Texas Hold'em Poker - The Aim of the Game
Poker is organised into a series of individual contests, each lasting up to a few minutes or so. Each of these individual contests is called a hand. Unfortunately, the term hand also refers to the cards that a player has, in other words the cards with which he attempts to win the hand. It will be obvious from the context which one we mean at any point.
When we talk about a game of poker, we're not referring to an individual hand. A game is a series of hands played in succession, possibly a whole evening's worth.
Here's a very brief run-down of what happens, condensed into three simple points:
- Each player's hand consists of two hole cards which only they can see, and five community cards , which can be seen and used by everyone. The strength of each player's hand is judged on the best five cards out of these seven available.
- Players consider their hand and place bets accordingly or drop out if they don't want to bet. The skill lies in knowing when, and how much to bet, taking into account the relative strength of the cards available to you and the cards you think other players have.
- The winner is the player with the best hand at the end of the hand or, alternatively, the last player left in the hand at any point. The best hand is determined by the following rules, which govern the ranking of hands.
Hand rankings
The best hand of five cards is determined by the following rules, known as hand rankings. Hands are shown ranked from highest (rarest) to lowest (most common) and include an example of each one, the odds against making that hand in hold'em, and some brief notes.
ROYAL FLUSH (30,940-to-1)
The top ranking hand and very, very rare. You need 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit - plus the ability to stay calm.
STRAIGHT FLUSH (3,590-to-1)
Also incredibly rare. You need five cards of the same suit in numerical order. Aces can be high or low. In a tie between two straight flushes, the highest card wins.
FOUR OF A KIND (594-to-1)
Four cards of the same denomination, plus a kicker (a card that doesn't match the other four). In a tie, the highest denomination wins, followed by the highest kicker if these are the same.
FULL HOUSE (38-to-1)
Three of a kind plus a pair. n a tie, the higher three of a kind wins, followed by the higher pair if these are the same. So J-J-J-4-4 beats 8-8-8-A-A and 9-9-9-10-10 beats 9-9-9-7-7.
FLUSH (32-to-1)
Any five cards of the same suit not in numerical order. In a tie, the highest card wins, i.e. 2-5-7-J-K beats 4-6-8-10-J. If highest cards are the same, second highest wins and so on, i.e. 4-5-7-10-Q beats 3-5-7-10-Q.
STRAIGHT (21-to-1)
Five cards in sequential order, of mixed suits. Aces can be high or low, so both 10-J-Q-K-A and A-2-3-4-5 are valid straights. Middle value aces, e.g. Q-K-A-2-3, are not allowed. In a tie between two straights, the highest card wins.
THREE OF A KIND (20-to-1)
Three cards of the same denomination, plus two kickers. In a tie, the highest denomination wins, followed by the highest kicker if these are the same.
TWO PAIR (3.3-to-1)
Two lots of two of a kind plus a kicker (odd card). In a tie, the highest pair wins, then the lower pair. If both pairs are similar, the highest kicker wins.
ONE PAIR (1.3-to-1)
Two of a kind plus three odd cards. In a tie, the highest denomination pair wins. If similar, highest kicker wins, i.e. 2-5-9-K-K beats 3-4-7-K-K. If the highest kickers match, the next highest kicker wins, and so on, i.e. 2-5-9-K-K beats 3-4-9-K-K.
HIGH CARD
The lowest ranked hand comprises five odd cards only. In a tie, highest card wins, i.e. 2-4-6-9-A beats 5-7-9-J-Q and 3-5-8-J-K beats 2-5-8-J-K.
All suits are equal in value and no one suit has precedence over another. If players have truly identical hands a tie is declared and the pot (the money) is divided between them.
