advanced poker play

Poker hands are represented in different hand ranking systems. For example, standard poker hand ranking means 52 cards in the pack and the hierarchic rankings of the individual cards, from high to low. These are as follows ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. As far as there is no ranking between the suits, so, for instance, the kings of different suits are equal.

A poker hand consists of five cards. The categories of poker hands, listed from highest to lowest, can be represented in such a way:

Royal flush: A straight flush that is ace-high. Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of the same suit. The best poker hand you can have.

Straight flush: Any five-card sequence in the same suit.

Four of a kind: A hand with four poker cards of the same value.

Full house: A poker hand with three cards of a kind combined with a pair of another value.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit but not in sequence.

Straight: Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit.

Three of a kind: Three poker cards of the same value.

Two pair: Two pairs of cards of one rank.

One pair: Two cards of the same value.

No pair (a high card hand): If a poker hand contains none of the above combinations, it’s valued by the highest card in it.

An additional poker hand type, five of a kind, exists when wild cards are used.

According to the poker rules, any poker hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower one. In the case when hands are in the same category, the rank of the individual cards is determinative.

In games where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards do not play any part in the poker hand ranking, poker hands always contain five cards only.