lovetexasholdem

Too many times I get into arguments with my friends when playing poker about who won the hand simply based on the fact that they don’t know the ranking of the poker hands, so I will list them here.

Your number one hand is the Royal Flush.  This hand consists of an ace high straight of one suit.

The number two hand is a Straight Flush.  In order to get this hand you must have a staight of entirely one suit.  If two players have a straight flush, the player with the higher straight wins the hand.

The number three hand is four of a kind (aka. Quads). You simply need to have four of the same kind.  If two or more players have four of a kind, the one with the highest cards wins the hand.

The number four hand is the Full House (aka. Full Boat, Boat).  In order to get a full house, a player needs to have three of a kind and a pair.

The number five hand is the flush.  To get a flush you need to have five cards of the same suit.

The number six hand is a staight (aka. run). This is as easy as having five cards of a sequential rank. You need to be aware that in Texas Holdem, aces can both be high and low.

The number seven hand is three of a kind (aka. trips, set).  This is exactly what it sounds like.  You need to have 3 cards of the same denomination.

The number eight hand is two pair.  Wtih this hand you have two sets of pairs.

The number nine hand is one pair.  With this hand you have one set of pairs.

The last hand is the high card.  The player with the highest card in their hand wins the hand.

Hopefully this will help settle some drug dispute at the Texas Holdem poker table.

The game of Texas Holdem poker is one of  both strategy and skill. To play well one requires solid knowledge of the poker odds, the ranking of poker hands, probability and being able to bluff your opponents. A well seasoned texas hold em poker player takes the above mentioned factors and more into account when making a decision to fold, check or raise their bet. To be great at poker, one has to to have the ability to recognize his/her opponents tendancies to better realize when the opponent is bluffing or really does have a great hand. When it comes to reading an opponent, most people believe that the truth is in the eyes.  This is the reason that so many players wear sunglasses at the table: to mask the emotions in their eyes.

Texas Holdem is basically a variation of seven card stud. There are two pocket cards dealt to each player. These are both dealt face down. There are five cards placed in the middle of the table. The flop are the first three cards that are turned over. The five cards that are placed in the center are all community cards. This means that you can use any of these cards to make your poker hand, but you must use the two pocket cards.