Poker hands

The five card ranks of hands are common to all poker games, so learning these should be one of your first moves when learning poker.

Royal Flush
The cards are of the same suit, in sequence and starting from an ace. A royal flush is very rare.

Straight Flush
The cards are of the same suit, in sequence.

Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank.

Full House
Three cards of one rank (a triple) and two cards of another rank (a pair).

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 cards of one rank, and two cards of random ranks.

Two Pairs
Two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and an odd card.

One Pair
Two cards of one rank, three odd cards.

High Card
The hand does not contain any of the above hands, and in a showdown the hand with the highest card(s) wins. A high card is a perhaps surprisingly common outcome in poker games.

The Kicker
If the game finishes with a tie, the winner is decided by the highest odd card which is called the ‘kicker’. If there are several kickers, the next highest wins.

High-Low Games
In High-Low games, the pot is split between the highest ranking hand, and the lowest ranking hand. The high hand is exactly the same as in ‘high card’ poker, while the low hand must be five cards ranked at eight or lower with no pairs. For instance 8-6-5-3-2 qualifies as a low hand. The ace is used in low hands, and the best low hand is the five lowest cards in the pack: 5-4-3-2-A, this is known as a bicycle or wheel. When two players have the same low hand, the suit is discounted and the pot is split. Flushes and suits do not contribute to low hands. If nobody has a hand composed of five cards of eight or lower, the pot will go to the person(s) who has the highest hand.

Poker Tips

Tips and hints to improve your poker game vary between the different variations of poker. We’ll focus on some of the key skills for playing Texas Hold’em and cover a few that cover poker in general.

Starting hands

There are lots and lots of starting hands, 169 to be precise, but not many of these should be played. You can see the best hands to give you an advantage over your fellow players in the chart below:

High Pairs AA KK QQ

Mid Pairs JJ TT 99

Small Pairs 66 44 88

Suited Cards AK AQ AJ AT KQ KJ KT QJ QT JT J9 T9

Unsuited Cards AK AQ AJ A10 KQ KJ

Odds

Once you’ve made your bets based on your starting hand, the next factor to help you calculate whether you should act or not is the pot odds. This is the ratio between the pot size and the bet size.

For example, if there is $20 in the pot and you have to call a $10 bet, you have pot odds of 2:1.

Implied odds

To calculate pot odds, you count the actual pot as well as the other bets already on the table and bets yet to be made (known as the implied odds). This figure is then divided by the value of the bet you need to call.

Out cards

When working out pot odds, you must also include ‘out cards’, or cards that might be played, in your calculations. Out cards are the deck of cards minus those held by the combination of other players’ cards and the community cards. Each out card gives you about a 4% chance of getting a useful card on the turn and river.

Bluffing

People often consider bluffing to be one of the key poker skills. The most important thing to remember when bluffing is timing and context - when and where to do it!

• You don’t actually need to bluff that much. In fact, you can probably get by without using the technique at all. Of course, it definitely spices up the game – so don’t discard it completely!
• Bluffing work better when you have a single opponent, although you can use the technique against two players, but no more.
• Bluffing should be combined with psychology: Always bluff when your opponents are less confident. Bluffing should be a show of strength.
• Remember, bluff too much and it will quickly lose its effectiveness!

Our Top Poker Tips

Follow these simple tips and you’ll get the edge over your opponents.

Select the right opponents
If you’re a beginner, play other beginners. As poker is a game of skill, it’s vital to choose opponents who play at your level, otherwise you’ll ending up losing. Pick tables with betting limits that suit you, and if you find yourself in trouble then leave.

Know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em
Kenny Rogers had it right: don’t keep on betting on a bad hand or with no care for what the opposition are doing. It is not good to get the reputation of being a ‘calling station’ – someone who bets on every hand, however bad.

Play it right
Good poker players say that only 25-30% of Texas Hold’em hands are worth playing. Generally the higher the cards the better, not to mention pairs and suits. The right hand is just around the corner.

All change
If you change your playing style, you’ll be harder to read. Poker players are always trying to get inside the head of their opponents, (and often pigeon-holing them). Don’t let them.

Turn the tables
If your opponents are studying your playing style, you should study theirs too. Especially look for their ‘tells’, or tics that giveaway the strength of their cards. At the most basic level this will mean smiling when they get a good hand, but can get quite subtle.

Where’s their head at?
Try and empathize with your opponents – get inside their heads and imagine what they are thinking and feeling. If you try and figure out the way they act the way they do, you’ll be much better at predicting their play in the future

Location, location, location
Your location or position at the poker table is of vital importance. Depending on where you sit, you’ll be able to see either more or less of the game play before you have to act. The closer you are to the blinds, the more cautious you should be.

Show them the money
It might seem fairly obvious, but bring enough money to the table. You don’t want to be in the situation where you don’t have enough money to make the bet you want on a great hand. You should bring-in 20 times the big blind to a game, and take 30 times the big blind to online games.

Bet and learn
Intelligent play can teach you a lot about the people you are playing with. Test their reactions. If you have the nuts on the flop, check and see what the others do, and re-raises can test the strength of other’s hands.

Write it down
This tip applies to online games only. Write down characteristics and personality quirks about players. Many websites give you a facility that allows you to save notes on players.