Texas Holdem Best 5 Cards
Hand Rank > FAQ : Quiz
Learning the rank of hands in Texas Hold'em is just as important as learning the rules themselves. Be sure to know what beats what, so you won't be surprised the next time that flush beats your straight. Check out the hand rank FAQ to help answer questions you might have about the ranking of hands in Texas Hold'em.
The hands are in order from top to bottom, decreasing in value as you move down.
Traditionally full 52 card deck is used in Texas Holdem. Players need to get the best combination of 5 cards from 7 available (2 hole cards and 5 showed on the table). Royal Flush: This is the best available combination. If you get 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace (10, J, Q, K, A) all the same suit - you can be sure that you are unbeatable. Once all players have placed their final bids, the dealer will deal the flop. The dealer will flip over the first 3 cards, known as the “flop”, from the community deck. The goal is to make the best 5 card had you can with the three cards from the community deck and the two in your hand.
Rank of hands.
#1 Royal flush.
Texas Holdem Best 5 Cards Poker
An ace-high straight flush. It's just a straight flush really, but it's made with the 5 highest value cards.
A royal flush is the absolute best possible hand in the game of Texas Hold'em. You will rarely (if ever) see this hand.
#2 Straight flush.
5 cards of the same suit in sequential order. This is essentially the best hand in the game, only coming second to it's bigger brother; the royal flush.
#3 Four of a kind.
Four cards of the same value. Virtually a guaranteed winner.
Unfortunately you rarely really win as much money with it as you would like, as it's unlikely that other players in the pot will make a hand that they're happy to call lots of bets and raises with. Still, better than nothing!
#4 Full house.
Three of one and two of another. Or you could think of it as 3-of-a-kind + 2-pair. Also known as a 'boat'.
This is the most common out of the 'big hands' you will see in Texas Hold'em. You can win a nice chunk of money if another player ends up making a weaker hand like a flush or a straight.
If you think your opponent has a weaker full house than you, take advantage of Zeebo's theorem.
#5 Flush
Five cards of the same suit.
As long as there are no pairs on the board (e.g. 448JK or 27TAA), this will be the strongest type of hand anyone can make.
Beginner players love to chase flushes, and it usually results in losing money. Make sure you learn about pot odds before you chase your next flush.
Tip: If you're playing online, use the four colour deck feature. This turns the club cards green () and the diamonds blue (). So less chance of mistaking 4 diamonds and 1 heart as a flush.
#6 Straight.
Five cards in sequence.
This hand is beaten by a flush, so don't make the rookie mistake of over-valuing the straight when there are a number of cards of the same suit on the board. It is actually harder to make a flush than a straight.
#7 Three of a kind.
3 cards of the same value.
A 'set' is when you have 3 of a kind whilst holding a pocket pair. A set tends to be one of the most profitable hands in Texas Hold'em. It's handy to know the difference between sets and trips.
#8 Two pair.
Two pairs of course.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that this hand is stronger than 3 of a kind. It's actually easier to pick up two-pair than it is to get 3 of a kind.
#9 Pair.
Two cards of the same value. Almost like 'two of a kind' really.
A very common hand that can actually win a fair number of pots for you. Just be careful not to go overboard with this hand. The higher the pair the better.
#10 High card.
Just the highest value card.
If two players have the same value high card, you look at the next highest card (and so on) to find the winner.
This is not really much of a hand, but occasionally the winner of the hand will be decided on who holds the card of highest value. Don't expect to win any big pots with this one. It's usually there to determine the winner as a last resort.
Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em articles.
Limit Texas holdem plays just like the no limit version that we described earlier, with notable exceptions occurring in the betting structure.
Texas Holdem Card Chart
Limit a.k.a. fixed limit poker has a two tiered betting structure, where the higher limit is exactly double the lower limit i.e. $2 / $4.
The lower limit serves as the betting increment for the first two rounds, while the upper limit is used for the final two betting rounds.
Each hand starts with the first two seats putting in the small and big blinds. The big blind is equal to the lower betting limit i.e. $2, while the small blind is equal to half of this amounti.e. $1.
The first player to the left of the big blind acts first, deciding whether to fold, call the big blind, or make a raise that must be exactly double the big blind no more, no less.
In $2 / $4 limit holdem, you can either fold, call $2, or raise to $4 in the first two rounds pre flop, flop.
If you raise, subsequent players can choose to call $4, or raise to $6. If a player raises to $6, players acting after them can raise to $8.
When reaching the turn and river, all betting increments would switch to $4 in this case.
Here’s an example: the player before you calls the $4 big blind. You can now either fold, call $4, or raise to $8.