Know the Odds holdumb Ultimate Texas Hold'em

Poker hands in five minutes

Lesson 2 of 23 · Foundations · 6 min read

The ten hands, best five of seven, and kickers.

If you've played poker before, skim this and take the quiz. If not, this is all you need.

Every hand is exactly five cards. From strongest to weakest:

Hand Example How often in 7 cards
Royal flush 1 in 30,940
Straight flush 1 in 3,591
Four of a kind ("quads") 1 in 595
Full house 1 in 38.5
Flush (five of one suit) 1 in 33.1
Straight (five in a row) 1 in 21.6
Three of a kind ("trips") 1 in 20.7
Two pair 1 in 4.3
One pair 1 in 2.3
High card 1 in 5.7

Aces count high or low in a straight: (the "wheel") is the lowest straight, and the highest. A straight can't wrap around: is just ace high.

Best five of seven. You have two cards and the board has five. Your hand is the best five of those seven, using both, one or none of your own cards. The dealer does the same.

Ties and kickers. If both hands are the same kind, compare the cards that make them, highest first: a pair of kings beats a pair of queens. If those are equal too, compare the leftover cards, the kickers, one at a time. beats , because ace beats queen. Suits never break ties. If all five cards match in rank, it's a tie.

When the board plays. Sometimes the best five cards are all on the board, for both of you. Then neither hole card counts, and you tie.

Show the math: Where the "how often" column comes from

There are C(52, 7) = 133,784,560 ways to get seven cards. The app's evaluator counts each hand type exhaustively: 4,324 royal flushes, 37,260 other straight flushes, 224,848 quads, 3,473,184 full houses, 4,047,644 flushes, 6,180,020 straights, 6,461,620 trips, 31,433,400 two pair, 58,627,800 one pair and 23,294,460 high-card hands. "1 in 30,940" is 133,784,560 ÷ 4,324.

You're more likely to make one pair (43.8%) than nothing at all (17.4%), because seven cards give you 21 different five-card choices.

Quiz

Which hand is stronger?

  1. A flush
  2. A straight
  3. They're equal
  4. It depends on the suits
Show the answer

A: A flush. A flush beats a straight. Suits never matter for ranking.

Quiz

Board:

You hold these cards. What is your best five-card hand?

  1. One pair, kings
  2. Two pair, kings and fives
  3. Two pair, kings and fives, ace kicker
  4. A straight
Show the answer

C: Two pair, kings and fives, ace kicker. K-K and 5-5 with the ace as the fifth card.

Quiz

Both you and the dealer have a pair of jacks, and the best kickers are the same down to the fifth card. Who wins?

  1. You, if your suits are higher
  2. The dealer
  3. Nobody, it's a tie
  4. Whoever has the higher hole card
Show the answer

C: Nobody, it's a tie. All five cards match in rank, so it's a tie. Suits never break ties.

Quiz

Is a straight?

  1. Yes
  2. No
Show the answer

B: No. Straights can't wrap around the ace. This is just ace high.

Open this lesson in holdumb: free, play money

Play the hands, answer the quizzes and track your progress. Works offline.

All 23 lessons