Texas Hold'em: Poker Hand Rankings and Pictures
Grinderschool Free Poker Strategy Articles
Poker101 Article Collection
The Poker101 video series starts from the very beginning and covers the very basic of poker strategy. As the video series progresses, the strategy gets progressively more advanced. The Poker101 article collection complements the video series as an easy go-to guide for learning Texas Hold'em.
Poker101 Lesson 3: Poker Hand Rankings
Once you understand the rules of Texas Hold'em and which game you would like to play, next you must memorize the poker hand rankings. Remember, each hand at showdown must consist of any five cards taken from either the community cards (such as the flop, turn or river) or your two hole cards dealt to you. Below is each different hand ranking with an image of what it looks like:High Card: There is no pair between the five community cards and your two hole cards. Sometimes the high card will win the pot and that is why Grinderschool recommends begginner players only start with strong hands because they don't have to hit the board to win the hand.
| High Card: |      |
One Pair: The most common type of hand hit in Texas Holdem is one pair, where two cards of the same number match each other either in the community cards or in your hand.
| One Pair: |  |
Two Pair: If you have pairs from both of your hole cards or just one and there is a pair in the community cards then you have two pair. Generally, two pair with pairs from both of your hole cards will be stronger and win more often than when there is a pair on the board.
| Two Pair: |  |
Three Of A Kind: You have three of a kind when you have 3 cards of the same number when you combine the community cards and your hole cards. Trips is when only one of your hole cards hits 3 of a kind with 2 of the community cards. A set is when your pocket pair becomes three of a kind from one of the community cards. Typically, a set is a much stronger holding than trips.
| Three Of A Kind: |  |
Straight: To have a straight, you must have 5 consecutive cards in a row between any of the hole cards and community cards and the suits don't have to match.
| Straight: |     |
Flush: To have a flush, you must have 5 cards all of the same suit whether the 5 are all in the community cards or some are in your hand. Usually when you have a flush when using both of your hole cards then you have a very strong hand.
| Flush: |    |
Full House: For a full house, you must have both three of a kind and two pair between the 5 community cards and your hole cards.
| Full House: |   |
Four Of A Kind: A very rare hand, you must have all 4 cards of the same number between the community and your hole cards. Four of a kind is an extremely strong hand and you rarely, if ever, lose this hand in your lifetime.
| Four Of A Kind: | |
Straight Flush: Even rarer than 4 of a kind, you must have 5 cards in a row and have them all be the same suit.
| Flush: |     |
Royal Flush: The epitomy of poker hand strength, the Royal Flush can not be beaten. To have a Royal Flush, you must have the Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace all of the same suit. With a lot of volume, players may get dealt 1 of these a year.
Above are the different hand rankings in Texas Hold'em. Memorize the hand rankings so you don't fold the winning hand ever again. In our next article read about the importance of position in poker including the placement and category of each position at a poker table.