• Which Hands Beat What In Poker Games
• Bad Beat Poker Hand

Poker Hands: What Beats What

What Beats What in Poker Hand Rankings Chart. Low-Carb, Low-Calorie, High-Fiber Diet. January 6, 2021. How to Deal With Neck Pain. December 7, 2020. Find the Best Free Sports Betting Tips Today! October 20, 2020. How Can I Be Without Losing Money When I’m Not a Good Gambler? A poker hand consists of five cards. The categories of hand, from highest to lowest, are listed below. Any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category (so for example any three of a kind beats any two pairs). Between hands in the same category the rank of the individual cards decides which is better, as described in more detail.

Poker Hands Basics

Most standard poker games like Texas Holdem make use of five card hands that rank in terms of strength. Each hand’s strength is, in turn, determined by how rare they are. Simply put, the harder a poker hand is to come by, the higher it ranks.

There are 10 possible hands in most standard games of poker. They are as follows (arranged from strongest to weakest):

Please note the following card references:

(h) Hearts (d) Diamonds (c) Clubs (s) Spades

#1 Royal Flush

In terms of strength and rarity, no other hand could beat a royal flush. It’s made up of five consecutive cards of the same suit starting with an ace.
Ex: Ad Kd Qd Jd 10d
Probability: 0.000154%

#2 Straight Flush

A straight flush is very similar to a royal flush. In fact, a royal flush is a kind of straight flush. The only thing that sets the two apart is that unlike a royal flush, a straight flush uses a king or anything lower as its highest card.
Ex: Jc 10c 9c 8c 7c
Probability: 0.00139%

#3 Four of a Kind

As you may have probably guessed based on the name, this hand is made up of four cards of the same value. But since standard poker games use five-card hands, it includes a random fifth card to complete the set, which can then be used as a kicker card in case of a tie.
Ex: 3d 3h 3s 3c Js
Probability: 0.0240%

#4 Full House

There are two parts to this hand: a trip and a pair. A trip is just three cards of the same value, while a pair is two cards of the same value.

When showdown time comes, the trips get compared first, and then, if they’re tied, we move on to the pairs.
Ex: 5d 5h 5s 2s 2c
Probability: 0.1441%

#5 Flush

Simply put, a flush is just a set of suited cards.

Interestingly, while a standard deck of 52 cards contains a total of 5,108 different flush combinations, the hand can still be considered pretty rare considering the odds of any player getting one are no more than 508:1.
Ex: Ah Jh 9h 5h 3h
Probability: 0.1965%

#6 Straight

This is essentially the straight part of a straight flush. And since we know that “flush” means suited, then “straight” could only mean consecutive – and that is exactly what this hand is: five non-suited consecutive cards.

Of course, the straight with the highest high card wins whenever two or more active players end up with the hand.
Ex: 9d 8c 7s 6c 5h
Probability: 0.3925%

#7 Three of a Kind

This hand is pretty much the same as a four of a kind but with only three cards of the same value, as the name suggests, instead of four.

Needless to say, it uses two random cards to complete the set instead of just one.
Ex: 10h 10s 10c 9d 4s
Probability: 2.1128%

#8 Two Pair

We’ve talked about pairs earlier as part of a full house. Well, this hand just has two of them plus a random fifth card to complete the set.
Ex: Qd Qh 4d 4c 6s.
Probability: 4.7539%

#9 One Pair

As the name implies, this hand only has one pair, and, consequently, three random cards to complete the set.
Ex: Ad Ah Ks 6c 4s
Probability: 42.2569%

#10 High Card

Finally, we have the hand that you end up with by default whenever you are unable to build any of the other hands we’ve seen so far before showdown time comes.

Now, while it is the weakest hand you could possibly get, you could still win with it with a little bit of strategy. More on this in the next section.
Ex: Jd 7c 5s 3h 2h
Probability: 50.1177%

Remember this is Five-Card Poker

Before we move on, let us first make it clear that these rankings only apply to five-card hands. Games that use three-card hands – like Three Card Poker, for example – follow slightly different rankings because the odds of getting each hand in these games are slightly different.

More than a game of hands

Which Hands Beat What In Poker Games

Of course, there’s so much more to poker than hand rankings. Aside from luck, your chances of winning also ultimately depends on how well you are able to read the table and your opponents and then come up with the appropriate strategies at all stages of the game. Bluffing (i.e, tricking your opponents into acting a certain way) is also a great skill to master because it essentially gives you the power to use an otherwise useless hand to win the pot. You can learn more about it here.

Now, how about some real money poker action online? Sign up for a www.safeclub.com account today to get started! And check back regularly for more free poker guides, tips and tricks like this one!

• »News
• »How To Confuse and Beat Good Poker Players

Playing poker against opponents who are lesser-skilled than you is a recipe for success. Not all your opponents are weak, however, there are some very good poker players out there. These stronger players are not limited to high-stakes games, good poker players frequent even the low and micro-stakes.

It is easier to win against weak players. They do not think deep enough about the game to warrant any out-of-the-box thinking. Value bet when you have the good, fold when they show strength, and you will not go far wrong.

Beating good poker players requires more creativity. They are less likely to pay you off and more likely to put you in tricky spots. Good poker players are more observant, meaning they pick up on betting patterns and tells. You need to be on your game to beat these opponents and beat them consistently.

Keep Good Poker Players Guessing By Mixing Up Your Continuation Bets

We spoke about continuation bets only a week or so ago. They are a powerful tool that every poker player has in their arsenal. Mixing up when you continuation bet and when you do not is one way to confuse good poker players.

Let us take a look at a simple example. We raise preflop with As-Kc and one opponent called. The flop comes down Kd-5c-2s, what do you do? Your first instinct is to continuation bet, but doing this 100% of the time makes you easier to read. Good poker players will stop paying you off. Instead of automatically making a c-bet, consider checking and reevaluating once our opponent acts. Keeping opponents second-guessing themselves is a great way to dominate them.

Consider Slow Playing Big Hands Against Good Poker Players

Few poker players suggest slow-playing big hands preflop, but it is a necessary evil. It is tempting to always three-bet with aces, kings, and queens, and do so for value. Think about just calling when the raises come from good poker players.

Stronger opponents raise with a wider range of hands, hands that they do not want to play in a three-bet pot. They fold a large percentage of their raising range, which leaves you to collect a small pot.

Do not always flat call their raise with a monster, but be prepared to do so. Just calling with strong hands preflop keeps your opponent wondering what you have. They never, initially at least, think you called with pocket kings, for example. Once good poker players know you are capable of flat-calling with big hands, it opens to door to other opportunities. They do not know if you have called with As-Ac or 9d-7d. Likewise, your three-bets could be with anything if you are prepared to only call with a monster!

Do Not Only Raise With Strong Hands and Draws

Lower-stakes players play a more straightforward form of poker. Their raises tend to mean they have an overpair to the board, at least two pair or a set, or a big draw with plenty of outs. Remember our article about playing draws aggressively?

Mix up the hands you raise with and include both bluffs and semi-bluffs. Consider raising the flop with two overcards, for example, raising As-Ks on a Td-6c-3s flop. Raise it up with an inside straight draw occasionally. Good poker players take notes on what they see so the next time you raise on the flop they wonder what on Earth you could hold. Your chances of making money increase when your opponent does not know what to do.

Use a Standard Time For Acting and Watch Your Bet Sizes

Avoid giving off timing tells, especially in the online poker world, by always taking the same amount of time to act. A quick check is almost always the sign of a weak hand. Conversely, a fast bet is almost always a display of strength. Choose a number and wait until you count to it before acting. Keeping your time to act standardized prevents opponents from getting reads from you.

Similar is said for bet sizing. Weaker players bet bigger with strong, made hands, and smaller with bluff and draws. Good poker players mix their bets up, No-Limit Hold’em is “no limit” after all; you can bet what you like!

Bad Beat Poker Hand

Always bet the maximum that a recreational player will call. These opponents call you off lightly so extracting value from them is a must. Mix things up against good poker players by sometimes betting small/large with big hands or bluff. Keep them second-guessing and wondering what is happening at their table.