You are sitting in a poker game and you’ve been dealt a pair of kings. While the pair isn’t bad, it’s also not great, so you can play either way. Alex checks when he has no owes to the pot, and Charley calls when he does. Then, Dennis raises a dime. Now it’s your turn to play. Let’s look at some of the hands you’ve seen in poker.

The betting phase of poker

There are many ways to start a game of poker, including placing an ante. An ante is your initial bet, and you can raise or check your cards before the flop. Players with aces can check their cards before the flop, but if they don’t, they must fold their cards. Once all the players have checked their cards, the betting period is over, and the winning hand takes the pot.

Highest possible hand in poker

A high-ranking poker hand is one that consists of a pair of aces and three of a kind. Another high-ranking hand is the royal flush, which consists of three of a kind, two aces and one high card. While this may seem like an improbable hand, the odds of getting one of these are actually quite good. A royal flush has the best odds of winning, and a royal flush will nearly always beat any other hand.

Highest possible straight flush in poker

A royal flush is the highest possible straight flush in poker, and consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit. It is very rare, but it is still possible to get a royal flush. The next highest straight flush is a king-high straight, followed by a queen-high straight, and the lowest one is a five. But a straight flush is not an automatic winning hand; you must have at least three cards of the same suit to get a royal flush.

Highest possible five of a kind in poker

If you have four cards of the same rank and an extra card called a “kicker” to make it a five of a kind, you have the highest possible hand. A five of a kind beats a five-card straight, but if you have a joker, your hand will still be higher. For example, a 10-to-five-joker beats a five-card straight with an ace. However, a higher five of a kind will beat a lower five-card hand, so if you have a joker in your hand, you may not have an ace kicker.

Variations of poker

The most popular type of poker is known as five card draw. In this variant, each player receives five cards and may trade up to three of them for new ones. Five card draw is similar to Texas Hold’em, with the exception that the five community cards are all turned over at once rather than spread out over three rounds. Each player may only use two of his own cards, but can discard up to three more to make a better hand.