The General Principles of Poker Hand Rankings
For the beginning poker player, knowledge of the different facets of the game is valuable. If you are planning to devote some time to playing poker, then you must be able to learn the particular principles of this game. For example, one must not only know the different poker hand rankings, one must also know what principles hand-formation follows.
It is fairly easy to memorize the different poker hand rankings, but understanding how they operate requires a more focused attention. Knowing the general principles of hand rankings are valuable, especially since they are often applied at showdowns.
Here are the general principles of poker hand rankings.
1. Individual cards also follow a certain hierarchy. This is as follows, from lowest to highest: A - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - J - Q - K - A. It is important to remember that an Ace always assumes the high value. The low value of ace is only considered when part of the combination A - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5.
2. Suits are only used to create hand combinations, specifically the flush, straight flush, and royal flush hand rankings. They have no attached value in poker. If two players arrive at showdown with straight flushes of the same individual card ranks but of different suits, house rules often indicate a split pot.
3. Five cards always makes up a hand. In poker variants that deal cards in excess of five, players often need to make the best five-card hand at the end of each round. The other cards are then not counted in assessing the strength of a player's hand.
In Texas Hold'em, for example, the two face-down cards dealt to the player must be used in combination with only three of the five face-up community cards at the center of the table.
4. Hands are assessed by hand ranking first, before individual card ranks. Therefore, a two-pair will always defeat a pair, even if the pair consists of two aces. Individual card ranks are only considered when players have the same hand rankings. For example, if two players both have pairs, then the player who has the higher-ranking card wins.
Poker variants may differ in how the cards are dealt and how the betting proceeds, but these principles stay the same. Knowing the general principles in building poker hand rankings, you will easily breeze through learning the other aspects of the game.