Pictured below are the hands of poker, listed
in order from highest to lowest.
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Royal Flush
Five cards in a row, 10 through Ace, all in the same suit.
A Royal Flush is actually the highest possible Straight Flush.
This is the best hand you can get in a game without wild cards.
Since suits have no bearing in poker, two players holding
Royal Flushes would tie. A Royal Flush ranks above any other
Straight Flush. The illustration shows a Royal Flush in Spades.
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Straight
Flush
Five cards of the same suit in consecutive numerical order.
(An Ace high Straight Flush, as 10d Jd Qd Kd Ad, is given the
special name Royal Flush.) A Straight Flush ranks above Four
of a Kind. The illustration shows a 9-high Straight Flush.
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Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank. Four of a Kind ranks above a
Full House and below a Straight Flush. The illustration shows
four Aces with a Deuce kicker(fifth card).
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Full House
Any three of one rank plus two of another. Often identified
by the Three of a Kind. Three Kings and two 3s is a Full House,
often known as Kings Full, and sometimes more specifically
as Kings Full of 3s. Ties are broken first by the Three of
a Kind, then the Pair. So, for example, 4-4-4-2-2 beats 3-3-3-A-A.
In community-card games such as Hold'em and Omaha, more than
one player can have a Full House containing the same three
cards of one rank. So, for example, A-A-A-K-K beats A-A-A-Q-Q.
A Full House ranks above a Flush and below Four of a Kind.
The illustration shows Aces full of Kings.
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Flush
Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. A Flush is
often specified by its top one or two cards. For example,
Ah Kh 9h 4h 2h is called an Ace-King flush. (Five cards of
the same suit in sequence constitutes a special hand known
as a Straight Flush.) A Flush ranks above a Straight and below
a Full House. The illustration shows a King-high Spade
Flush.
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Straight
Any five consecutive cards of mixed suits. The Ace can be
high or low. A-K-Q-J-10, or an Ace-high Straight is the highest
Straight, and 5-4-3-2-A, a 5-high Straight, is the lowest Straight.
(Five cards of the same suit in sequence constitutes a special
hand known as a Straight Flush.) A Straight ranks above Three
of a Kind and below a Flush. The illustration shows a 9-high
Straight.
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Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank, plus two other unrelated cards.
The hand is often called Trips or, in community-card games,
a set. Three of a Kind ranks above Two Pair and below a Straight.
The illustration shows three Kings.
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Two Pair
Two of one rank, plus two of another rank, plus an unrelated
card. For example, A-A-K-K-Q is Two Pair, known variously as
Two Pair, Aces and Kings; Aces Up; Aces Over; Aces over Kings;
Aces and Kings; Aces and. If both hands have the same high
Pair, the hand containing the higher second Pair wins. For
example, A-A-7-7-2 beats A-A-6-6-K. If both pairs tie, the
high card wins. For example, A-A-7-7-J beats A-A-7-7-9. Two
Pair ranks between One Pair and Three of a Kind. The illustration
shows Kings and 5s.
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Pair
A hand containing two cards of the same rank, plus three
other unmatched cards. When two players have the same Pair,
the highest side card or cards wins. For example, J-J-A-3-2
beats J-J-K-Q-9; 4-4-A-K-2 beats 4-4-A-Q-9; A-A-9-8-7 beats
A-A-9-8-6. One Pair is the second-lowest category of hand,
coming between No Pair and Two Pair. The illustration shows
a pair of 9s.
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