Straight Poker King Ace Two Three Four
POKER GLOSSARY
All In
In ABC poker, a player willing to three- and four-bet has a premium hand, letting you know you're beat. This translates into wanting to conserve the losses and get out cheaply. Getting it all-in pre-flop in these situations will have you up against premium hands and coin flips most often, a weaker ace or king in occasional situations, and a 60. So strictly there are 36 straight flushes (4 × 9) if we don't count the royal flush. The probability of getting a straight flush then is 36/2,598,960 = 0.00001385. The table below lists the number of possible ways that different types of hands can arise and their probability of occurrence. F) straight (excluding straight-flush) g) three-of-a-kind h) two-pair i) one-pair j) high card Also, verify that the probabilities sum to unity. Assume a 52-card deck. (The number of possible 5-card hands is 52C5 = 2,598,960.) SOL'N:a)A royal flush is ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of the same suit. If we order the 5-card hand from highest.
A name given to a play where a player stakes all their remaining chips on the hand that they are holding. Going all in was once considered to be the strongest indication that a player had a winning hand, but many players now go all in as a bluffing tactic.
Ante
An ante is a name that refers to a forced bid that all players have to place before they will be considered to be active within a hand. The ante is taken from the player’s account before cards are dealt and before the blinds are placed.
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Backdoor
The term backdoor is given when a player requires the turn and the river cards to transform their hand into a possible winning hand.
Backer
A backer is a person who sponsors a player to enter a poker tournament with a view to take a share of the player’s winnings should they place in the paying final positions.
Bad Beat
A bad beat refers to a hand that you lose after luck goes against you. A number of online poker rooms offer a new jackpot variation where they actually reward players with a large amount of money if they are subject to a bad beat.
Bankroll
The amount of funds that a poker player has at their disposal. The ultimate aim of poker playing is to increase your bankroll by as much as possible over your initial investment.
Bet
A bet is when a player wagers an amount of chips into the central pot to signal their hand strength.
Bicycle
A bicycle is a term that is used to describe a straight that is made up of A-2-3-4-5. This hand makes up the best possible hand in Low Ball games.
Blind
A blind is the name given to a forced bet that 2 players have to place before the dealer commences the game. The players who have to place the blinds are determined by the place of the dealer button.
Broadway
Name given to an ace high straight. The ace high straight would be made up of A-K-Q-J-10.
Bubble
The bubble is a name given to a player who is eliminated in the last non-paying place within a poker tournament. The loss of the bubble means that all players who are still remaining within the tournament will finish with a cash prize.
Bust
The term bust has a duel meaning. One meaning is used to name a hand that has failed to hit a card needed to empower the hand. The secondary meaning would be that a player is eliminated from a tournament or poker game.
Button
The button is an indicator for which player is considered to be the phantom dealer. This button is used to signal which players are to be included in the blinds. When a player is on the button they are considered to be in the best position because they get to see the majority of the table act before deciding how they want to proceed.
Buy In
A buy in is an amount of money that is charged to enter into a poker tournament or game in order for the player to be considered active in the game. The money collected from the buy in fees are used to create a final prize pool to reward players who reach the paying positions.
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Call
Name given to an amount of chips that are placed that are equal to either the blinds or a bet that has been made by another player. This action signals that you wish to remain active in the hand.
Chase
If a player was to chase a card they would be looking to stay within a hand even though the possibility of hitting the card that they require is poor.
Chase Card
A card that a player needs to chase in order to alter their hand. An example of this would be if a player was holding a set of 7s, the chase card would be the final 7 that is available in the deck.
Check
A signal that a player is happy to proceed with the hand without making any further bet. This play could be used in a number of ways, either to show strength through a check raise or weakness to continue the game without having to stake anymore into the central pot.
Check Raise
A check raise is a play that involves a player checking the action to another player in the hope that there will be a bet placed into the pot. Once the action comes back round to the player they will then place a raise into the pot. This is used to signal great strength.
Cold Call
A name given to a situation where a player decides that they want to call the wager in order to remain within the game but by doing so they are calling more than one bet. This could be that the big blind is raised and then the player calls the bet, so in theory the player is calling the big blind plus the further raise.
Come Hand
A hand that needs at least one additional card to become strong enough to win the hand.
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Dead Hand
A name given to a hand that fails to present an opportunity to win a hand after having an initial chance. The term tends to be used with hands that have fallen foul to the cards that are placed onto the community board. A great example of this would be a low pocket pair that has seen five over cards placed onto the community board.
Dealer
The name of the person who deals the cards for the game and does not factor into the game in any other way.
Draw
Name of a poker variant game where players discard some of the cards that are initially dealt to them at the start of the game. The players then draw cards from the deck.
Drawing Dead
A term used to describe when a player is in possession of a hand that can’t win the hand regardless of the cards that are still to be dealt.
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Family Pot
A name that is used when describing a pot where all or most of the players seated at the poker table are active.
Fixed Limit
A betting structure that is used across a number of poker variants that are indicated as limit poker. This means that players can only stake the amount that is set by the level of stakes that they have opted to play.
Flat Call
When a player just calls a bet when a raise would be seen as a more appropriate play.
Flop
The name given to the cards that the dealer reveals after the first round of betting concludes. The flop makes up the first three cards that are placed onto the community board.
Fold
Name given to the play that sees a player lay down their cards to signal that they no longer want to participate in the currently active game.
Forced Bet
This is an amount of chips that have to be placed into the central pot by a player in order to be part of the game. There are a number of reasons that a player might have to place a forced bet into the pot such as antes or when they are within the blind locations.
Freeroll
A style of poker tournament that offers tournament style game play to players without the need for the players to invest any funds into buy in. These tournaments tend to offer a low level prize pool.
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Gut Shot
A straight draw featuring four nearly consecutive cards with one hole such as a 4-5-7-8. Unlike open-ended straights, there is only one numerical card that can complete a gut shot.
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Heads Up
Term given to the section of a game where two players go head to head over a hand.
Hi Lo
Another variant of poker that alters the way that the game is played. The highest and lowest hand shares the central pot, meaning there are two winners of the pot in the game.
Hole Cards
The name given to the two cards that are dealt to a player by the dealer and that remain hidden and face down on the table.
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Jackpot
A prize fund that is offered by either the casino or online poker room that is rewarded once a player successfully completes a challenge that they set. An example of this would be the Bad Beat Jackpot offered by a number of online poker rooms and casinos where they reward players who suffer a bad beat above a set hand strength.
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Kicker
The name given to the card that a player has in their hand that accompanies a card that offers value into a hand. This is the card that will determine if the player wins a hand should their strong card be equaled by another player.
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Limp
A name given to a bet that is placed that only equals the value of the big blind. This is a tactic that is used to try to see another card at the cheapest possible price.
Loose
A term that is used when trying to describe a player’s approach to a game. The characteristics of a loose player would be that they play a lot of hands and bet aggressively while playing.
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Move in
Another name for an All In play that is made by a player, where the player stakes all of their remaining stack on the current hand.
Muck
Term used to name the process where a player discards their hand and fails to reveal their cards to anyone.
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No Limit
Name of a poker game structure where players don’t have any limits on the number of chips that they can wager into the pot. The no limit game of poker is the structure of game that offers some of the biggest central pots in poker history.
Nuts
Poker Straight Ace
Term that is used to describe the best possible hand that a player could be holding at that moment in the game. Players who are holding the nuts hand tend to slow play their opponents with a hope that they will come against a player who raises the stakes so that they can counter their play and increase their winnings.
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Offsuit
Name given to cards that are not of the same card suit. An example would be that an ace of clubs would be offsuit from king of diamonds.
Opener
The first player to act in a hand is referred to as the opener.
Over Call
Term used to describe when a player calls after another player has already called.
Over Card
Name given to a card within a player’s hand that is of higher value then the cards shown on the community board.
Over Pair
Name given to a player’s pocket pairs that offer a greater value than a pair that features on the community board.
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Pay Off
Name that refers to when a player makes the decision to make a call on the final round of betting even though they feel that they might be beaten.
Play the Board
Term that means that a player is using the 5 cards that are placed on the community board.
Position
Name that is used in reference to when a player acts. This is dictated by the rotation of the dealer button. The later the position the better that it is considered for the player to make an informed decision as to how to approach the hand.
Pot Limit
Betting structure where the players betting stakes are limited to a maximum of the value of the central pot.
Pot Odds
Name given to the percentages that players have to try to work out to ensure that they have a high chance of creating a winning hand.
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Qualifier
Name given to a set of requirements that need to be met to be able to qualify within a hand or to enter into a tournament.
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Rag
Name given to a low card that partners an ace. An example of this would be a card to the value of 6 or lower that is unsuited.
Rail Bird
Another name for a spectator who is watching from behind the rails.
Rainbow
A term used in the poker variant Texas Hold’em where the flop offers cards of different suits so that there is no possibility of players having a flush.
Raise
A bet that is used to signal hand strength and increase the central pot.
Rake
The amount of money that is taken by the online poker room from each hand. The amount that the casino or poker room take is dependent on the size of the central pot at the time of the hand coming to an end.
Read
The ability of being able to take information from a player and to create an expectation of what your opponent is holding within their hand. This can help a player to successfully win a hand either by having a better hand or by being able to play a successful bluff.
Re-buy
A term used when a player enters a tournament and gets eliminated. Certain tournaments offer a re-buy that means that players can buy into the tournament again at the original buy in cost.
Represent
Term used for when a player tries to be deceptive towards their opponents by acting in a way that would give their opponents the impression that they are in possession of a strong hand.
Ring Game
A game that operates using normal casino rules, where the chips that are taken to the table symbolize real money, as opposed to a tournament where each player is given a set number of chips for a set buy in.
River
Name given to the final card that is dealt by the dealer and placed onto the community board. This card has been known to make or break a huge amount of hands in Texas Hold’em where the term is used.
Runner
Term used to describe when a player manages to get two cards that they need to empower their hand on the final two cards to be dealt onto the community board in a game of Texas Hold’em.
Rush
Name that describes a run of good hands or good luck that a player might experience.
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Satellite
A style of tournament that offers a first-place prize of entry into a bigger tournament.
Scare Card
A card that is deal into play by the dealer that has the potential to be used to give the impression that you are holding a hand that contains that card. The name is given as this could lead to opponents folding if they feel their hand has now become less superior.
Scoop
Term used to describe when a player wins a full pot. This is common during Hi Low games where the pot is often split.
Set
Name for three of a kind.
Shootout
Tournament structure where players are placed onto tables and maintain to play on that table until there is only one player remaining and they possess all of the active chips on the table. The players are then reseated with other winning players to fight it out for the prize pool.
Side Pot
A pot that is created in case one of the active players cannot match the bets of other players. The remaining funds are placed into a side pot and are contested by only players who can have placed into the side pot.
Slow Play
A style of play that means a player plays their hand as if it was of a lesser value that it really is in the hope that an opponent takes the lead to raise the betting stakes.
Streets
Name given to the cards as they are dealt. The cards are named by how they were dealt from the deck so the river card would be called 5th street as it is the 5th card to be dealt onto the community board.
Suck Out
Name given to when a card that has entered into a pot significantly behind in terms of pot odds gets a lucky card that gives the player the stronger hand and they win the pot.
Suited Connectors
Name given to cards that are held within a player’s hole cards that are of the same suit and one value apart. An example of this would be a 7 and 8 of diamonds.
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Table Stakes
The amount that the table has set for the size of the blinds. These set the minimum bets that players can place.
Tell
Name given to signs that players give off to their opponents while they are playing that could offer some form of information into the hand that the player is holding.
Tight
This is a description of how a poker player might approach a game, a player who is tight will be less willing to make bluffs and make plays with hands that they feel are weak. These players tend to wait for power hands before they are willing to engage in a betting war with other players.
Tilt
A term used to describe when a player takes a loss of a hand badly and begins to lose their poker playing mentality causing them to lose focus and so causing them to make poor poker plays that will dent their chip stack.
Tournament
A game that features a greater number of players than a ring game and includes a bigger prize pool too. Poker rooms and other tournament organizers typically charge players entry fees to play in tournaments, which are used to fund the prize pool. These are the most publicized poker games in the world to date as they make great television viewing.
Turn
Name given to the 4th card that is dealt onto the community board. Also known as 4th Street.
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Value
There are two meanings to this term. The first meaning is the strength of the hand that a player is holding. The higher the value of their hand the higher it is seen in the poker hand rankings. The second meaning for the term is when a player plays a hand that has a slight chance of winning the hand but only slightly higher than the possibility of the hand falling to a higher strength hand.
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Walk
Name given to when a poker player wins a pot without being contested by any player. An example is that all players fold while you are seated in the big blind.
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In this lesson you’re going to learn the first and most important step about how to play poker by learning the all important poker hand rankings.
- A standard poker hand consists of five cards.
- Each poker hand is ranked in a set order.
- The higher the rank, the less chance statistically you have of getting it.
- The higher the rank of your hand the better, because two pairs always beats one pair, and a flush always beats a straight.
- When two or more players have a hand of the same rank, then there are more ways to determine the best hand.
Hopefully all these points will make perfect sense by the end of this lesson.
Poker Hands (from Best to Worst)
Be sure to pay close attention and memorize the poker hand rankings. Let’s start with the best possible hand in poker….
Royal Flush
A Royal flush consists of five cards of the same suit, in sequence from 10 through to Ace. Remember that all suits are equal in poker. If two or more players hold a royal flush (highly unlikely) then the pot is split, i.e. the players share the winnings.
Straight Flush
Five cards of the same suit, in sequence. This example shows a Jack high straight flush. If two or more players hold a straight flush then it is the highest that wins. For example, a Queen high straight flush beats a Jack high straight flush. You will notice that this is very similar to a Royal flush, and that’s because a Royal flush is in fact an ace high straight flush – but it’s given its very own ranking.
Four of a Kind
This hand contains four cards of the same rank/value. This example shows four 8’s, plus a 5 (remember that all poker hands must have five cards). If two or more players have four of a kind, then the highest value wins (e.g. four 9’s beats four 8’s). If two or more players share the same four of a kind, which can happen when using community cards (more on that later) then the winner is decided by the fifth card. So a player with four 8’s and a 6 would beat a player with four 8’s and a 5.
Full House
A full house contains three cards of the same rank, plus a pair. In our example you can see three 10’s and a pair of 7’s. The value of the three matching cards determines the strength of a full house. So three Jack’s with a pair of 7’s would beat our example hand. If players share the same three cards, which is possible when using community cards, the strength of the pair is then taken into account. So, three 10’s and a pair of 8’s would beat our example hand.
Flush
Five cards of the same suit in any order. Our example shows a Queen high flush. If two or more players have a flush then the player with the highest ranked card wins. If the players share the same high card then it’s determined by the value of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th card respectively.
Straight
This hand contains five unsuited cards in sequence. Our example shows a King high straight. In the event of a tie, the best straight is determined by the highest ranked card. A straight consisting of 8, 9, 10, J, Q, would lose to our example hand. But a straight consisting of 10, J, Q, K, A, would win. Also note that an Ace can be used as the low card for a straight of A, 2, 3, 4, 5. This would lose to a straight of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated cards. Our example shows three 4’s. Three 5’s would beat our example hand, three 6’s would beat three 5’s, and so on. If players share the same three cards, then the value of the highest unrelated card would count and if necessary, the value of the second unrelated card. So, three 4’s with Jack, 8, would beat our example hand. As would three 4’s and 10, 9 (because 9 is higher than 8).
Two Pair
Two cards of matching rank, with another two cards of another rank, plus an additional card. In the event of a tie, the highest pair wins. If players share the same highest pair, then the value of the next pair wins. For example, a pair of Aces, and a pair of 6’s would beat our example hand, as would a pair of Kings and a pair of 7’s. If two or more players share the same two pair, then the value of the fifth card counts. So, a pair of Kings, a pair of 6’s, with a 4, would beat our example hand.
One Pair
A paired hand contains two cards of matching rank, plus three additional cards. The value of the pair determines who wins in the event of a tie. For example a pair of 10’s beats our example hand. If players share the same pair then the best hand is determined by the value of the highest additional card. If this is the same then it goes to the second card, and if necessary the third. So, a pair of 9’s with an Ace, 2, and 10, would beat our example hand. As would a pair of 9’s, King, 10, and a 3.
High Card
If a hand doesn’t fall into any of the above categories, then it is judged on the value of the highest ranked card among the five. In this example we have a hand which is Queen high. If players share the same highest card, then it goes to the value of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and even 5th card if necessary. A hand of Queen, 10, 9, 5, 4, would beat our example hand.
Community Cards
As you already know, a poker hand consists of five cards. In many variations of poker, players receive or can choose from more than five cards. For example, in Texas Hold’em each player is dealt two private cards, but can also use the five community cards that are available for all the players to use. This makes a total of seven cards, but each player must choose their best five cards to make their best possible hand. Here’s an example:
In the above example, the best five cards among total of seven (two private cards and five community cards) would be combined to make a flush.
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Conclusion
If you don’t fully understand the poker hand rankings then please read through the list again. It’s vital that you know which hand beats which. Of course, how good a poker hand is, is very dependent on which type of poker game you are playing and other factors such as the number of other players you are playing against. You will learn the true strength of a poker hand as you gain experience of playing the game.
We have created a printable poker hand rankings chart that you can use as a source of reference. Hopefully we’ve explained the poker hand rankings to you well enough whereby you don’t need this chart, but it still might be handy for some. The chart will load as a PDF (link opens in a new window) and you’ll need to have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer to be able to view it.
Make sure that you memorize the poker hand rankings before moving onto the next lesson.
Related Lessons
By Tim Ryerson
Tim is from London, England and has been playing poker since the late 1990’s. He is the ‘Editor-in-Chief’ at Pokerology.com and is responsible for all the content on the website.