Taking home the pot: What makes a winning poker hand?
There’s a reason why poker still dominates the gambling scene, whether in online platforms or brick-and-mortar online gaming. You get to play with other people and join tournaments which makes it the perfect social activity for gamblers across the world. Although poker is still considered a game of luck, the entire gameplay is designed to focus more on one’s skills.
That’s why the game has a poker-hand ranking system commonly used in popular poker variants like Omaha and Texas Holdem. If you’re serious about winning, you have to be familiar with each one of them. This will also answer the following questions: What makes a winning poker hand? What cards do you have to get so you can defeat your opponents and take home the pot? Read below to know more.
Poker rankings: How to form a winning poker hand
Before you learn about the winning poker hand, you first need to know the various houses you can form. If you’re new to the game, a house is the best combination of five cards that can help you win the round and take home the pot. In poker variants like Texas Hold’em, there are a total of ten winning poker hands that might help you make a clean sweep.
Keep in mind that the hand at the top of the poker hierarchy is the royal flush. Meanwhile, getting a high card will pay you the lowest payout. Take a look at the list of winning poker hands you can form:
Royal flush
The royal flush is the highest possible combination you can get in a game of poker. Known as a type of straight flush, it contains five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as a combination of 10♥, J♥, Q♥, K♥ and A♥.
Since it is the highest poker hand, a royal flush will help you defeat every other hand on the table.
Straight flush
A straight flush features five consecutive cards in the same suit. For example, getting 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 all in spades will give you this winning hand. This beats all other poker hands, except when one of your opponents has a higher straight flush.
Four of a kind
Getting four of a kind means you have four cards of the same value. So, if you get J, J, J, J and 7, then you have quads.
However, if two players both have four of a kind, the winning hand will be determined by which combination of cards has the highest value. For instance, if your opponent has a combination of J, J, J, J and 3 and you have 7, 7, 7, 7 and A, then you lose the round.
Full house
In poker, a full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair. You have three cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank in different suits.
When more than one player has a full house, the winning hand is determined by the three of a kind. For example, a hand of 8, 8, 8, 5 and 5 will defeat a hand of 7, 7, 7, K and K. You can have the best full house on the table if you manage to get A, A, A, K and K, which is commonly referred to as Aces Full of Kings.
Flush
This is a winning poker hand that contains five cards of the same suit in any order. If you have a hand of 4, J, 8, 3 and 5 in clubs, then you have a flush.
In case there’s a tie, the player with the highest valued card—the Ace—in the flush will be declared the winner. However, if both of them have Aces, the second-highest card is used to break the tie.
Straight
A straight features five cards that are in order, but not in the same suit. You can get the highest possible straight combination if you have a hand that consists of A, K, Q, J and 10.
If you have a straight, you will always beat players holding a three of a kind, two pair or a single pair.
Three of a kind
This poker hand consists of three cards of the same rank in different suits. For example, your hand has a combination of 7, 7, 7, 5 and 2. Assuming that two players both have three of a kind, the set of cards with the higher value will be considered the winner.
While it sits at the bottom of poker hand ranking, this card combination can still help you defeat players with two pairs, one pair and a high card.
Two pair
Getting dealt with a two pair means you hold two different sets of two cards of the same rank. This can only be considered a winning hand if one of your opponents holds one pair.
One pair
To put it simply, one pair consists of two cards of the same value, such as having two queens in your hand. The player who has the highest set of a pair will be the winner. However, since there’s a huge possibility that two players can hold the same sets of card values, the kicker will be the tie-breaker.
High card
Known as the lowest-ranked hand in poker, having a high card means you cannot form any of the above-mentioned combinations. However, the highest card will be your best hand. For example, if you have 3, A, 8, 5 and 7, the Ace is your only chance of winning.
At Bitcasino, you can always have the upper hand
Put your luck to the test when you play a game of poker here at Bitcasino! Now that you know what makes a winning poker hand, then you can calculate all the possibilities and take home the pot. Sign up, choose a poker title and start playing like a poker crackerjack.