Texas Hold'em Poker Terms and Glossary
Our poker glossary listed below includes not only common poker terms, but also poker terms specifically related to online poker. The game of poker is evolving, and like any language, new words are being added to the poker lexicon all the time. Knowing what poker players are saying when they use poker lingo, poker jargon, and even poker slang will ensure that you have an equal chance at the table.
All-in If you bet all your chips at any point, you are considered as having gone 'All-in.' This can happen either when you don't have enough chips to make a required or elective bet, or when you bet all your chips as a strategic move in No Limit games. Having gone All-in gives you the potential to win a share of the pot up to and including your last contribution to that pot. You cannot share in any bets added above and beyond that point. These bets form a side-pot. The all-in is also used for situations where a player in a hand loses connection to the server. | 'Going all-in with your chips occasionally ends with your going all out of the game.' |
Fixed Limit Texas Holdem is a game where the betting is set within a certain monetary range. As an example, you may see games played where the betting is limited from the five dollar, to ten dollar range. This would indicate that the bets are limited to five dollars in the pre-flop and flop, and limited to ten dollars in the turn and river. Poker Hands List Summary Now you understand the value of poker Texas Holdem hands, you can play your game accordingly. But do take note of some of the simple stats we have included in this guide to poker winning hands, as this will also help you determine your poker hand strength.
Ante An ante is a mandatory bet paid equally by all players prior to a poker hand being dealt. Antes are always found in stud and razz poker games (where there are no blinds), and also quite frequently in the later stages of No Limit Hold'em tournaments to encourage more action. Antes are also available at select No Limit Hold'em cash tables. |
Avatar A term from computer gaming for an image or figure used to represent a person. Away-from-table In tournaments, you may not 'sit out'. Rather, you may be 'away-from-table' which means you are dealt into every hand, posting blinds when it's your turn, and then folded when there is a raise before the flop, or a bet after the flop. When you are in a tournament and need to leave, time-out, or lose your connection, you are automatically marked as 'away-from-table'. |
Back Bet A 'Back Bet' is a bet on something to happen (a prop bet) – a horse to win a race, a football team to win, or in poker's case, winning a hand with the hole cards 27 offsuit. It's just like a poker prop bet that you would regularly place in live games at casinos or with friends. |
Bad Beat This term refers to a heavy favorite in a hand who loses to an opponent who was a severe underdog statistically speaking. Bet the Pot This term is used in pot limit games. It means your bet matches the current amount in the pot. If, when your turn to bet, the pot was at $217, and you bet the pot, your bet is $217. |
Big Blind The big blind is the bigger of two forced bets, ensuring that there is money in the pot. The small blind is placed by the player to the left of the dealer and the big blind is then posted to the small blind's left. Generally, the big blind is equal to the minimum bet. In a $5/$10 limit game, for example, the big blind is $5. |
Blind This term refers to the required bets, called the small blind and the big blind used to put money into play. The blinds are mandatory bets and rotate around the table. Board The community cards in Hold'em are collectively known as the board. |
| 'Poker has a language all its own. You need to know the jargon if you want to play the game.' |
Burn In physical poker rooms, the top card of the deck is discarded prior to each round of dealing. The intent is to minimize the risk of cheating by knowing the next card. There is no possibility of this happening in our poker room, therefore we do not burn cards. Button A marker, usually disk-shaped, to indicate which player is the virtual dealer. The button is used in games where position relative to the dealer is important. |
Buy-in The amount of money required to sit down at a poker game. Tournament entry fees are considered the 'buy-in.' At a ring game, there is a minimum and a maximum buy-in, defining how much money you can bring to the table. | |
Call When a player matches the prior bet on the table, that action is termed the call. | |
Cap The last permitted raise in a betting round is called the cap. We allow three raises beyond the initial bet in limit games. The third raise is the cap. | |
Check If there is no bet on the table and you do not wish to place a bet, that action is termed a check. You may only check when there are no prior bets. | 'If you check, you're still in the hand. A check is not a bet, but also not a fold.' |
Client The term for the software that you download to your computer, allowing you to interact with the poker room's servers. | |
Collusion A form of cheating where two or more players attempt to gain an unfair advantage by sharing information. We do not tolerate cheating. | 'Cheaters and colluders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law' |
Community Cards Face up cards on the table that are shared by all players are termed community cards. Texas Hold'em and Omaha always have community cards. |
Dead Blind In a situation where you have missed your blinds and wish to re-enter the game before your turn to post the big blind. You must post both blinds and the small blind is termed a dead blind, meaning it does not count towards calling a bet. Dead Hand A hand no longer in the game. | |
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Drawing Dead This describes the situation when a player is trying to draw a card to complete a hand when there is already a hand that will beat it, even if made. | |
Drop To drop your hand when you decide not to go further with your hand; to return your cards to the muck. Same as fold. Face Down Dealt cards that are not visible to other players. Face Up Dealt cards that are visible to all players. | |
Fixed Limit Poker In a fixed limit poker game, the amount you can bet or raise is fixed for each round of betting. For example, if you're playing a $2-$4 fixed limit Texas Hold'em game, every player can only bet or raise $2 during the first two rounds of betting, and can only bet or raise $4 during the last two rounds rounds of betting. To understand this better, plese refer to our article: In Praise of Fixed Limit Poker. Flop In Texas Hold'em, the set of 3 face-up community cards or the first three cards on the board, all dealt at the same time. | |
Flush Any 5 cards in one hand that are all the same suit. | |
Fold Withdraw from further participation in the current hand. Also see drop. | |
Forced Bet A mandatory bet. In certain games, a player is required to bet, having sat-in the game. Four of a Kind A great hand .. all 4 of one rank. For example, 4 Tens. | |
Freeroll This term applies to poker tournaments where the entry fee, the stakes, or both the entry fee and stakes are waived. In some non-freeroll tournaments, the house may guarantee a minimum prize pool. | 'A freeroll is a tournament that every player can afford to play.' |
Full House A hand in which you have a combination of 3 of a kind, and a pair. |
Hand A set of cards used by a player during a single round. Another word for a single round of shuffling, dealing, and betting. Hand for Hand (h4h) The end stage of a multi-table tournament where play is coordinated across all tables to prevent players from slow-playing in order to gain an advantage and move up in the prize structure. The Hand for Hand mechanism is usually employed at the stage when the amount of the prize money is due to increase. Typically, players will need to wait at their table until the action on a hand is completed at another table before a new hand is dealt. When a player is eliminated from the tournament and the higher prize level is reached, Hand for Hand action stops, only to resume when the next prize level increase is reached. When playing Titan Poker tournaments, players see a notification indicating that they are in Hand for Hand mode. | |
Heads Up A game where only two players remain in contention for the pot. Head to Head A game where only two players may participate. | |
High Card The card with the highest rank. High/Low A variation of a game where the pot is split between the best hand and the worst hand. The worst hand is comprised of the 5 lowest cards. Most poker rooms, including this one, consider 5, 4, 3, 2, A (the wheel) as the lowest possible hand, despite it also being a straight. | |
Hold'em Also called Texas Hold'em. One of the most popular poker games. Each player gets 2 down cards and can use 3,4, or 5 of the community cards. | |
Hole Cards The down cards in a player's hand. Best texas holdem hands preflop. | |
In A term for being an active player; one who has not folded. | |
Inside Straight The term applied when a player has 4 of 5 cards needed for a straight with the missing card being inside the sequence rather than at either end, and gets the missing card. For example, a player holding 3, 4, 5, 7 needs a 6 to complete the straight. Getting that 6 is termed 'making the inside straight.' Jackpot A bonus opportunity to win under specific circumstances set by the poker room. | |
Kicker The term for the card used to break ties between two of a kind or between Two Pair. | |
Live Blind A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The 'live' means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them. | |
Main Pot The initial pot of money. When one or more players go all-in, a side pot is created for each all-in player. Muck As a noun, this refers to the pile of folded cards and discarded cards. As a verb, at showdown time, the act of returning a losing hand to the dealer facedown. Multi-Entry Tournaments Multi-Entry Tournaments (MET) allow players to register to play at multiple tables at a single tournament to increase their winning potential. Each of the entries to an MET has a separate chip stack and is played simultaneously. Players can either register multiple times simultaneously or only enter again if they get eliminated. | |
Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) A tournament where players at more than one table compete, starting with equal numbers of chips, until one player has won all the chips. Prize payouts are a function of the number of entrants, and are posted on the tournaments page. Multi-table tournaments have a posted start time, and require registration in advance. | |
nh Nice hand. | |
No Limit A variation of the betting rules in which each bet is unlimited up to the number of chips a player has on the table (NL). | 'No-limit Hold'em: Hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror' Tom McEvoy |
No Limit Hold'em The most popular variety of poker, featuring unlimited betting. Most poker tournaments, both online and live, are played in the No Limit Hold'em format. | |
Omaha A game in which each player receives 4 facedown cards and shares 5 community cards. The winning hand must use exactly 2 down cards and 3 community cards. Omaha High/Lo This game allows players to compete for a pot split between the highest and the lowest hands using 2 down cards and 3 community cards. A player may use different sets of cards to make up the best high and the best low hands. | |
On the button This term means you are in the dealer position in Texas Hold'em and Omaha games.A 'button' marks the dealer position with a 'D' in the center. | |
Pair This is a hand where the player's best hand is made up of 2 cards of the same rank. | |
Pass Can be used in place of either check or fold depending on the context. Play Chips The chips used for play money games. Play chips have no monetary value. Playing the Board Using all the community cards in Hold'em as your best hand. | |
Pocket Cards The term for the two down cards at the start of the hand. | |
Pot The chips available to be won in any given hand. | 'A multi-way pot is one where there are three or more players left in the hand vying for the pot.' |
Pot Limit A variation on betting where each player may bet up to the current amount in the pot (PL). | |
Profile A term describing the information a player may enter about himself/herself that may be available, at the player's option, to other players in the poker room. | |
Raise The act of increasing the amount bet by a prior bettor. Rake The amount of money, in chips, taken by the house as the service fee in a ring game when the pot reaches a minimal amount. | |
No flop, no drop = Rake is not charged if a hand has ended before the flop cards have been dealt. | |
Raked Hand A Raked Hand is any hand in ring game play in which a player participates by contributing to the pot, either by posting a blind or a bet, and rake is generated. Rank The value of a card. The rank of the 2 of Spades is 2. The rank of the Queen of Hearts is Queen. Rank value increases from 2 through 10, followed in order by Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. In High/Low games, the Ace may be used both for its high rank and as the lowest rank card. | |
Re-buy To get more chips during a game but not during a hand that you are in. This applies to real money and tournament play. | |
Reducing The act of removing chips from a table and returning immediately with fewer chips. Reducing is considered poor etiquette. Re-Entry Tournaments Re-Entry Tournaments (RET) allow players to re-register after they are eliminated, simply by buying back in. As a result, more players participate at the tournament tables and prize pools grow larger. | |
River The fifth and final community card. This card is also known as Fifth Street. | |
Round This refers to the dealing of a set of cards and associated betting. For example, the dealing of the river and the bets that follow are a round. | |
Royal Flush The best possible high hand. This is a straight flush from 10 through to Ace of the same suit. | |
Satellite A preliminary poker tournament awarding seat(s) to a larger, more important tournament. | |
Screen Name The identity you select by which you are known in the poker room. We only allow one player per screen name so please understand if the one you have selected is already taken. Server The computer, or set of computers, providing a service to client computers. In this case the service is the poker room. | |
Showdown After the final bet, when all players show their hands or muck, is known as the showdown. | |
Side Pot This is a pot created when a player goes all-in. The side pot is the pot available to those players not all-in at that point. There can, on occasion, be more than one side pot. | |
Sit 'N' Go A poker tournament which starts as soon as the required number of poker players sit down at the table. Sit 'n' go tournaments are usually single table tournaments, however, there are multi-table tournaments that are considered sit 'n' go tournaments and which start play as soon as all available seats are filled. | |
Single Table Tournament (STT) A poker tournament taking place at just one table. All players buy-in with an equal amount and the buy-in money goes to the prize pool. The prize pool is returned to the top finishers per the payout table on the tournaments page. A fee is normally required to play at this table. Players are staked to equal numbers of chips and play until one player has won all the chips. | |
Sit Out We permit you to hold your seat at a table while not participating in some hands. Under most conditions, we limit the time you may sit out. In blind games, you may be asked to post the equivalent of the blind if you return to your seat prior to the blind reaching you. To sit out you click a check box on the table screen. To return, you unclick the 'sit out' check box. | |
Small Blind In Hold'em and Omaha, this is the mandatory bet required of the player to the left of the dealer. Stakes In Limit games, Stakes are the fixed amount for bets and raises. Steel Wheel If a player holds a five high straight flush, (5-4-3-2-A), it is commonly called a 'steel wheel'. | |
Straight A hand in which the player has five cards in rank order. Suit does not matter. For example, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen. | |
Straight Flush If you want to play roulette free bonus no deposit, you must go for the registration bonus or welcome bonus. This bonus is the most generous type that you can find at online casinos. It is because you can only claim the bonus when you register. The main function of this is to entice more players to sign up. Firstly, one of the site's Daily Deals promotions offers a 30 percent Free play bonus worth up to $150 to every player that deposits with the 'TableTues' bonus code on Tuesday. Then, there's the interesting live roulette bonus that offers you the opportunity to win $8 whenever the ball lands on 8 while playing in the 888 Private Room. Online roulette free bonus no deposit. A straight all of the same suit. | |
Stud The generic term for poker games where players receive the first card(s) down followed by some up cards where those up cards are exclusively for the use of that player. There may be a further down card as in 7 Card Stud. | |
'Hold'em is to Stud, what chess is to checkers' - Johnny Moss | |
Suit Any of the four sets (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades) in a deck of cards. | |
Texas Hold'em The poker game where each player gets two down cards followed by five community cards face-up. | |
Three of a kind A hand consisting three cards of the same rank. Tournament Buy-In The cost to enter a tournament. All buy-in money is returned to the players via the prize pool. Tournament Entry-Fee A small fee the house charges to enter a tournament. Trips A nickname for three of a kind. Turbo A form of poker play with minimal time to make decisions. Turn The nickname for the fourth community card in Hold'em and Omaha. | |
Two Pair A hand in which the player has two pairs of cards. Under-raise This occurs when a player raises a prior bet but has to go all-in to do so with an amount less than the full raise. Up Card A card dealt face up, so that all players may see it. Wheel A nickname for the best low hand 5, 4, 3, 2, A. |
There are 10 different hands ranks in Texas Hold'em – from a Royal Flush to a Straight to a lousy High Card. Here's a comprehensive list of all Texas Hold'em poker hand rankings:
You can also print and download the Official Texas Hold'em hand ranking as a PDF file.
Chart: Poker Hand Ranking
Texas Holdem Lingo
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Download
Download the poker hand ranking charts image or PDF:
- Official Poker Hand Rankings Image
- Print: Poker Hand Rankings PDF
Official Poker Hand Rankings
- Royal flush: A straight from a ten to an ace with all five cards in the same suit.
- Straight Flush: Any straight with all five cards in the same suit.
- Four of a Kind or Poker or Quads: Any four cards of the same rank. If two players share the same four of a kind (on the board), the larger fifth card (the 'kicker') decides who wins the pot.
- Full House or Boat: Three cards of the same rank along with two cards of the same rank. In short: trips and a pair.
- Flush: All five cards of the same suit (not necessarily consecutive). The highest card determines the rank of the flush.
- Straight: Five consecutive cards (not necessarily the same suit). Aces can count as either high or low cards, but not as both at once. Meaning, a straight cannot go 'around the corner'.
- Trips: Three cards of the same value. If two players have the same trips the highest kicker decides who wins the pot.
- Two Pair: Any two cards of the same rank together with two other cards of the same rank.
- One Pair: Any two cards of the same rank.
- High Card: Any hand that is none of the above hands.
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Poker Hand Rankings Explained
- If two players have a Straight or Straight Flush, the higher Straight or Straight Flush wins.
- If two players have a quads, the player with the highest quad wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins.
- If two players have a flush, the player with the highest card in the flush wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, then the third highest, and so on. The suit of the flush does not matter.
- If two players have a full house, the player with the higher trips wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins.
- If two players have two pairs, the player with the bigger pair wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are also identical, the player with the highest kicker wins.
- If two players have a pair, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins, then the second highest, then the third highest.
- If two players have a high card, the highest card wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, etc.
How many Poker Hands are there?
There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations.
Hand A set of cards used by a player during a single round. Another word for a single round of shuffling, dealing, and betting. Hand for Hand (h4h) The end stage of a multi-table tournament where play is coordinated across all tables to prevent players from slow-playing in order to gain an advantage and move up in the prize structure. The Hand for Hand mechanism is usually employed at the stage when the amount of the prize money is due to increase. Typically, players will need to wait at their table until the action on a hand is completed at another table before a new hand is dealt. When a player is eliminated from the tournament and the higher prize level is reached, Hand for Hand action stops, only to resume when the next prize level increase is reached. When playing Titan Poker tournaments, players see a notification indicating that they are in Hand for Hand mode. | |
Heads Up A game where only two players remain in contention for the pot. Head to Head A game where only two players may participate. | |
High Card The card with the highest rank. High/Low A variation of a game where the pot is split between the best hand and the worst hand. The worst hand is comprised of the 5 lowest cards. Most poker rooms, including this one, consider 5, 4, 3, 2, A (the wheel) as the lowest possible hand, despite it also being a straight. | |
Hold'em Also called Texas Hold'em. One of the most popular poker games. Each player gets 2 down cards and can use 3,4, or 5 of the community cards. | |
Hole Cards The down cards in a player's hand. Best texas holdem hands preflop. | |
In A term for being an active player; one who has not folded. | |
Inside Straight The term applied when a player has 4 of 5 cards needed for a straight with the missing card being inside the sequence rather than at either end, and gets the missing card. For example, a player holding 3, 4, 5, 7 needs a 6 to complete the straight. Getting that 6 is termed 'making the inside straight.' Jackpot A bonus opportunity to win under specific circumstances set by the poker room. | |
Kicker The term for the card used to break ties between two of a kind or between Two Pair. | |
Live Blind A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The 'live' means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them. | |
Main Pot The initial pot of money. When one or more players go all-in, a side pot is created for each all-in player. Muck As a noun, this refers to the pile of folded cards and discarded cards. As a verb, at showdown time, the act of returning a losing hand to the dealer facedown. Multi-Entry Tournaments Multi-Entry Tournaments (MET) allow players to register to play at multiple tables at a single tournament to increase their winning potential. Each of the entries to an MET has a separate chip stack and is played simultaneously. Players can either register multiple times simultaneously or only enter again if they get eliminated. | |
Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) A tournament where players at more than one table compete, starting with equal numbers of chips, until one player has won all the chips. Prize payouts are a function of the number of entrants, and are posted on the tournaments page. Multi-table tournaments have a posted start time, and require registration in advance. | |
nh Nice hand. | |
No Limit A variation of the betting rules in which each bet is unlimited up to the number of chips a player has on the table (NL). | 'No-limit Hold'em: Hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror' Tom McEvoy |
No Limit Hold'em The most popular variety of poker, featuring unlimited betting. Most poker tournaments, both online and live, are played in the No Limit Hold'em format. | |
Omaha A game in which each player receives 4 facedown cards and shares 5 community cards. The winning hand must use exactly 2 down cards and 3 community cards. Omaha High/Lo This game allows players to compete for a pot split between the highest and the lowest hands using 2 down cards and 3 community cards. A player may use different sets of cards to make up the best high and the best low hands. | |
On the button This term means you are in the dealer position in Texas Hold'em and Omaha games.A 'button' marks the dealer position with a 'D' in the center. | |
Pair This is a hand where the player's best hand is made up of 2 cards of the same rank. | |
Pass Can be used in place of either check or fold depending on the context. Play Chips The chips used for play money games. Play chips have no monetary value. Playing the Board Using all the community cards in Hold'em as your best hand. | |
Pocket Cards The term for the two down cards at the start of the hand. | |
Pot The chips available to be won in any given hand. | 'A multi-way pot is one where there are three or more players left in the hand vying for the pot.' |
Pot Limit A variation on betting where each player may bet up to the current amount in the pot (PL). | |
Profile A term describing the information a player may enter about himself/herself that may be available, at the player's option, to other players in the poker room. | |
Raise The act of increasing the amount bet by a prior bettor. Rake The amount of money, in chips, taken by the house as the service fee in a ring game when the pot reaches a minimal amount. | |
No flop, no drop = Rake is not charged if a hand has ended before the flop cards have been dealt. | |
Raked Hand A Raked Hand is any hand in ring game play in which a player participates by contributing to the pot, either by posting a blind or a bet, and rake is generated. Rank The value of a card. The rank of the 2 of Spades is 2. The rank of the Queen of Hearts is Queen. Rank value increases from 2 through 10, followed in order by Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. In High/Low games, the Ace may be used both for its high rank and as the lowest rank card. | |
Re-buy To get more chips during a game but not during a hand that you are in. This applies to real money and tournament play. | |
Reducing The act of removing chips from a table and returning immediately with fewer chips. Reducing is considered poor etiquette. Re-Entry Tournaments Re-Entry Tournaments (RET) allow players to re-register after they are eliminated, simply by buying back in. As a result, more players participate at the tournament tables and prize pools grow larger. | |
River The fifth and final community card. This card is also known as Fifth Street. | |
Round This refers to the dealing of a set of cards and associated betting. For example, the dealing of the river and the bets that follow are a round. | |
Royal Flush The best possible high hand. This is a straight flush from 10 through to Ace of the same suit. | |
Satellite A preliminary poker tournament awarding seat(s) to a larger, more important tournament. | |
Screen Name The identity you select by which you are known in the poker room. We only allow one player per screen name so please understand if the one you have selected is already taken. Server The computer, or set of computers, providing a service to client computers. In this case the service is the poker room. | |
Showdown After the final bet, when all players show their hands or muck, is known as the showdown. | |
Side Pot This is a pot created when a player goes all-in. The side pot is the pot available to those players not all-in at that point. There can, on occasion, be more than one side pot. | |
Sit 'N' Go A poker tournament which starts as soon as the required number of poker players sit down at the table. Sit 'n' go tournaments are usually single table tournaments, however, there are multi-table tournaments that are considered sit 'n' go tournaments and which start play as soon as all available seats are filled. | |
Single Table Tournament (STT) A poker tournament taking place at just one table. All players buy-in with an equal amount and the buy-in money goes to the prize pool. The prize pool is returned to the top finishers per the payout table on the tournaments page. A fee is normally required to play at this table. Players are staked to equal numbers of chips and play until one player has won all the chips. | |
Sit Out We permit you to hold your seat at a table while not participating in some hands. Under most conditions, we limit the time you may sit out. In blind games, you may be asked to post the equivalent of the blind if you return to your seat prior to the blind reaching you. To sit out you click a check box on the table screen. To return, you unclick the 'sit out' check box. | |
Small Blind In Hold'em and Omaha, this is the mandatory bet required of the player to the left of the dealer. Stakes In Limit games, Stakes are the fixed amount for bets and raises. Steel Wheel If a player holds a five high straight flush, (5-4-3-2-A), it is commonly called a 'steel wheel'. | |
Straight A hand in which the player has five cards in rank order. Suit does not matter. For example, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen. | |
Straight Flush If you want to play roulette free bonus no deposit, you must go for the registration bonus or welcome bonus. This bonus is the most generous type that you can find at online casinos. It is because you can only claim the bonus when you register. The main function of this is to entice more players to sign up. Firstly, one of the site's Daily Deals promotions offers a 30 percent Free play bonus worth up to $150 to every player that deposits with the 'TableTues' bonus code on Tuesday. Then, there's the interesting live roulette bonus that offers you the opportunity to win $8 whenever the ball lands on 8 while playing in the 888 Private Room. Online roulette free bonus no deposit. A straight all of the same suit. | |
Stud The generic term for poker games where players receive the first card(s) down followed by some up cards where those up cards are exclusively for the use of that player. There may be a further down card as in 7 Card Stud. | |
'Hold'em is to Stud, what chess is to checkers' - Johnny Moss | |
Suit Any of the four sets (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades) in a deck of cards. | |
Texas Hold'em The poker game where each player gets two down cards followed by five community cards face-up. | |
Three of a kind A hand consisting three cards of the same rank. Tournament Buy-In The cost to enter a tournament. All buy-in money is returned to the players via the prize pool. Tournament Entry-Fee A small fee the house charges to enter a tournament. Trips A nickname for three of a kind. Turbo A form of poker play with minimal time to make decisions. Turn The nickname for the fourth community card in Hold'em and Omaha. | |
Two Pair A hand in which the player has two pairs of cards. Under-raise This occurs when a player raises a prior bet but has to go all-in to do so with an amount less than the full raise. Up Card A card dealt face up, so that all players may see it. Wheel A nickname for the best low hand 5, 4, 3, 2, A. |
There are 10 different hands ranks in Texas Hold'em – from a Royal Flush to a Straight to a lousy High Card. Here's a comprehensive list of all Texas Hold'em poker hand rankings:
You can also print and download the Official Texas Hold'em hand ranking as a PDF file.
Chart: Poker Hand Ranking
Texas Holdem Lingo
Download
Download the poker hand ranking charts image or PDF:
- Official Poker Hand Rankings Image
- Print: Poker Hand Rankings PDF
Official Poker Hand Rankings
- Royal flush: A straight from a ten to an ace with all five cards in the same suit.
- Straight Flush: Any straight with all five cards in the same suit.
- Four of a Kind or Poker or Quads: Any four cards of the same rank. If two players share the same four of a kind (on the board), the larger fifth card (the 'kicker') decides who wins the pot.
- Full House or Boat: Three cards of the same rank along with two cards of the same rank. In short: trips and a pair.
- Flush: All five cards of the same suit (not necessarily consecutive). The highest card determines the rank of the flush.
- Straight: Five consecutive cards (not necessarily the same suit). Aces can count as either high or low cards, but not as both at once. Meaning, a straight cannot go 'around the corner'.
- Trips: Three cards of the same value. If two players have the same trips the highest kicker decides who wins the pot.
- Two Pair: Any two cards of the same rank together with two other cards of the same rank.
- One Pair: Any two cards of the same rank.
- High Card: Any hand that is none of the above hands.
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Poker Hand Rankings Explained
- If two players have a Straight or Straight Flush, the higher Straight or Straight Flush wins.
- If two players have a quads, the player with the highest quad wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins.
- If two players have a flush, the player with the highest card in the flush wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, then the third highest, and so on. The suit of the flush does not matter.
- If two players have a full house, the player with the higher trips wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins.
- If two players have two pairs, the player with the bigger pair wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are also identical, the player with the highest kicker wins.
- If two players have a pair, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins, then the second highest, then the third highest.
- If two players have a high card, the highest card wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, etc.
How many Poker Hands are there?
There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations.
Poker Hand Odds for 5-Card-Poker
The poker hand ranking charts are based on the probability for each distinct hand rank. More unlikely combinations are ranked higher. Those are the probabilities and odds for all 5-card poker hands:
Poker Hand Odds for Texas Hold'em
If you're playing Texas Hold'em, you have 7 cards to chose your hand from. There are 133,784,560 to deal 7 random cards. This changes the odds and probabilities for all poker hands a bit. Those are the probabilities and odds for all Texas Hold'em Poker hands:
Technically it's more likely that you're dealt at least a pair in Texas Hold'em than holding only high card. But 'High Card' still remains the lowest rank.
FAQ: Poker Hand Rankings
Does 2 pairs beat a straight?
When playing Texas Hold'em (or any other popular poker variant) 2 pairs are always ranked below a straight.
Does 3 Aces beat a straight?
3 Aces are just trips (or three of a kind) in poker. When playing regular Texas Hold'em a straight is ranked above trips. There are however rule variations where trips can bet a straight, namely Short Deck Hold'em, a poker variant where all cards below 5 are removed.
Does 5 of a kind beat a royal flush?
In regular poker variants there are is no 5-of-kind rank. When playing with wildcards (joker) 5 of a kind are possible. In this case 5 of a kind are the highest possible poker hand and beat a royal flush.
Does a full house beat 3 aces?
Every full house always beats trips, no matter the rank of the trips. Even trip aces are always ranked below every possible full house.
Does Royal Straight beat flush?
A Royal Flush is the best possible poker hand and of course always beats any other flush.
Does straight beat a full house?
Every common poker variant, including Texas Hold'em, ranks a Full House above a straight. So no, a Straight never beats a Full House in Poker.
List Of Texas Holdem Terms Glossary
What beats a royal flush?
In all regular modern poker variations (including Texas Hold'em and Omaha) a Royal Flush is always the highest possible hand rank. A higher rank is only possible when playing with a Joker. In this case 5 of a kind (4 Aces plus Joker) beats a Royal Flush.
What can beat a flush in poker?
A Flush is a very strong hand in poker. The only hands that beat a Flush are Full House, Quads, Straight Flush, and Royal Flush.
How rare is a royal flush?
A Royal Flush is extremely rare. When playing Texas Hold'em you'll only get one every 31,000 hands. And that assumes you never fold. The hand is so rare that most poker players can remember all Royal Flushes they have been dealt in their life time.
What are the odds of hitting a straight flush?
Straight Flushes are almost as rare as Royal Flushes. When playing Texas Hold'em you will hit a Straight Flush roughly every 3,600 hands (assuming you never fold any hand that can make a Straight Flush).
Can you have 3 pairs in poker?
There is no '3 pair' hand rank in poker. When playing Texas Hold'em it's technically possible to have three pairs, but since a poker hand only consists of 5 cards only the 2 highest pairs are in play. For example, if you hold Q-J and the board reads Q-J-6-A-A you only have two pair: Aces and Queens.
Does Royal Flush have to be spades?
A Royal Flush can be any of the 4 suits, spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs. It's just that usually a Royal Flush is depicted in spades or hearts. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter which suit, a Royal Flush is always the best Texas Hold'em Poker Hand.
How many kickers can you have in poker?
A poker hand can consist of up to 5 kickers. A player with no pair only has kickers. A player with one pair has 3 kickers, a player with trips has 2 kickers, and a player with 2 pair or quads has 1 kicker.
Is Ace a 1 in poker?
When building a straight an Ace can be used as a virtual '1' in poker. Meaning, A-2-3-4-5 is a straight. There are also lowball poker variations where the Ace counts as the lowest card.
Is an Ace 2 3 4 5 a straight?
Yes, the ace can count as the lowest card in a straight and function as a '1' when combined with 2-3-4-5.
Is JQKA 2 a straight?
A straight cannot go 'around the corner', the Ace can only be either the highest or the lowest card, not a card in the middle. So no, J-Q-K-A-2 is no straight in poker.
Is Queen King Ace 2 3 a straight?
A straight cannot go 'around the corner', the Ace can only be either the highest or the lowest card, not a card in the middle. So no, Q-K-A-2-3 is no straight in poker.
Texas Holdem Vocabulary
Is there a kicker on a straight?
For a straight you need to use all 5 cards. There are no cards left for a kicker. The rank of the straight is determined by the highest card. E.g. an ace-high straight beats a queen-high straight.
What is a flush in poker?
A flush in poker is hand which consists of 5 cards of the same suit. The same color (red or black) is not enough. It has to 5 spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
What is the highest royal flush in poker?
There are no distinctions between the 4 possible Royal Flushes in poker. A Royal Flush in spades is as good as a Royal Flush in hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
What is the highest suit in Texas Hold'em poker?
Only in very rare occasions (for example when dealing for the button) the suits are ranked in poker. In this case the ranking is: 1. spades, 2. hearts, 3. diamonds, 4. clubs. Suits are otherwise generally not ranked in poker. A Flush in spades is as good as a flush in any other suit, only the ranks of the cards matter.
What is the lowest pair in a game of poker?
In poker the lowest possible pair is a pair of Deuces (twos).
List Of Texas Holdem Terms Cheat
How do you win bad beat jackpots in poker?
To win a bad beat jackpot in poker you need to lose with a very strong hand, usually a strong Full House (Aces Full). It's also necessary that both, the winning hand losing player, user both of their hole cards. E.g. losing with quads on the board does not count.
What are the odds of hitting a bad beat jackpot in poker?
The odds of hitting a bad beat jackpot in poker depend on the rules for the jackpot. If you have to lose with Aces Full or better your odds of hitting the bad beat jackpot are 1:58,948. If you have to lose with quads or better your odds are 1:624,609 (assuming a 10 player table where nobody ever folds).
What is a bad beat in poker?
If you lose with a very strong hand against an even stronger hand this is called a 'bad beat'. It is also a bad beat if you lose an all-in while being far ahead and you opponent wins by catching some miracle cards.
Texas Holdem Terms Slang
How many 5 stud poker hands are there?
5 Card Stud is one of the oldest poker variants where each player is dealt 5 cards. There are exactly 2,598,960 different 5 stud poker hands possible.
How many poker hands are there?
There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations. If you're playing Texas Hold'em, you have 7 cards to chose your hand from. There are 133,784,560 to deal 7 random cards.
What happens if two hands tie in poker?
Texas Hold Em Poker Terms
It's possible (and not too uncommon) for two players to have the same hand in poker. In this case the pot is split and both players receive half the pot.
What happens if two people have a royal flush?
When playing Texas Hold'em it's almost impossible for two players to have a Royal Flush. For that to happen the 5 community cards need to form a Royal Flush. In that case all players in the hand win and split the pot.
What happens if two poker hands are the same?
If two players have the same hand, the pot is split and both players win half of it. This can happen for example if both players have the same cards (e.g. Ace-King) and nobody makes a Flush.
How do you hit a royal flush on video poker?
Texas Holdem Poker Free
In Video Poker you can win the jackpot when you hit a Royal Flush. To maximize your chances you should always keep all suited cards 10 or above (if you have at least 2) and discard the rest. You will see a Royal Flush roughly once every 40,000 spins.
What are the odds of hitting a royal flush on a video poker machine?
The odds of hitting a royal flush directly are only 1 in 649,739. But since you can draw one time your odds increase. If you play perfectly your odds of hitting a royal flush are roughly 1 in 40,000.
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