Poker strategy is fundamental towards great gameplay, and a successful one at that. Having the knowledge of knowing what strong starting hands in poker to play against competition, puts you instantly one step ahead of your opponents. Especially when they are fellow beginners like you.
A beginner can easily feel intimidated by the idea of having to make a huge decision of whether to call or to fold. So, by recognising and understanding the basics surrounding the positions and the rankings of the cards you hold, you instantly have a strategy for the framework in which you play with. From a Royal Flush to a High Card, not knowing the difference and its value can be costly. Make sure to be in the know and avoid losing money that could have been saved in the first place.
Introduction to poker hands
Poker hands can fall into any of the ten categories that we will list below. The highest is of course the Royal Flush which you have probably heard of before, followed by a straight flush, a four of a kind, a full house, a flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and finally a high card. The high card is the lowest value of poker hands that you can possibly have.
What are poker suits?
Poker suits are actually decks of cards divided within four common suits. Every suit will have each of the same value, yet depending on the game you are playing this can vary the value and provide you with playing exceptions. Usually however, it is the spades which will rank higher than clubs, these are often the suits which will rank the lowest when it comes to going into a showdown with your poker opponents. So, do keep that in mind.
Also, another thing to be mindful of, is that certain decks across different countries will provide different value to poker tournaments. Germany is a great example to use, as they do not use diamond suits, but rather have that replaced with bells as an alternative choice. When you play poker, you will need to adapt to slight variations and changes, and become more acquainted with the rules of course. The most common suites that are usually considered the ‘normal’ within poker tournaments are as follows:
- Spades, which are a black suit and resemble medieval weapon imagery.
- Hearts are a red suit and have the heart imagery which clearly identifies them.
- Diamonds are another red suit that resemble a geometric shape for their symbol.
- Clubs are yet another black suit that looks similar to a three-leaf clover symbol.
Ties and kickers
It is actually a possibility that the best hand when you are playing on a poker table, to be within the hands of more than one player. To break the tie, a kicker is used to settle it once and for all.
The best way to provide an example of this, would be by giving an example where two players in a poker game, each hold a pair of 9 cards within their hand. This provides the edge and status of the best hands within the entire poker round. However, if one player possesses two 9 cards, with an Ace kicker for example, and the other player holds a pair of 9 cards with a J kicker, that would mean the first player would come out as the victor. The kicker card would need to come into the game with a higher value, to allow the player to walk away victorious. Yet there are rare cases where both players do actually have the exact same high cards in complete order. This would mean that the pot needs to be split, to move forward with the game round. This is however, a very rare case indeed, and is not witnessed much amongst players.
Some of the best poker tournaments in the world that are played within Monte Carlo, the Bellagio etc. often come across exact same hands within players. It just is a very rare occurrence, with very low odds overall for happening.
Frequently asked questions
What beats a straight hand in poker?
You would need to refer to the rankings we have listed in the introduction. Essentially, anything before a straight in that list would be considered a showdown win. Meaning you can win with a flush, a four of a kind, a straight flush and of course a royal flush, which is the best hand you can ever possibly have!
How many poker hands are there?
In total, there are 10 possible poker hands within poker. The most valuable hand is the royal flush. Yet despite it being so glamorised within movies, the odds of getting this hand are extremely low. It holds the odds of roughly 1 in every 2.5 million hands, making it a very slim catch indeed.
What is the highest poker suite?
The highest suit in ranking order is, spades, hearts, diamonds and finally clubs. Games such as Texas Hold’em see that there are actually no rankings at all, yet in other games such as the Bridge, there are. Each poker variant will come with its own little tweaks and changes that you will need to evolve into playing efficiently.
What happens if two poker hands of the same kind are played?
This occurrence is very rare indeed, and becomes increasingly a rare find the higher up the poker hands ranking that you climb. However, should it happen, the kicker card is used to dictate a winner and break a tie. This will always be found by who possesses the higher-ranking kicker card, so ideally an ace card would be the best way to go about it. Of course, it is not as easy as wishing for a kicker card to magically appear in your hand, is it? The odds will need to magically favour you to break the tie you find yourself in. Should the tie be unbreakable by a kicker card, then the pot must be split equally between the two opposing players.
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