Poker Hands
The poker family of card games all involve a combination of cards that are dealt to players known as a “hand.” Each type of poker hand is given an assigned value and there are 10 different types of possible hands in poker. Each hand is display from strongest to weakest.
Royal Flush
This type of poker hand is the highest ranking hand possible. It beats everything. It is a form of Strait flush with Aces High. It is a hand that contains five cards in sequence, all of the same suit with an ace at the highest. For example: Ace of Spades, King of Spades, Queen of Spades, Jack of Spades, and a Ten of Spades. The probability of drawing this combination in only five cards is approximately 649,739 : 1.
Straight Flush
This type of poker hand is a sequence of five cards, all of the same suit. The sequence of numbers can be descending or ascending but they must all be of the same suit. For example: Queen (of Clovers), Jack (of Clovers), 10 (of Clovers), 9 (of Clovers), and 8 (of Clovers). The probability of drawing this hand in only five cards is 64,974 : 1.
Four of a Kind
This type of poker hand involves a sequence of five cards with four cards of one rank. The last card in the sequence does not have to fit any pattern. Each card could be of a different suit. For example: 9 of hearts, 9 of spades, 9 of diamonds, 9 of clovers, Queen of hearts. The approximate probability of drawing this hand is 4,165 : 1.
Full House
Full Houses are a sequence of 3 cards with each matching ranks and the other two have to be of a different but matching rank. Suit does not matter For example: 3 of diamonds, 3 of spades, 3 of clovers, 5 hearts, and 5 of diamonds. If two or more players draw a full house, the one with the higher ranking full house wins. The probability of drawing a this poker hand is roughly 694 : 1.
Flush
A flush is a type of poker hand in which 4 out of the five cards are of the same suit. Numbers do not have to match. The last card in the sequence does not have to follow any specific pattern. The probability of drawing this hand is in the vicinity of 509 : 1.
Straight
This poker hand consists of a sequence of five cards in an ascending or descending order. Suit is disregarded. If there are two straights drawn, the player with the highest total rank wins. Suit is not considered in cases of ties. The probability is approximately 255 : 1.
Three of a Kind
This type of poker hand contains three cards of the same rank, plus two unmatched cards. Suit is not considered. Roughly 1 out of 47 draws are Threes of a kind.
Two Pairs
Two pairs contain two cards of the same rank, plus two cards of another rank. The last card does not follow any specified pattern. Multiple two pair drawings are settle by total rank. 21: 1 is the probability of getting a two pair hand.
One Pair
One pair is two cards of the same rank, plus three others that do not have to follow any pattern. 1 in 2.36 is a one pair, so nearly half of all drawings have at least a one pair poker hand. Highest pairs win in the case of multiple one-pair drawings.
Only Singles
No pattern is possible, given the cards. Roughly one in two drawings are of this sort. Nevertheless, they sometimes win a pot if the other players fold or even at a showdown. Two high-card hands are ranked by comparing the highest ranking card. If those are equal, then the next highest ranking card from each hand is compared, and so on until a difference is found.