Understanding poker hands or strategy & tips

Poker the aim of the game is to create the best possible five-card hand using your dealt cards and the community cards. You can combine cards in different ways using one or both of the cards in your hand. Most Poker have different rules on the best possible hands, we’ll be covering only some of the main hands seen in Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.

This is a ranking of the best to lowest ranked hands:

1. Royal Flush – The best and rarest hand in the game. A Royal Flush is a hand containing A, K, Q, J, and 10 all in the same suit. So far example if you have a King of diamonds and a Queen of diamonds and there’s an Ace of diamonds, Jack of Diamonds, and 10 diamonds in the community cards, you can make a Royal flush.
2. Straight Flush – This is five cards in a sequence, all of the same suits. So for example, if you have four spades and a three of spades, you can make a Straight Flush if there are the two, five, and six spades in the community pile.
3. Four of a Kind – A Four of a Kind is a hand of four of the same card. For example, four Aces or four Kings.
4. Full House – A Full House is Three of a Kind with a Pair. So, for example, you could have three sixes and two fours.
5. Flush – A Flush is any five cards from the same suit but not in order. An example is any five cards from the spade suit. You could have two spades in your hand and another three in the community cards or one in your hand and four in the community cards.
6. Straight – A Straight is five cards in a row, but not in the same suit. So you could have six, seven, eight nine, and ten but from random suits.
7. Three of a Kind – Three of a kind is one step down from four of a kind. It’s three cards of the same type. So, for example, three Kings.
8. Two Pair – A Two Pair is two different pairs. So, for example, two Queens and two fives.
9. Pair – A Pair is a simple two of the same card. An example is a pair of Aces, two Ace cards.
10. High Card – High card is when you haven’t made any of the above hands. Your highest value card will then be in play. So if your highest card is a King and your opponent has a high card of an eight, you’ll win.

If both you and an opponent have the same ranked hand, if you both have a pair, then the winner is whoever’s pair is the highest. If you have a pair of tens, you’ll beat an opponent who has a pair of nines.

Make sure you check which poker you’re playing as not all of these hands can be used in every Poker game. Some other games may have other hands, and certain hands might be ranked higher or lower.

Online poker strategy

In Poker it’s not only about purely luck, there’s a lot you can do to turn the odds in your favor. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite tips that can hopefully help you to improve how you play and win the table more often.

• Start out slow – When you first start playing, you’ll be a complete beginner. That can make you easy pickings for other players if you’re not careful. It’s a good idea to play as much free Poker to practice before you start playing the real thing. You can also start off with low stake games where the maximum amount you can lose will be much lower. Remember not to get carried away with your bets, even if you think you have a great hand. Go slow and steady, and you’ll learn much more. As you start to get better, you can increase your bets and eventually move into bigger stake games and multi-tabling.
• Understand the game type – Lots of players get carried away when they first start and think that the rules they know apply to all Poker games. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way, and you’re in for a rude awakening if you rush in without reading the rules. Be sure you know which hands are the best before starting any game, remember that most players will be more experienced than you, so you don’t want to give them an even bigger advantage by not knowing the rules!
• Make the most of the bonuses – All most online casinos and poker sites will offer bonuses to new players. Make the most of these, and they’ll allow you to play plenty of hands with minimal risk. Find all the best online poker bonuses on our online casino bonus page.
• Create a distraction-free zone – Before you play, it’s important to rid yourself of any distractions. Playing requires a lot of concentration, and you’ll need to be alert to win. The difference between good players and great players is often how seriously they take the game.
• Manage your bankroll – Your bankroll is how much you have available to bet with. Make sure you set an amount to play with each day and don’t go over it. If your bankroll is getting smaller, play at lower stake games. If your bankroll is getting bigger, you can risk more by playing high-stakes games. Keep an eye on your bankroll and stop playing if you feel you’re spending too much.
• Limit your losses and wins – Before playing, it’s important to set limits on how much you’re happy to lose. You should also set a maximum amount you can win before you stop playing for the day. It’s always a good idea to set limits when gambling. Especially when losing heavily, there’s a tendency for players to chase losses which usually just leads to more losses. When playing Poker, it’s important to remain calm so you should avoid playing when you’re overconfident from wins or angry from losses.

Online poker tips

Before you start playing poker online, it’s important to make sure you understand the basic gist of the game. The last thing you want is to be playing against players with much more knowledge about the game than you. Players can always be more experienced, but you should never go into a game knowing less than your opponents if you can help it.

We’ll cover some information on which are the best hands and some general tips. You can find more detailed tips on our Poker page.

Most of these tips will be applicable to Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, the most popular game type. If you want to know more about different types of Poker, we show you some of the main types later on in this guide.