Straight Flush

Five cards in sequence of all the same suit is called a straight flush. Two straight flush hands are compared by their highest ranking cards. Suits do not matter in traditional poker, so two straight flushes of equal value will tie. An ace-high flush, 10-J-Q-K-A , is called a royal flush and is the highest ranking traditional poker hand. An ace can also play as the low card in a five-high straight flush, A-2-3-4-5 , and is the lowest of the straight flush hands.

Odds: Out of 2,598,960 distinct hand combinations, only 40 create a straight flush. To figure out the percentage chance for a hand, you take the combination of possibilities for the hand, divide that by the total number of hands, then multiply by 100 to get the percentage. So (40/2,598,960)*100 equals a 0.0015% chance to make one in any given hand. The straight flush is the most rare of traditional poker hands.

Four of a Kind

Four of the same ranked cards plus one side card, called a kicker is called four of a kind, or sometimes quads. A-A-A-A-K , or aces with a king kicker, is the highest ranking example of a four of a kind hand, and 2-2-2-2-3 , or deuces with a three kicker, would be the lowest. In games where cards are shared, such as Texas Hold'em, it is possible for two or more players to make four of a kind. The rank of the kicker would then decide the winner. Thus, 7-7-7-7-J  beats 7-7-7-7-4 , because the J  outranks the 4 .

Odds: There are 624 possible combinations of cards that make four of a kind. So (624/2,598,960)*100 or a tiny 0.024% chance of making one in any given five card hand. Incredibly rare.

Full House

A full house consists of three matching cards of the same rank and two matched cards of another rank, or three of a kind along with a pair. When comparing two full houses, the one with a higher ranking three card combination wins. Thus, 4-4-4-6-6  will beat 2-2-2-Q-Q , because the set of fours outranks the set of dueces. If the set of three are the same rank, the pair would determine the winner. The players tie and split the pot if they have the exact same ranking full house hands. A full house is sometimes called "a full boat", or, as in our example, "Fours full of sixes" or "Fours full".

Odds: There are 3,744 possible combinations of cards to make a full house, giving players (3,744/2,598,960)*100 or a 0.14% of completing one in any given five card hand.

Flush

A flush consists of five cards of all the same suit, but not in sequential order (which is a straight flush). When comparing two flush hands, the one with the highest ranking card will win. Thus, 2-6-9-J-Q  (or a "Queen high flush") will beat 2-4-7-9-10  (or a 10 high flush), because the Q  is higher ranked than the 10 . Two or more flushes containing the same cards will split the pot since suits are not ranked in poker.

In community card games, like Texas Holdem, it is possible to have the highest ranking card being shared between the two players from the community cards. In that event, the player who holds the higher ranking card in their hand would win the pot. For example, Player A holds 5-9  but Player B holds 7-10 , then Player B wins because his 10 is higher. If both players hold exactly the same ranked cards as their hole cards, then the pot is split between them.

Odds: There are 5,148 possible flush combinations, forty of which are straight flushes. The odds of being dealt a non-straight flush in a given five card hand is around 0.20%, or (5,148/2,598,960)*100.

Straight

A straight consists of a run of five cards in sequential order. Suits do not matter when comparing straights, however players should note that if a straight's cards are all the same suit the hand is a straight flush, and is significantly stronger. Straights are ranked by highest completing card. Two straights with the same cards are a tie, and the pot is split. 7-8-9-10-J easily beats 2-3-4-5-6  because the J outranks the 6.

An ace high straight, 10-J-Q-K-A  sometimes called broadway, is the highest level of non-flush straight. The lowest also contains the ace as the lowest ranking card, A-2-3-4-5 , and is sometimes called a "wheel". You cannot "wrap around" a straight, meaning JKA23 is not a straight.

Odds: There are 10,240 ways to make a straight. Now forty of those are straight flushes, which we won't count here. So the chances of being dealt a straight, that is not also a flush,in any given five card hand are 10,240/2,598,960 or around 0.39%.

Three of a Kind

Three of a kind, sometimes called "trips" or a "set", is when you have three cards in your hand of the same rank along with two unmatched cards. When comparing three of a kind hands, the one with the higher ranking set of three wins. For example, 9-9-9-2-K  would beat 4-4-4-7-A  because the "set of nines" beats the "set of fours". If two three of a kind hands are equal in rank, then the rank of the unmatched cards determine the winner. In games with shared cards, it is possible to tie if the community shared cards are higher than any players holding the set of three. For example, in a Texas Holdem hand, both players hold a 4. One holds a 5 as their second hole card, the other holds a 9. The shared cards on the table are 66A10Q. Both players have the hand 666AQ and, since suits don't matter we don't need to know them, the players would split the pot.

Odds: The odds of making hands are increasing. There are 54,912 ways to make a set. Actually, there are more but we don't count the hands that are also full houses. So the probability of being dealt three of a kind in a five-card hand is (54,912/2,598,960)*100 or 2.1%.

Two Pair

Two pair is when you have a hand that consists of two matching ranked cards, two other different matching cards and a single unmatched card, called a "kicker". When comparing two pair hands, the player that has the highest ranking pair wins the pot. Someone that has two kings and two fives with a jack; K-K-5-5-J ; would say they have "kings and fives with a jack kicker". If both players have two pair that rank the same, the player with the highest kicker wins. However, if the highest kicker is part of the shared community cards, in games like Holdem and Omaha, then the hand is a tie and the pot is split between the players.

Odds: There are a whopping 123,552 combinations that make a two pair hand (excluding the ones that are also full houses). The probability of being dealt one in a five-card deal is 123,552 out of 2,598,960 hands (2,598,960/123,552) or around 4.75%.

One Pair

One pair is when you have a hand that consists of two matching ranked cards and three unmatched cards. When comparing hands that contain a single pair, the higher ranked pair wins. If the pair both players hold are of equal rank, then players compare the three unmatched cards to see which is the higher ranked five card hand. In these cases, the player holding the highest ranking unmatched card, or kicker, wins. If both five card hands are equal in rank then the hand is a tie and the pot is split.

An example in Texas Holdem: Player A holds K7 and player B holds KJ as their respective hole cards. The shared cards on the board are K29A3. In this case the hand player A holds is actually KKA97, while player B holds KKAJ9. Player B wins, because his J outranks player A's 9. In Texas Hold'em, as well as any other shared card game like it, the player that makes the best five card hand wins the pot. Just because they both hold a pair of Kings with an ace kicker does not mean the player's tie and split the pot.

Another example: Player A holds 76, player B holds 89 and the board has A22JK. This is a tie. Both players have a pair of deuces with A-K-J as their kickers; 22AKJ. The players hole cards would not even factor into the hand.

Odds: Of the 2,598,960 five card hand possibilities, 1,098,240 are combinations that make a pair. That makes the odds 2,598,960/1,098,240 or around 42%. So, nearly half the time (on average) you deal a round of cards in a five card game, each player has a 42% chance to make a pair. Pretty good odds!

High card

When no players make any of the above hand combinations, players can evaluate their hands by the highest ranking cards they hold.

If you haven't learned this by now, the single card ranking is as follows: AKQJ1098765432

Odds: Surprisingly, there are only 1,302,540 hands that do not contain any pairs and are nots straights or flushes. The odds are 2,598,960/1,302,540, or around 50%, to make a simple high card hand.