Royal Flush. This is the best hand that you can form in this card game. You can create this winning combo with a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all from the same suit.
- Straight Flush. You have five cards in a row, all coming from the same suit.
- Four of a Kind. You have the same card like 8s, from each of the four suits.
- Full House. Also known as the Full Boat, it comes as a pair plus three of a kind.
- Flush. This winning combo comes with five cards all from one suit, and not in numerical order.
- Straight. This hand will feature five cards arranged in numerical order, and not necessarily coming from the same suit.
- Three of a Kind. This is also known as a Set or Trips, which refers to three of one card, and two non-paired cards.
- Two Pair. You have two different pairings of the same card in one hand, say 2 Aces and 2 Queens.
- One Pair. A pairing of the same card with three other non-matching cards.
- High Card. The hand does not feature matching cards, not in consecutive order and will come from different suits.
Top Starting Hands in Texas Hold’em
Listed below are the top 10 starting hands that you can explore in the game of poker.
- Pocket Aces. This is a classic hand and considered by enthusiasts as the strongest starting hand that you can make in the game. You can be dealt with an Ace of Hearts and Spade once every 221 hands, and if it happens, you are a 4:1 favourite to win almost any hand. Keep in mind that your chances of winning the pot will considerably decrease with more players in the game.
- Pocket Kings. These are known as ‘cowboys’ in the poker circuit and are considered hand favourites as well next to the Aces.
- Pocket Queens. If you are assigned 2 Queens, you can be assured that only eight overcards are left or fewer if you decide to get your money in against a player with an ace, a king, or ace-king. If you are dealt with the pocket queens, it’s recommended that you play the cards strongly just before the flop, and raising or re-raising from different positions every time.
- Ace-King Suited. Some will refer to this combination as the ‘Anna Kournikova’ combo. Though it’s nice to look at, this pair will not deliver wins every time. This combination can win against other pocket pairs half of the time, except for the pocket kings and aces.
- Pocket Jacks. This is still a favourite or will offer you a 50:50 chance if played against an unpaired hand, and can become a strong pre-flop favourite over other lower pocket pairs.
- Pocket Tens. These are considered as strong starting hands. The combination is considered strong because you do not need to get another ten on the flop to proceed. The pocket tens will also win against overcards most of the time, but there are some combinations where the pocket tens are weaker than the pocket jacks.
- Ace-Queen Suited. Although this is considered a weak combination when compared to the offsuit Ace-King, still this ranks well due to its relative strength against other starting hands in poker. There will be instances when you will fold even after hitting a pair on the flop. But if you miss the flop, you can minimise your losses with an Ace-Queen.
- Ace-King Offsuit. This is a weaker combination when paired against the suited counterparts since the chance of hitting a flush has diminished. Still, this will give you a 40% chance of winning against another hand other than the aces or kings.
- Ace-Jack Suited. Just like the ace-queen and the suited ace-queen, this hand can form a royal flush. But this pair should be played carefully especially if the player has already raised. Don’t rely too much on this combination since an ace-king or ace-queen combo can easily beat the ace-jack suited.
- King-Queen Suited. This is a bit better than the ace-ten suited and the pocket 9s, and its considered to flop well. With this combination, you can come up with some flushes and straights, and hitting just a pair can also give you a good hand. But you should fold the hand if the action on the table suggests that the other players are going for the pot with a strong hand.
FAQs About Poker Hands
You can’t go wrong with the Royal Flush. This hand is composed of the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and a 10 all coming from the same suit. This is the best possible hand that you can make when playing poker. The Royal Flush is different from the Straight Flush because it’s arranged in a sequence.
Yes, it’s possible. This is allowed provided that the Royal Flush will still come with one uniform suit.
Given that a deck of cards has 53 cards, the probability that the first player will be rewarded with this winning combination is 1 in 30,940.
In poker, this hand features five cards that are arranged numerically, and they all come from the same suit. For example, a Straight Flush will feature a Queen, Jack and 10 to 8 all coming from the same suit. Regarding their value, the Straight Flush is ranked next to the Royal Flush.
Aside from the fact that this combo has become a popular subject in a 1980s sitcom, the Full House in poker refers to three cards of the same rank or number, and two cards from the other. An example of a Full House will include two kings and three sixes.
The Flush can be any high card hand, two pairs, single pair, three-of-a-kind, or even a straight. The Flush will not work against the Straight Flush, four-of-a-kind and a Full House. Now, if there are two Flush hands in competition, the final value of the flush hand will be based on the highest ranking card.
In Texas Hold’em, no suit is considered as the best or most valuable. All suits are designed and created the same way, and these are ranked equally. But some games designate a ranking for the suits with clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades arranged from lowest to highest. In some games, the suits can be used as a tiebreaker.
No, there’s no need to memorise the different hand values, but it’s best that you are aware of the strong and weak hands. If possible, get a copy of the hand rankings and keep them close. It’s easier to play the game of poker if you know what hands you can beat.
If you are playing the Texas Hold’em, you will start the game with two hole cards and another 5 shared cards in the middle of the table or the board, and these are dealt out in 3 rounds. Out of the 7 cards available, you are expected to come up with the best hand value using 5 cards. The deck comes with 52 cards, with 13 cards from Deuce to Ace from each suit.
If playing the game for the first time, the dealer will assign you two hole cards that are dealt with face-down. After this, you will participate in the pre-flop betting round where the players are given a chance to check their cards, make a bet, or fold the hand.
The dealer will then place the three community cards face-up on the table or the board. This event is called the ‘flop’. Another round of betting follows, and after this round, another card is then added to the set of community cards. This is known as the ‘Turn’, and this is followed by another set of betting.
And finally, the last community card is assigned face-up on the table which starts the ‘River’. During this time, the players will then come up with their best hand combination using 5 cards, using the community cards on the table and the two hole cards. The game will now start the last round of betting, and the winner of the pot is decided.
When it comes to the live poker game, before dealing of the cards for Flop, Turn, and River, the assigned dealer will first deal a burn card. The burn card is dealt face-down, and this card should not be seen by anyone.
This will depend on the poker software used by the online casino. If you are new to the poker website, make sure you play it for free first, so you will understand how it works.
Takeaway Points:
- The game of poker is decided by the value of the hands.
- Different hands will assume different values, so its best to know these.
- There is a ranking of poker hands with the Royal Flush as the best hand that you can make in the game of poker.
- When it comes to the best starting hands in poker, the best pair is the Pocket Aces followed by the Pocket Kings.
- There is a difference between the Royal Flush and the Straight Flush.
- There is no need to memorise the poker hand rankings, but it pays to learn which poker hands are considered the best, and which ones are considered the weakest.
- In the game of poker, the players are dealt with 2 cards first which are known as the hole cards. There are three stages or phases in the game of poker, and it includes the Turn, the Flop and the River.
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