Monday 30 September 2019

Texas Hold Em Poker Hands Explained

The different Texas Hold Em Poker hands are exactly the same as normal poker hands. If you don't know these don't worry because I am going to explain them all. There are ten different hands that you can have. In order from worst to best, they are: low, 1 pair, 2 pair, 3 of a kind, straight, flush, full house, 4 of a kind, straight flush and royal flush. I will explain each of these in detail. The person with the highest hand wins.
When people talk about cards in text they will type the number of the card, and also a letter denoting the suit. H=hearts, D=diamonds, S=spades, C=clubs. Jack is J, Queen is Q, King is K and Ace is A. So for example a nine of clubs is 9C and a queen of hearts is QH. Some people put a hyphen '-' in between, some not. For multiple cards in a hand some people will just use a space i.e. 7D 8D 9D 10D JD or some people will use a hyphen i.e. 7D-8D-9D-10D-JD. Sometimes people wont put anything and this is usually hard to read. It takes a little getting used to but you should be able to decode most peoples explanations with little effort.
Now for all of the Texas Hold Em Poker Hands:
Low: This hand is very bad. A low hand is essentially nothing. You have no good hands. An example would be 7D-5S-4C-3C-2H. Its nothing. Although for the most part this hand is very bad, if two people have a low hand the person with the single highest card wins.
1 Pair: This is the first hand you will usually make. A pair is having a single pair of a type of card. The number must match and obviously the suit won't be able to. An example would be 2H-6H-10C-JC-JS. So in this example the player has a pair of jacks. When two more more players have a pair the person with the highest pair will win.
2 Pair: This is a fairly good hand you can usually get quite easily. 2 pair is just like have a pair two times. An example would be AC-7H-7D-QC-QH. So in this example the player has a pair of 7's and a pair of Queen's. When two players both have 2 pair the player with the single highest pair out of all of them wins. It doesn't matter if his second pair is lower then the other players.
3 of a kind: This is a good hand that you can make quite easily if you start with a pair in the hole. This hand is simply having three cards all of the same, like JH-5S-8C-8S-8D. This player has three 8's so has 3 of a kind. If multiple players have 3 of a kind the player with the highest wins.
Straight: Here we deviate from the standard number matching. A straight is any five consecutively numbered cards. It doesn't matter what suit just the numbers must be consecutive. For example 7D-8H-9S-10C-JH. If more then one player has a straight the player with the highest overall card at the end of the straight wins. An Ace can be used as either a low ace, like 12345, or a high ace, like 10JQKA. It cannot be used in the middle. QKA23 is not a valid hand and would be considered a low hand.
Flush: A flush is simply any five cards with the same suit. It doesn't matter the number of the cards they just all have to be the same suit. An example would be AS-2S-6S-JS-9S. See how they are all spades? That is a flush. If two or more players both have a flush the person with the highest overall card will win. So having just one Ace, King or Queen in your flush tends to pay off.
Full House: A full house is a 3 of a kind plus a pair. An example is KD-KH-3S-3C-3D. See the 3 of a kind of three's and the pair of king's. This hand is very good but harder to get. The more important numbered card is the one in the 3 of a kind. If there is a showdown the player with the higher number in their 3 of a kind will win.
4 of a kind: As the name suggests, this hand is having 4 of the same kind of card. Like QC-QD-QH-QS-10C. Four queens makes 4 of a kind. Like with all the other hands, if two players have a four of a kind the player with the highest numbered card in their 4 of a kind will win.
Straight Flush: This hand is extremely hard to get and is a combination of the straight and the flush. So the numbers of the cards must be consecutive and all the suits must be the same. James Bond wins with a straight flush in Casino Royal. An example is 4S-5S-6S-7S-8S. Consecutive numbers plus all spades. If more then one player has a straight flush the player with the highest numbered card on the end of their's will win.
Royal Flush: This is just a straight flush but at the top end. Its essentially the highest straight flush you can get. Its the ultimate: 10H-JH-QH-KH-AH. Nothing beats this hand. This is the best hand you can get.
Still with me?
So I have explained all of the different Texas Hold Em Poker hands that you can get. I put them in order from worst to best. Of course, each better one beats any one under it. So a 3 of a kind beats a pair automatically, and a flush beats that easily. Take the time to read through them again to remember them better. Its worth memorizing these so you immediately know who has won a poker hand, without having to refer to anything. Always remember, when two people have the same hand the winner is the person with the highest overall card making that hand.

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