Sunday, October 6, 2019

All The Texas Holdem Poker Rankings Including Which Pocket Cards To Play To Get Them

All The Texas Holdem Poker Rankings Including Which Pocket Cards To Play To Get Them
This article outlines all the Texas Holdem Poker rankings, including the official hand rankings as per the rules. It also includes the best pre-flop cards to play to increase your chances of making the best hands.
It's complete and in depth information vital for any avid poker player. Make sure you read the whole article in full because I reveal a very important secret at the end.
What Are The Hand Rankings?
When Texas Holdem poker players enter the last stage of the game known as the showdown, the cards they hold are compared to check who wins.
Each players two pocket cards are mixed with the community cards to make each players best five card hand. It is these hands that are compared as per tho hand ranking system of poker, outlined below.
Texas Holdem Poker Rankings - From Best To Worst
There are 9 classifications of poker hands, starting from the strongest, unbeatable combination, down to the lowest one.
Straight Flush
The first combination is known as Straight Flush. Straight flushes are five cards of the same suit that are also in a consecutive series
The best variation of the straight flush is the Royal Flush. This is comprised of the cards from Ace to Ten (all being the same suit). Royal flushes are unbeatable and extremely hard to come by.
In some hand ranking charts they are often expressed as a whole separate class of hand of their own but really they are just a form of a straight flush.
Consider yourself lucky if you chance upon a Royal Flush even once in your whole lifetime.
How To Get A Straight Flush: The way to get a straight flush is to have been dealt two cards that are the same suit and within five ordered cards of each other. Really you want the two hole cards you have to be consecutive as this increases the chances of you actually making the straight. These two cards have to be above ten to have a chance of making a royal flush.
Four Of A Kind
The second strongest arrangement of cards is known as a Four of A Kind. This combination contains four cards of the same rank plus any one side card (which is known as the 'kicker'.)
How To Get A Four Of A Kind: To get a four of a kind you really need to be dealt a pocket pair - so any two cards that are the same as your pocket cards.
Full House
The third best combination of cards is called the Full House. Full Houses consist of a set/three of a kind and then a pair on the side of that (eg. 3 Queens and 2 Jacks)
How To Get A Full House: Full houses are a lot easier to get than the previous hands discussed. Really you can make a full house by playing any hole cards. Some players think it is easier to get a full house by playing a pocket pair but even so, you are really relying on the fall of the cards to make your hand work.
Flushes
The fourth variation in the list of hand rankings is called a Flush. This is similar to the description of the straight flush but the cards don't have to be consecutive.
How To Get A Flush: Now we are getting into the hands that are easier and easier to make, however they aren't as strong. You really want both your hole cards being the same suit to increase your chances of making a flush more easily.
Straight
The next hand in the list of rankings is known as the Straight. This combination is also like the Straight Flush as these cards must be in consecutive sequence but the difference is don't have to be in any particular suit.
This is the only time that Aces can fulfill a special role in making a hand. An ace may be placed either at the start of or the end of the combination as a low ace or a high, e.g A-2-3-4-5 or T-J-Q-K-A.
How To Get A Straight: To get a straight you need to play two cards that are already consecutive. This significantly increases the odds of making the straight.
Three Of A Kind
The sixth poker hand is Three of A Kind. Now we are definitely getting into the weaker hands. This hand is a combination of three cards of the same rank and another any two cards on the side.
How To Get A Three Of A Kind: To get a three of a kind the easiest way you need to play a pocket pair. When you two hole cards are paired it makes it a cinch to match them with the community cards and make a set.
Two Pair And Pair
The seventh and eighth hands on the ranking chart may be mentioned together because they both contain cards that are very alike. These hands are called Two Pair and Pair.
The two pair has two pairs of cards that are alike while a single pair naturally has only one pair. It also follows of course that two pairs will have one card on the side while one pair will have three.
How To Get A Two Pair: You can get a two pair in two ways. The first is to have a pair in the hole and then have the board pair. The second is to have two different cards in the hole and match them both with the board. The better way is having two different cards as this surprises your opponents more and also has a lower likelihood that someone has a three of a kind that would beat you.
How To Get A Pair: The best way to get a pair is to be dealt one and have a pair in the pocket. Otherwise just play any card and you'll likely make one by the end of the game. Remember though that pairs are at the bottom of the hand rankings and will likely lose to a higher hand.
In all cases of ties, side cards are always used as tie breakers. In the event that both parties share the same hand, the kickers or cards on the side may be used to decide who wins.
An Important Secret For You
I don't know if you have realized that the truly best cards to play from the pocket are either pocket pairs or suited/consecutive cards. Playing these cards from the hole exponentially increase your odds of making all of the best hands.
These are all of the Texas Holdem Poker Rankings, complete and in full, including exactly which cards you need to be playing to increase your likelihood of making these. Bookmark or save this information so you can access it easily anytime in case you forget.