Best Poker Cards
Below is the complete guide for determining how to rank various poker hands. This article covers all poker hands, from hands in standard games of poker, to lowball, to playing with a variety of wild cards. Scroll to the end to find an in-depth ranking of suits for several countries, including many European countries and North American continental standards.
Standard Poker Rankings
A standard deck of cards has 52 in a pack. Individually cards rank, high to low:
An ace-high straight flush, commonly known as a royal flush, is the best possible hand in many variants of poker. In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the. An ace-high straight flush, commonly known as a royal flush, is the best possible hand in many variants of poker. In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game. Copag Cards 100% Plastic come in 2 Deck Sets - Copag Casino Quality Playing Cards last 100x longer than normal paper cards - Water Resistant - Durable - Maximize Hands Per Hour - Free Shipping on All Copag Plastic Cards. Buy Dozen Save Money. We have great bulk rates for Copag Plastic Cards. Check out our prices. Save and compare on Copag Cards!
Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
In standard poker (in North America) there is no suit ranking. A poker hand has 5 cards total. Higher ranked hands beat lower ones, and within the same kind of hand higher value cards beat lower value cards.
#1 Straight Flush
In games without wild cards, this is the highest ranking hand. It consists of five cards in sequence of the same suit. When comparing flushes, the hand with the highest value high card wins. Example: 5-6-7-8-9, all spades, is a straight flush. A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest ranking straight flush and is called a Royal Flush. Flushes are not permitted to turn the corner, for example, 3-2-A-K-Q is not a straight flush.
#2 Four of a Kind (Quads)
A four of a kind is four cards of equal rank, for example, four jacks. The kicker, the fifth card, may be any other card. When comparing two four of a kinds, the highest value set wins. For example, 5-5-5-5-J is beat by 10-10-10-10-2. If two players happen to have a four of a kind of equal value, the player with the highest ranking kicker wins.
#3 Full House (Boat)
A full house consists of 3 cards of one rank and 2 cards of another. The three cards value determines rank within Full Houses, the player with the highest rank 3 cards wins. If the three cards are equal rank the pairs decide. Example: Q-Q-Q-3-3 beats 10-10-10-A-A BUT 10-10-10-A-A would beat 10-10-10-J-J.
#4 Flush
Best Poker Cards In The World
Any five cards of the same suit. The highest card in a flush determines its rank between other flushes. If those are equal, continue comparing the next highest cards until a winner can be determined.
#5 Straight
Five cards in sequence from different suits. The hand with the highest ranking top card wins within straights. Ace can either be a high card or low card, but not both. The wheel, or the lowest straight, is 5-4-3-2-A, where the top card is five.
#6 Three of a Kind (Triplets/Trips)
A three of a kind is three card of equal rank and two other cards (not of equal rank). The three of a kind with the highest rank wins, in the event they are equal, the high card of the two remaining cards determines the winner.
#7 Two Pairs
A pair is two cards that are equal in rank. A hand with two pairs consists of two separate pairs of different ranks. For example, K-K-3-3-6, where 6 is the odd card. The hand with the highest pair wins if there are multiple two pairs regardless of the other cards in hand. To demonstrate, K-K-5-5-2 beats Q-Q-10-10-9 because K > Q, despite 10 > 5.
#8 Pair
A hand with a single pair has two cards of equal rank and three other cards of any rank (as long as none are the same.) When comparing pairs, the one with highest value cards wins. If they are equal, compare the highest value oddball cards, if those are equal continue comparing until a win can be determined. An example hand would be: 10-10-6-3-2
#9 High Card (Nothing/No Pair)
If your hand does not conform to any of the criterion mentioned above, does not form any sort of sequence, and are at least two different suits, this hand is called high card. The highest value card, when comparing these hands, determines the winning hand.
Low Poker Hand Ranking
In Lowball or high-low games, or other poker games which lowest ranking hand wins, they are ranked accordingly.
A low hand with no combination is named by it’s highest ranking card. For example, a hand with 10-6-5-3-2 is described as “10-down” or “10-low.”
Ace to Five
The most common system for ranking low hands. Aces are always low card and straights and flushes do not count. Under Ace-to-5, 5-4-3-2-A is the best hand. As with standard poker, hands compared by the high card. So, 6-4-3-2-A beats 6-5-3-2-A AND beats 7-4-3-2-A. This is because 4 < 5 and 6 < 7.
Best Poker Cards To Buy
The best hand with a pair is A-A-4-3-2, this is often referred to as California Lowball. In high-low games of poker, there is often a conditioned employed called “eight or better” which qualifies players to win part of the pot. Their hand must have an 8 or lower to be considered. The worst hand under this condition would be 8-7-6-5-4.
Duece to Seven
The hands under this system rank almost the same as in standard poker. It includes straights and flushes, lowest hand wins. However, this system always considers aces as high cards (A-2-3-4-5 is not a straight.) Under this system, the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 (in mixed suits), a reference to its namesake. As always, highest card is compared first. In duece-to-7, the best hand with a pair is 2-2-5-4-3, although is beat by A-K-Q-J-9, the worst hand with high cards. This is sometimes referred to as “Kansas City Lowball.”
Ace to Six
This is the system often used in home poker games, straights and flushes count, and aces are low cards. Under Ace-to-6, 5-4-3-2-A is a bad hand because it is a straight. The best low hand is 6-4-3-2-A. Since aces are low, A-K-Q-J-10 is not a straight and is considered king-down (or king-low). Ace is low card so K-Q-J-10-A is lower than K-Q-J-10-2. A pair of aces also beats a pair of twos.
In games with more than five cards, players can choose to not use their highest value cards in order to assemble the lowest hand possible.
Hand Rankings with Wild Cards
Wild cards may be used to substitute any card a player may need to make a particular hand. Jokers are often used as wild cards and are added to the deck (making the game played with 54 as opposed to 52 cards). If players choose to stick with a standard deck, 1+ cards may be determined at the start as wild cards. For example, all the twos in the deck (deuces wild) or the “one-eyed jacks” (the jacks of hearts and spades).
Wild cards can be used to:
- substitute any card not in a player’s hand OR
- make a special “five of a kind”
Five of a Kind
Five of a Kind is the highest hand of all and beats a Royal Flush. When comparing five of a kinds, the highest value five cards win. Aces are the highest card of all.
The Bug
Some poker games, most notably five card draw, are played with the bug. The bug is an added joker which functions as a limited wild card. It may only be used as an ace or a card needed to complete a straight or a flush. Under this system, the highest hand is a five of a kind of aces, but no other five of a kind is legal. In a hand, with any other four of a kind the joker counts as an ace kicker.
Wild Cards – Low Poker
During a low poker game, the wild card is a “fitter,” a card used to complete a hand which is of lowest value in the low hand ranking system used. In standard poker, 6-5-3-2-joker would be considered 6-6-5-3-2. In ace-to-five, the wild card would be an ace, and deuce-to-seven the wild card would be a 7.
Lowest Card Wild
Home poker games may play with player’s lowest, or lowest concealed card, as a wild card. This applies to the card of lowest value during the showdown. Aces are considered high and two low under this variant.
Double Ace Flush
This variant allows the wild card to be ANY card, including one already held by a player. This allows for the opportunity to have a double ace flush.
Natural Hand v. Wild Hand
There is a house rule which says a “natural hand” beats a hand that is equal to it with wild cards. Hands with more wild cards may be considered “more wild” and therefore beat by a less wild hand with only one wild card. This rule must be agreed upon before the deal begins.
Incomplete Hands
If you are comparing hands in a variant of poker which there are less than five cards, there are no straights, flushes, or full houses. There is only four of a kind, three of a kind, pairs (2 pairs and single pairs), and high card. If the hand has an even number of cards there may not be a kicker.
Examples of scoring incomplete hands:
10-10-K beats 10-10-6-2 because K > 6. However, 10-10-6 is beat by 10-10-6-2 because of the fourth card. Also, a 10 alone will beat 9-6. But, 9-6 beats 9-5-3, and that beats 9-5, which beats 9.
Ranking Suits
In standard poker, suits are NOT ranked. If there are equal hands the pot is split. However, depending on the variant of poker, there are situations when cards must be ranked by suits. For example:
Best Poker Cards To Play
- Drawing cards to pick player’s seats
- Determining the first better in stud poker
- In the event an uneven pot is to be split, determining who gets the odd chip.
Typically in North America (or for English speakers), suits are ranked in reverse alphabetical order.
- Spades (highest suit), Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs (lowest suit)
Suits are ranked differently in other countries/ parts of the world:
- Spades (high suit), Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts (low suit)
- Hearts (high suit), Spades, Diamonds, Clubs (low suit) – Greece and Turkey
- Hearts (high suit), Diamonds, Spades, Clubs (low suit) – Austria and Sweden
- Hearts (high suit), Diamonds, Clubs, Spades (low suit) – Italy
- Diamonds (high suit), Spades, Hearts, Clubs (low suit) – Brazil
- Clubs (high suit), Spades, Hearts, Diamonds (low suit) – Germany
REFERENCES:
http://www.cardplayer.com/rules-of-poker/hand-rankings
https://www.pagat.com/poker/rules/ranking.html
https://www.partypoker.com/how-to-play/hand-rankings.html
Everyone who loves poker uses them, but plenty of us look past the sheer talent it takes to put them together. No, not online bet sliders or casino hand sanitizers, but playing cards.
The first playing cards were allegedly invented by the Tang dynasty in China as early as the 9th century. Yes, you read that correctly, people have been flicking cards into the much for over a Millennium!
Playing cards have changed considerably, of course, and can now include technology that allows poker TV shows like High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark to be able to identify the cards purely by players putting cards ‘in the box’ on the felt in order for microchips to be read.
CLASSIC DESIGNS
The design of playing cards has changed with the times we live in. While playing cards were mostly functional until the latter half of the 20th century, the turn of the new Millennium 20 years ago saw new designs revolutionize the art of designing playing cards.
Despite the changes to classic models, however, some of the simplest designs are the most popular.
Bicycle is one of the oldest names in playing card manufacturing and have been around since 1885, a fact they’re naturally very proud of. Making playing cards in three different centuries, they went to Cincinnati artist James Billiter and created this design which harks back to days gone by after using Victorian imagery and the more “mechanical” designs of a bygone age to produce what is a cheap deck of cards to buy for the work that has gone into it. Proving they’re right up to date, the ‘Bee’ design playing cards have the recognizable diamond-backed motif that makes each deck look like the inside of a beehive somehow. Yum!
KEM cards have been making playing cards from 100% cellulose acetate plastic for decades, and have regular customers from half a century ago. Their argument against cardboard-made, plastic-coated playing cards is that the coating can wear off quickly, leading to them perishing. This classic KEM card design is typical of their collection and still highly popular with players.
Copag have been making playing cards for many years, supplying the World Series of Poker and making dealer sets as well as standard playing decks. Their 100% plastic playing cards have often been the benchmark for playing cards at several points during poker’s glorious history.
TALLY-HO AND MODIANO
Two other sets of playing card designs that grab the eye are Tally-Ho and Modiano. Iconic designs, simple yet beautifully designed, Tally-Ho playing cards aren’t just used by poker players – and those who prefer other card games – but also many magicians.
Modiano were the playing cards of the 2015 World Series of Poker, including the Main Event which was won by Joe McKeehen. Modiano are 100% plastic playing cards and ‘last up to 50-100 times longer than paper-based or plastic-coated playing cards’, as well as being washable, crimp and fade resistant, waterproof and extremely durable. The modern playing card has to be as resistant as Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler to the money bubble.
KINGS WILD AND FADED SPADE
The Kings Wild Project boasts some of the most unique designs in the world of top-quality playing cards, including tributes to other brands such as Bicycle, but in modern-day, how do you design a playing card that has never been seen before? To break the mold, Kings Wild Project designed a set based around the hugely popular J.R.R. Tolkien books and subsequent movie, The Lord of the Rings.
This timelapse drawing of Samwise Gamgee from the adventures shows you the incredible work put into producing a deck of playing cards based on that iconic series of stories.
Other Kings Wild playing cards draw from classic inspirations that surround the world of poker, such as their Maduro Playing Cards , which are designed in the style of cigar bands and the ‘VHS 1982’ pack, that looks like a tribute to Stranger Things and an age of video cassettes, Nintendo games and cassette decks.
The Faded Spade collection of playing cards are perhaps the ones you’ll know the most, as they have featured in the U.S. Poker Open, British Poker Open and Poker After Dark.
Not only can you enjoy those playing cards by subscribing to PokerGO, even more importantly, you can watch all the poker action too! Sign up today and you’ll have multi-platform access to the best poker entertainment the world has ever seen.