Winning Poker Hand Hierarchy

royal-flush

I can never remember what the best hands are when I play Poker, so here is the list I refer to, along with the explanations of each hand.

Royal Flush
The highest straight flush, five cards in sequence with all five cards of the same suit and a straight from 10, J, Q, K, A

Straight Flush
Any straight with all five cards of the same suit

Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank

Full House
Any three cards of one rank plus any two cards of another rank

Flush
Five cards of the same suit

Straight
Five consecutive ranking cards

Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank

Two Pair
Two cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank

One Pair
Two cards of the same rank

High Card
Highest ranking cards with no pair

I have a small laminated copy I keep with my cards and chips that I take with me to Poker Nights.

The poker scam

Poker seems to be taking over the western world, not only here in the states, but in England and the rest of Europe as well. The game of poker getting the most attention is Texas Hold’em. In this YouTube clip, two magicians play against two poker pros and show just how easily you can smuggle a deck of cards in and deal them out how you wish. This does take a lot of finesse and a big brass set of…

YouTube Preview Image

I strongly advice against trying to cheat at cards in any way shape or form, you never know who you are playing with or what kind of trouble you may find yourself in.

Online poker is the next killer app

Poker is sweeping the world as well as the internet, even though most of it has been deemed illegal in the US, even if the hosting website is out of the country.  So it is no surprise that the software which powers the internet poker boom is slowly becoming the next killer app. In the UK, poker software has taken the number one slot for most addictive application, with users spending more then 10 hours per month playing.

Amazing to think that common software like Word or AIM used to be killer apps, now something that can not only make you spend countless hours in front of the computer will rule your world, it can lead you to make choices you may have never made before.  As a poker player, both in the real world and online here and there, the thought of people having instant access to gamble their life away with a direct connection to their credit card can be bad, especially if you are bored, lonely or in a bad mood.

What happened to the good ol’ days of Pong?