Fundamentals of Poker Hand Rankings

Poker online is won by the player who makes the best five-card hand. How are various hands ranked and why?

Online poker hands are ranked based on the probability of the hand occurring:

1. Straight flush - this is the best hand possible and contains five cards in sequential order, i.e. 6-7-8-9-10 and all of the same suit. There are 40 possible straight flushes, and the probability of a straight flush materializing is only 0.0015 percent, making it rare.

2. Four of a kind - when a player gets four of the same cards, i.e. 2-2-2-2. There are 624 opportunities to make “quads” with a 0.024 probability of occurrence.

3. Full house - when a player shows three of a kind plus a pair, i.e. 5-5-5-7-7. With 3,744 possible combinations, a full house has a probability of appearing 0.14 percent.

4. Flush - any five cards of the same suit. There are 5,148 possibilities for making flush, so the probability of hitting one is approximately 0.20 percent.

5. Straight - five cards in sequential order, i.e. 3-4-5-6-7. A straight completed to a higher card defeats a straight with lower cards. Straights can be made from 10,240 combinations and have approximately 0.39 percent probability.

6. Three of a kind - three cards all the same number, i.e. 8-8-8. There are 54,912 possibilities for trips, which have a probability rate of about 2.11 percent.

7. Two pairs - a hand that contains two sets of matching cards, i.e. 4-4 + 6-6. There are 123,552 opportunities to make this hand which has a probability of approximately 4.75 percent.

8. One pair - any two matching cards. With 1,098.240 possibilities, a pair materializes at a rate of 42.25 percent of the time.

If none of these hands are made, then whoever holds the highest ranked card, from Ace down, is the winner. Keep this in mind when you play poker online.

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