Published on March 1st, 2023
You can play any poker variant when you have learned the different winning poker hands. This means you can play tournament poker or cash game poker online at dedicated poker sites or offline at land-based pokie venues.
Learning the different winning poker hands also means that you can play a wide range of poker games at online casinos and live dealer casinos. Take a closer look right here at the winning poker hand rankings from the weakest to the strongest.
You can also learn about ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ and the different poker hand nicknames you are likely to come across when playing one of the world’s most popular card games.
Where To Play Online Poker?
Some of the best places to play online poker today for real money are the following great sites: Energy Casino, bet365 Casino, Fun Casino, Mr Green Casino, PlayFrank Casino, TonyBet Casino, Trada Casino, VideoSlots Casino, and Hello Casino.
All of these trusted online poker casinos have been reviewed for you on the official Ask Gamblers website, and they are all available on desktop and mobile.
What Are The Winning Poker Hands At Casinos And Poker Sites?
There are 10 standard winning poker hands, and there are multiple possible variations of each different winning hand.
The ace is a high card; the remaining numbered cards get sequentially more valuable the higher you go. For example, the ace is always high, and two is always the lowest-valued card.
Also, a 3 is better than a 2. A 4 is better than a 3 and 2. A 5 is better than a 4, 3, 2, and so on.
Before we learn ‘what is a dead man’s hand,’ first we can take a look at the winning poker hands in ascending order of value, starting with the weakest hand. They include the following:
- High card – if you (or any other players you may be playing against) have none of the hands listed below, it falls to a single card, known as the high card. For example, an Ace high card in your hand would be a hand with only a 10-high card
- Pair – this is two cards of the same kind. For example, if you end up with an Ace-Ace-7-5-3, you would have a pair of aces, which would be a pair of kings, for example
- Two pair – this winning poker hand has two separate pairs and one spare card. For example, it could be 10-10-J-J-5. If your opponent also has two matching pairs, the high card will determine the winner
- Three of a kind – this winning poker hand includes three of the same cards and any other two cards. For example, A-A-A-5-9, Q-Q-Q-K-2, and so on
- Straight – this can be any five cards in a row of any suit. Two examples of straights include 3-4-5-6-7 of any suit, or 8-9-10-J-Q of any suit
- Flush – this is any five cards from the same suit. Therefore, 2-5-6-10-Q of hearts is a flush or A-3-4-J-K of spades, and so on, are classed as flush hands
- Full house – this is three of a kind and a pair, which could be 3-3-3-7-7, Q-Q-Q-4-4, etc.
- Four of a kind – this is four the same card and any other card. Examples include 5-5-5-5-7, K-K-K-K-2, and so on.
- Straight flush – this is the second-best hand. It’s any five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 5-6-7-8-9 of diamonds, or 8-9-10-J-Q of clubs, and so on
- Royal Flush – this is the best possible hand. It’s when you land a 10-J-Q-K-A of the SAME SUIT
What Is Dead Man’s Hand?
You may have heard about Dead Man’s Hand and wondered what it means. There was once a famous gunslinger/showman/gambler/cattle rustler/lawman/soldier/scout called James Butler Hickock, better known as ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok.
The story takes place in August 1876, in the iconic town of Deadwood, in Dakota Territory, in a saloon called the Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon No. 10.
While playing a popular variant of poker called five-card stud, a man called Jack McCall (who Hickock had beaten in a game of poker the previous day) came up to Bill and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly.
According to popular belief, the winning poker hand that Wild Bill was holding at the time of being shot was two pairs (the ace of spades and the ace of clubs, and the eight of spades and eight of clubs).
This is why even today, two black aces and two black eights are known as ‘Dead Man’s hand.’ Nobody knows what the fifth card in his hand was.
More Common Poker Hand Nicknames
Some of the other common poker hand nicknames are Pocket Aces (AA), Snakes Eyes (AA), Cowboys (KK), Ladies (QQ), Fishhooks (JJ), Anthony and Cleopatra (AQ), Blackjack (AJ), and Cutie (QT), to name just a few.
