|
The combinations, their relative strengh, and how to compare them.
The Combinations
The combination made with the cards a player have is also called a hand. All poker hands are made of five cards. This is important to underline this, as in some variants each player is dealt more than five cards, but eventually he will have to use five and exactly five cards. Some combinations, like the pair for instance, don’t require all the five cards of the hand, but the other cards still play a role, which we will soon see.
Important: all poker hands are made of five cards.
Now let’s see all the allowed combinations, from the strongest to the weakest :
| Straight Flush |      | five consecutive cards, in the same suit |
| Four of a Kind |      | four cards of the same rank |
| Full House |    | three cards of the same rank, with two other cards of the same rank |
| Flush |    | five cards of the same suit |
| Straight |  | five consecutive cards, of different suites. The ace can be low (before the 2) or high (after the K) |
| Three of a Kind |   | three cards of the same rank |
| Two Pairs |      | two cards of the same rank, with two other cards of the same rank |
| Pair |   | two cards of the same rank |
| High Card |    | all the other hands which do not make a combination listed above |
Some combinations have common, alternative names : quads (for four of a kind), boat (for full house), set (for three of a kind). We’ll use these names too in this tutorial. There are also more colloquial names for some combinations of specific ranks, like broadway for an ace-high straight. The list is pretty long, so we will not dwelve on it for now.
This table is used for all major variants of poker, played with a full deck (52 cards).
Important: A stronger combination always beats a weaker one, whatever the higher card, the higher pair or any other consideration.
Comparing Combinations of Same Strength
This is usually pretty straightforward:
Straight Flush: the highest card wins. All suits are equal; so they don’t play any role. Four of a Kind: the highest rank wins. Full House: the highest three of a kind wins. If there’s a tie (in variants with common cards), the pair is used to break the tie. Flush: the highest card wins. If there’s a tie, the second highest card wins, and so on until the fifth card. If this is still a tie, then the tie cannot be broken. Remember, no more than five cards can play. Straight: the highest card wins. Three of a Kind: the highest rank wins. Two Pairs: the highest pair wins. If the two highest pairs are of the same rank, the lower pairs are compared. If this is still a tie, the remaining card is used to break the tie. Pair: the highest pair wins. If this is a tie, the highest remaining card is used to break the tie. If this is still a tie, the second highest card is used, and so on up to the the fifth card. High Card: the highest card wins. Again, if this is a tie the second highest card is used, and so on up to the fifth card.
Examples :
 
 | First hand wins with a pair of eight |
  
| Second hand wins with two pairs, fives over threes |
  | First hand wins with a set (three of a kind) of deuces |
| Second hand wins with a full house, threes full of fives |
 | Second hand wins, with a pair of ace and the queen breaking the tie. |
 | Second hand wins, with a QJ862 flush vs a QJ852 flush (the 6 breaking the tie vs the 5) |
Don’t worry if you didn’t spot the combinations immediately, with a little practice you will do fine.
When the card used to break the tie is not part of the combination itself, it is called a kicker. There is therefore no kicker in five card combinations, like straights, flushes and full houses (because all the five cards are used in the combination). But pairs, two pairs and sets can make a tie that will be broken with the kicker.
In several variants, especially those with commons cards, kickers are very important, so keep this in mind and do not underestimate the role of your side cards. This is probably a bit abstract for now, but we will come over this again later on.
Important: kickers are very important in variants with common cards (holdem family).
Related Items:
|
