Online Poker

There are many variations of poker.  I intend to show you the basics involved in standard five-card poker.  Think of it as a starting place for your learning process.  Once you have these basics down, you can easily adjust to any variation or house rule. 

Hands and cards in poker are divided into rank.  Winning hands are decided by the highest in ranking order.  Should player have the same type of hand, the winner is then decided by the highest ranking card. 

Example:  Four of a Kind is a type of hand where a player has four matching cards.  If more than one player has Four of a Kind, the winner is decided by the Rank of the Cards.

Card Rank (from lowest to highest): 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, JACK, QUEEN, KING, ACE.

Suits (♣♠♥♦) do not have a rank, they are all equal.

So if a player has four 8’s, they will lose to a player that has four JACK’s because a JACK has a higher rank than an 8. 

Starting from the most superior to the weakest, here is the descending order of hands in poker. 

STRAIGHT FLUSH

A Straight Flush is when a player has five cards of the same suit in consecutive order.  The most powerful type of Flush is called the Royal Flush.  The Royal Flush is having ACE-KING–QUEEN–JACK-10, all in the same suit.  This of course makes the Royal Flush the most powerful hand in poker.  Flushes are the only time that the suit of the cards matter. 

The ACE can be used as both the highest card and the lowest card in a straight, but not as both.  ♥5-♥4-♥3-♥2-♥ACE is considered a straight flush.  This hand can be beaten by ♦8-♦7-♦6-♦5-♦4.  Yes, the first hand does have an ACE, however the ACE is being used as the lowest number.  The power of the Straight Flush is determined by the highest card of the descending order. 

Back to the topic of the ACE not being able to be played as both the highest and lowest card, ♥3-♥2-♥ACE-♥KING-♥QUEEN is not a Straight Flush.  Actually, it isn’t anything at all.  This rule about the ACE applies to all types of Straights. 

FOUR OF A KIND

As indicated earlier, a Four of a Kind is having four matching card. 
♣6-♥6-♠6-♦6-♠QUEEN is considered Four of a Kind.  The power of the card is in the duplicate numbers, the odd card, the QUEEN, has no effect on the hand what so ever.  So, a ♣7-♥7-♠7-♦7-♠3 hand would beat the first hand. 

FULL HOUSE

A Full House is having a Three of a Kind and a Pair.  A Pair is two matching cards. The power of the hand is determined by the Three of a Kind.  That means:

♣3-♥3-♠3-♠7-♦7  BEATS  ♣2-♥2-♠2-♠KING-♦KING

The pair has no effect on the hands power. 

FLUSH

A Flush is when all five cards are of the same suit.  They do not have to be in consecutive order (that would make it a Straight Flush).  The highest card in the flush is what determines its power.  If two players have the same high card, the next highest card determines the winner.  Should those cards be tied, keep going down the line.

♠ACE-♠KING-♠5-♠3-♠2  BEATS  ♥ACE-♥KING-♥4-♥3-♥2

STRAIGHT

A Straight is having all five cards in sequential order.  They don’t have to be of the same suit (that would make it a Straight Flush).  Once again, the straight that starts with the highest card wins in the event that more than one player turns up with a Straight.

♣KING-♥QUEEN-♠JACK-♦10-♣9  BEATS  ♣JACK-♥10-♠9-♦8-♥7

Remember an ACE can be used as the highest card or the lowest, not as both, in the one hand.  That means you can’t count down to ACE and start over at KING. 

THREE OF A KIND

As discussed in the Full House, a Three of a Kind is having three matching cards.  Should more than one player have a Three of a Kind, the rank of the matching three cards determines the power of the hand.

♦KING-♠KING-♣KING-♠7-♣2  BEATS  ♠10-♥10-♦10-♣ACE-♠QUEEN  

TWO PAIR

As discussed in the Full House, a Pair is two matching cards.  Two Pair is having two sets of Pairs in one hand.  Should more than one player come up with Two Pair the highest pair determines the winner.  If the high Pairs are the same, the next set of Pairs is the deciding factor.  There is a possibility that both set of Pairs will tie, in that case the remaining odd card decides the winner.

♠10-♥10-♠4-♣4-♦6  BEATS  ♣9-♠9-♦4-♥4-♣6

♠10-♥10-♠4-♣4-♦6  BEATS  ♣10-♦10-♠3-♣3-♣6

♠10-♥10-♠4-♣4-♦6  BEATS  ♣10-♦10-♦4-♥4-♣3

ONE PAIR

A Pair is two matching cards.  In the event that another player gets the same type of pair, the next highest card in the three remaining odd cards determines the winner; if the next card ties, continue down the line.

♥ACE-♦ACE-♣JACK-♥3-♣2   BEATS  ♣ACE-♠ACE-♣10-♠9-♥7

♥ACE-♠ACE-♣JACK-♦7-♥3  BEATS  ♦ACE-♣ACE-♥JACK-♥7-♥2

NO PAIR

No Pair is when a player does not have any of the above combinations.  This is usually a losing hand.  However if all players have No Pair the highest card determines the winner.  Should the highest card tie, continue down the line as usual.

♣ACE-♣9-♣5-♥4-♥3  BEATS  ♠KING-♥QUEEN-♠JACK-♠10-♥4

♣ACE-♣9-♣5-♥4-♥3  BEATS  ♠ACE-♥9-♠5-♠4-♥2

+ FIVE OF A KIND

The only way a player can get a Five of a Kind is if they are playing with Wild Cards.  A Wild Card is a pre-decided card that can count as anything a player wants, even if it is a duplicate of a card the player already has.  Often times a JOKER is used as a Wild Card, but any card can be designated as a Wild Card.  All 2’s can be wild if players so wish.   But the Wild Card is called and agreed upon by all players before the game starts. 

If players are playing with a Wild Card, making the Five of a Kind possible, the Five of a Kind is the new highest hand in the game.  It beats a Royal Flush. 

A TIE
Ever so often the final hands in a game of poker will end in a tie.  In that situation, the pot will be divided evenly amongst the winners.  It’s rare, but it happens.