Learn how to play poker

Interpreting Poker Hands

Playing Poker needs the skill to interpret what kind of a Poker hand the Poker player has. Sometimes, Poker players fail to recognize they have good hand because they lack the skill to interpret the hand value.

Read on the following to learn the Poker hands used in most, if not all Poker games in casinos and other settings. Learning these Poker hands by heart will promise the Poker player a better chance at improving his Poker game.

The highest hand in the game of Poker is the Royal flush. The Royal Flush has the five highest cards in any of the four suits namely hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades. For example, a straight flush is attained by having the Ace, King, Queen, jack and Ten of Diamonds.

The straight flush is the second best hand in Poker. A straight flush consists of the same suit in chronological order. There are at most 36 possible straight flush combinations. The highest of these in Poker is the King, Queen, Jack, Ten and Nine of either diamonds, clubs, hearts or spades.

The four of a kind in Poker proposes possessing all cards of the same value and suits and an odd card. For instance, having the ten of clubs, hearts, diamonds and spades plus a one of spades.

The full house in Poker is composed of three cards of one value combined with two of another. The highest full house is having three Aces and two Kings. The lowest in Poker is having three 2's and two 3's.

The flush is having same-suit cards but not in any sequence.

The straight or run in Poker is a series of five cards in a mixture of suits. The ace can count high or low. So having the Ace, King, Queen, jack and Ten of different suits is called a top rank Ace-high straight.

Three of a kind in Poker is simply three cards of the same rank plus two odd cards.

Two pair is a common hand in Poker comprising two cards of one value, two cards of another value and an odd card termed as the "kicker"

One pair is simply two cards of the same value plus any other three odd cards. The value of the pair determines the strength of the hand in Poker.

The High card is a hand containing five assorted cards without even a pair. Competing hands in Poker are ranked according to their highest card.

It is also worth remembering that if the kind of Poker being played includes wild cards, then an additional hand of "five of a kind" can come to play.

Five of a kind is usually ranked below a royal flush and above the straight flush in Poker. Similarly, be clear on whether a royal flush incorporating wild cards is equal or inferior to a natural royal flush. Ask the house rules first on this before playing your Poker to avoid future disputes.