How to Play Poker: The Winning Hands
In order to play poker well and increase your chances of winning, you need to understand the hands. In this article, we will go over the winning hands in poker.
There are 10 types of winning poker hands, which are listed below in ascending order:
- High Card
- Pair
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Flush
- Full House
- Four of a Kind
- Straight Flush
- Royal Flush
- Natural Royal Flush
1. The Winning Poker Hands for the Advanced Player
In poker, like any other game, you have to know the basics in order to move up the ranks. But once you have a grasp of the basics, you may be wondering what hands are the best to play. There is no simple answer, as different hands can be better or worse depending on the situation. However, there are definitely certain hands that are more profitable than others and should be a part of your regular arsenal.
Here are the winning poker hands for the advanced player:
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Royal Flush – This is the best hand in poker and consists of 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace all of the same suit. It’s important to note that this hand can only be beaten by a royal flush in another suit.
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Straight Flush – A straight flush is five cards in numerical order all of the same suit. This is a very strong hand and is usually played as a straight or a flush depending on the situation.
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Four of a Kind – Four of a kind is four cards of the same rank. This hand is also very strong and can easily take down smaller hands.
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Full House – A full house is three of a kind plus two of a kind. This hand can beat most other hands with ease and should be played aggressively if possible.
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Flush – A flush is five cards all of the same suit but not in numerical order. This hand isn’t as strong as some of the others but can still hold its own against many opponents.
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Straight – A straight is five cards in numerical sequence but not all of the same suit. This hand is typically weaker than either a flush or four of a kind but can still be very dangerous if played correctly.
2. 5 Poker Hands that Always Win
There are certain poker hands that you can always count on to win. Here are the 5 best hands in poker, listed in descending order:
- Royal flush
A royal flush is the best hand in poker, and it’s made up of a straight flush from Ace to 10, all of the same suit. It’s a very rare hand, but when you get it, you can be sure that you’re going to win.
- Straight flush
A straight flush is made up of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. This is a pretty powerful hand, and it’s usually enough to win the pot.
- Four of a kind
Four of a kind is made up of 4 cards of the same rank. This is a very strong hand, and it’s usually good enough to win the pot.
- Full house
A full house is made up of 3 cards of one rank and 2 cards of another rank. This hand can be very powerful, but it’s not always enough to win the pot outright.
- Flush
A flush is made up of 5 cards all of the same suit, but not all consecutive. This hand can be quite powerful, especially if several players have low pairs or no pairs at all.
3. What are the odds of getting each poker hand?
The odds of getting any given poker hand are listed in the table below.
Odds of Getting a Poker Hand
Pair: 1 in 2.56
Two pairs: 1 in 11.8
Three of a kind: 1 in 36
Straight: 1 in 192
Flush: 1 in 649.7
Full House: 1 in 4,165.3
Four of a kind: 1 in 624,023.5
4. How to play the winning hands in poker
In poker, the most important thing is to make the best hand with the cards that you are dealt. There are many combinations that can make a winning hand, and knowing which hands to play will give you a better chance of winning.
Here are the five best hands in poker, starting with the strongest:
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Royal flush – This is the best possible hand in poker, and consists of 10, J, Q, K, and A all of the same suit.
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Straight flush – This is a hand made up of five consecutive cards all of the same suit. For example, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of clubs.
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Four of a kind – This is four cards of equal rank and one different card. For example, 2♦ 2♥ 2♣ 2♦ 3♠
- Full house – This is three cards of equal rank and two different cards. For example, 2♦ 2♥ 2♣ 6♦ 6♥
- Flush – This is five cards of the same suit that are not in order. For example, 3♦ 7♦ 9♦ J♦ Q♦
5. Which poker hands are best?
There is no definitive answer to this question as different poker hands will perform better in different situations. However, there are some hands that are generally considered to be better than others.
The best hand in poker is the royal flush, which is made up of the five highest cards in a deck – ace, king, queen, jack and ten. This hand is unbeatable, meaning that no other hand can beat it when playing against other players.
Other strong hands include the straight flush (five consecutive cards of the same suit), four of a kind (four cards of the same rank), and full house (three of one rank and two of another). These hands are all difficult for your opponent to beat, making them valuable in most poker games.
If you are not lucky enough to have one of these high-value hands, you will need to make use of your position at the table and the betting patterns of your opponents to try and bluff your way to victory. Tight play and patience are key when playing poker – if you start throwing away good hands just because you are impatient, you will quickly find yourself out of the game.