You may have asked yourself many times…in poker, what beats what? When it comes to this kind of game, you have a variety of choices, from classic table poker to the video poker online casino version, as well as variations such as Caribbean Stud or Texas Hold ‘Em.
In this article we at CasinoFreak.com will show and explain the best hands in poker to you. These come in 10 forms and under 10 names, and they all abide by a specific ranking which we will discuss below in greater detail. So, if you want to learn more, then just keep reading.
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Poker Hands Ranking
The following table contains the poker hands combinations you can get, and we will get into explaining how they relate to one another as well.
| Rank | Name | About | Photo | Probability | Combinations |
| 1 | Royal Flush |
10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace; (in the same suit)
| ![Royal Flush]() |
1 in 649,737
| 4 |
| 2 | Straight Flush |
Five cards in a row; (in the same suit)
| ![Straight Flush]() |
1 in 72,193
| 36 |
| 3 | Four of a Kind |
The same card; (in four suits)
| ![FourOfAKind]() |
1 in 4,164
| 624 |
| 4 | Full House |
A pais plus three of a kind; (in the same hand)
| ![FullHouse]() |
1 in 693
|
3,744
|
| 5 | Flush |
Five cards; (in one suit, but not in numerical order)
| ![Flush]() |
1 in 508
|
5,108
|
| 6 | Straight |
Five cards; (in numerical order, not in the same suit)
| ![Straight]() |
1 in 253
|
10,200
|
| 7 | Three of a Kind |
Three of one card and two non-paired cards;
| ![ThreeOfAKind]() |
1 in 46
|
54,912
|
| 8 | Two Pair |
Two different pairings; (in the same hand)
| ![TwoPair]() |
1 in 20
|
123,552
|
| 9 | One Pair |
Any two numerically matching cards;
| ![OnePair]() |
1 in 1.36
|
1,098,240
|
| 10 | High Card |
The highest ranking card in your hand; (Ace is the highest and two is the lowest)
| ![HighCard]() |
1 in 0.99
|
1,302,540
|
What Beats What with Poker?
Poker is considered to be a strategy game first and a luck-based one second. This means that poker enthusiasts need to know a few essentials before netting their money and taking chance for granted.
The first step consists in familiarizing yourself with the combinations above. These are usually mastered by many players out there, as the majority of poker games have relied on the same strategy that is used since the 19th century. Therefore, these pairs are available through almost every single poker game out there. If not, it is always specified.
To be more specific regarding what beats what, we have created the list below:
| What | Beats | What |
| Pair | -> | High Card |
| Two Pair | -> | One Pair |
| Three of a Kind | -> | Two Pair |
| Straight | -> | Three of a Kind |
| Flush | -> | Straight |
| Four of a Kind | -> | Full House |
| Straight Flush | -> | Four of a Kind |
| Royal Flush | -> | Straight Flush |
Probability in Poker Hands
Poker hands rely on probability, which means that you are able to calculate your potential luck in getting a Royal Flush for example. If you calculate the number of ways by knowing that there are 52 cards with 2,598,960 combinations, you need to divide the number of possibilities of getting a poker hand by the total number of poker hands.
The probability mathematical formula can be easily done. As an example, let’s take a Flush: with 5,108 ways to win, the probability is 0.001,965,4.
As long as you divide everything right, you will get the accurate probability. Keep in mind that you can look at each hand’s probability in the table in the previous section, so that you won’t have to apply these math rules every time you play.
Poker Hands: Absolute and Relative
Even if poker hands rank the same, during some games or some situations some hands can be more important than others. This means that the absolute value, the one from the poker hand lists, may differ from the relative value, which is the value of a hand in a certain moment or game. As an example, a Two Pair may be very lucrative for Texas Hold ‘Em games. However, if your opponent has a Flush or Straight, the Two Pair is not so useful.
This means that even if a hand is good in an absolute way, it may not represent its true nature when it comes to relativity, to the variations in each particular poker game’s rules, and so on.
An important rule is that in deuce-to-seven, razz, or other online poker casino games the poker hands ranking doesn’t always matter. This is due to the fact that the poker hands listed in the table above were designed for the more classic variations of poker.
