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At the heart of poker are the official poker hand rankings. This ranking determines which hands beat which at a showdown, and thus who wins the pot of chips. If your hand outranks another player’s, you beat them and have won the hand. If not, you’ve lost the hand. Don’t worry, we’ve got the ultimate poker hands cheat sheet at your fingertips.

Poker Hands Cheat Sheet – All The Hands, Ranked

  1. Royal flush (aka “royal straight flush”). The highest-ranking hand in poker is the royal flush: A-K-Q-J-T, all of the same suit. No hand can beat this one. If you have it, it’s the absolute “nuts” (a poker term meaning the best possible hand in a given round of poker).
  • Straight flush. Below the royal are other straight flushes. To make this hand, you need five cards in sequential order, all of the same suit. If two players each have straight flushes, the player with the higher top-ranking card wins. Thus, if Player A has a straight flush of 9-8-7-6-5, that player beats Player B, who is playing 8-7-6-5-4 of the same suit.
  1. How can this happen? The community board of a hand of Texas Hold’em offers five cards that are used by all players at the table to make their five-card poker hand. Each player also has two face-down “hole cards.” In our example, the board would hold 8-7-6-5 of the same suit. Player A would have the 9 of that suit, and Player B would have the 4.
  • Four of a kind (“quads”). Four cards of the same rank. Example: A-A-A-A-2. The higher-rank quads beat the lower, and aces count as the highest of all in Texas Hold‘ Em.
  • Full house (“full boat”). Three of a kind, along with a pair. Example: Q-Q-Q-7-7. One would refer to this hand as “queens full of sevens.”
  • Flush. Five cards, all of the same suit. The five cards can be in any order and need not be connected. Example: K-J-8-5-3, all of hearts. This would be referred to as a king-high flush and would beat a hand of Q-J-8-5-3. The highest card counts first for comparison. If two players are using the same high card, then the next highest card is compared, and so on, until a winner is determined. Thus, Q-J-T-8-3 beats Q-J-T-8-2.
  • Straight. Five sequential cards, not all of the same suit. Example: T-9-8-7-6, with mixed suits. Remember, if they are all of the same suit, it becomes a straight flush. A straight that runs to a higher card beats one that runs to a lower card. Thus, T-9-8-7-6 beats 9-8-7-6-5.
  • Three of a kind (“trips”). Three cards of the same rank. Example: 9-9-9-6-4. Higher-ranking trips beat lower trips. 9-9-9-6-4 beats 8-8-8-6-4.
  • Two pair. Two pairs of cards that are the same rank (but that don’t all match – that would be quads). Example: 8-3-3-2-2.
  • One pair. A single pair of cards that are the same rank. Example: K-K-9-6-4.
  1. High card. If none of the above hands are made, a player’s hand is ranked according to the highest card it contains. If you hold 9-6-4-3-2, your hand is referred to as “high card, 9.” High card is the weakest of all hands in poker.
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Poker Strategy Implications

This poker hands cheat sheet brings up a number of valuable poker strategy considerations. Because the rankings are fundamental to the game, they control most aspects of how you should bet, raise, check, and fold in a game of Texas Hold’em. Let’s review some of these poker tips.

The value (and hidden danger) of top pair

Having top pair on a dry flop (one without much drawing potential for straights and flushes) is a great position to be in. You likely have the best hand unless preflop betting indicates that someone was already holding a pocket pair. When the board is more connected and offers more drawing possibilities for straights and flushes, you are in a position to punish people who need their hand to improve. Your properly sized bets make it suboptimal for them to continue in the hand – although they may do so, and you’ll happily take their money in the long run.

But there are traps to be aware of.

Trap #1 is the overpair. You’ve got top pair, but if someone has a higher pocket pair, you’re in some trouble. You’re dominated (i.e., a severe odds underdog), and you’ll only win around 1 in 5 of these hands if you make it to showdown. Hopefully, these folks signaled their hand strength with some preflop betting. That way, you’ll know what their range is and bet accordingly. If they didn’t, you may be in for a trap.

Trap #2 for our poker hand examples is the “set miner.” That is, the player who holds a small or mid-sized pocket pair who is looking to hit three of a kind on the flop, and then trap you. These players love to check/call on the flop, and then check/raise you on the turn, knowing that you’re confident in your hand and probably willing to pay them off, so long as they don’t go overboard. Be wary when you see this betting pattern from someone who merely called preflop, but then gets aggressive out of position on a dry board.

Trap #3 is a draw that comes in on the turn or river. If people have been hanging around and the board goes three to a flush or straight, you need to be thinking about draws that finally connected. A pair is no match for a made straight or flush, so when that third suited card drops, think carefully before putting too much money in the pot. A person with top pair often plays very straightforward poker, and your holdings may be quite obvious if you do this too frequently.

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Playing draws

Drawing hands are powerful, and can easily beat most holdings you’ll come up against. The problem is, opponents often make you pay to see additional cards, even though you want to see cards for free. When you’re four to a flush on the flop, you’re going to make it 1 in 4 times by the river. Open-ended straight draws that need a card on either side of a four-card sequence come in about 1 in 5 times. So, pot odds will be critical. If there’s $100 in the pot and someone only bets $25 to see the next card. You can easily call (although doing so all the time will clearly signal that you may be on a draw).

Semi-bluffing is a very valuable strategy, especially when you have position on your opponents (i.e., you act after them in a hand). This enables you to disguise your hand, take control of the betting dynamics, and possibly even see a free card by incentivizing checks on the turn from other players who fear your incoming bet. Don’t pay much to draw to gutshot straights (straights that need a card in the middle to be completed, as opposed to open-ended straight draws). And when you draw to flushes, it really helps to be chasing the ace or king-high flush, so that you’re not drawing dead – another way of saying that you’re drawing to a flush in a situation where someone else will have a higher flush or just a better hand in general.

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A note on trips and full houses

It can be really fun when you’ve got a set (another name for trips), and then the board pairs, giving you a full house. You now have nothing to fear from flushes and straights. You’ve got one of the strongest hands you’re going to see with any frequency in poker games. But there’s a caveat – if the board paired higher cards, you may be up against a better full house! Or, if a high card comes on the river and there is lots of action, you may also be up against a full house.

For some poker hand examples, think about this situation:

  • Preflop. You’ve got 8-8 in middle position. You limp in. Someone raises behind you, and you call.
  • Flop. On the flop, you hit a set and start counting all the stacks you’re going to rake in. You check, setting a trap. The bettor behind you bets strongly, and you call, disguising your set. They probably have top pair or an overpair.
  • Turn. The turn comes with something low that pairs the board. You don’t think anything connected with your opponent. Your read on them is two pairs, while you’re riding high with a full boat.
  • River. The river comes an ace or king. Hmmm. Not good. If your opponent was holding A-A or K-K, they now also have a full house, thanks to the pair on the board. You’re beaten, but you really don’t want to fold a full house. Who does that, right? You’re likely going to pay off a superior hand quite a bit. Take great care in leading out or attempting to check raise an opponent who you think is bluffing on that river scare card. The stronger your hand is, the more you’re willing to put in the pot, and the more painful it can be when you get “coolered” (beaten by a superior hand when you have very strong holdings).

If a poker hands cheat sheet isn’t enough to level up your game, you can also review Ignition Casino poker strategy articles if you want to continue your learning journey, and soon enough, you’ll be ready to hit the tables.