Avoid The Ryan

Been playing poker for a fair bit? But, not quite able to figure out which hand beats the other and why? Then, this article is just right for you! It explains why a particular hand beats another type – so read on and get smart about poker hands.

We begin with the ‘No pair’, a hand that isn’t eligible for any of the others. When there is an instance of more than a single player arriving at the showdown, it may happen be no other player has a better hand as compared to this, then the person holding the highest ranked card in hand is declared the winner. If two players have cards ranked same, the next highest player in each hand decides who the winner is; this continues.

‘Pair,’ constitutes 2 cards with the same rank like jacks or tens; when two players hold a pair each, the one holding the higher rank of pair is the winner. Obviously, an Ace-pair will beat a pair of Kings. But if both players hold the same-ranked pair cards, then the player having the highest other ‘kicker’ card will decide who the winner is going to be.

Then comes the event of a ‘Two Pair.’ This refers to a poker hand wherein two cards belonging to the same rank are held along with 2 more from a different rank. For determining the winner here, the player holding the two pair of highest ranked top two is slated to win at showdown time. Players may hold the same higher ranked pairs; the one holding the higher of the lower pair gets to decide the winner, however, should both poker players receive a 2 pair ranking same, then the ‘kicker’ decides on the winner.

When you hear the term ‘Three of a Kind’ while playing on POker Star it refers to a play level of all 3 cards from the same rank held by a player and the odds for 2 players having of the same rank are impossible, for there are only 4 of every type in each deck, so another cannot have 3 cards from the same rank (only one left from the 3 of a kind rank). Some people have tagged this hand as ‘trips.’

Coming to the ‘Straight,’ which is a poker hand that holds 5 consecutive order cards like 6 through 10 and it is possible for two players to have straights; rules are simple for this hand as well – the one with higher card wins.

The ‘Flush’ is a common poker hand where same suit cards number 5 and again two players may have a flush; in this case, the highest ranked card straight wins with the best flush run having an Ace.

Now, you may associate ‘Full House’ with the TV show featuring the Olsen twins but in poker, the term refers to a hand that has 3 of a kind along with a pair from some other rank. If two players are tied with a full house each, the one with the higher rank 3-of-a-kind is the winner; if by chance both players hold the same 3-of-a-kind, this ‘boat’ as it is also called, may have its winner decided based on the pair.

‘Four of a Kind’ is also called quads and simply refers to 4 cards from the same rank.

Finally, a ‘Royal Flush’ is the top straight flush (all cards from the same rank, consecutive) you can dream of at PokerStar – beginning at 10 and going up to Ace, with usually no tie-breakers since this is the highest hand one can have.