1. Poker Hands What Beats What
2. Poker Hands Value
3. Poker Hands Values

Royal Flush

Use our poker hands reference chart until you are 100% certain of hand rankings. Poker hands from strongest to weakest Royal Flush: Five card sequence from 10 to the Ace in the same suit (10,J,Q,K,A). Eliminating identical hands that ignore relative suit values leaves 6,009,159 distinct 7-card hands. The number of distinct 5-card poker hands that are possible from 7 cards is 4,824. Perhaps surprisingly, this is fewer than the number of 5-card poker hands from 5 cards because some 5-card hands are impossible with 7 cards (e.g. Frequency of 5-card lowball poker hands. This function starts checking the most valuable hands. After it checks the second to lowest hand (pair), it returns a value of 1. This value of 1 corresponds to the 'highest card' hand. Since I'm not comparing the relative value of hands, it doesn't matter what the highest card is, so the number just represents the type of hand that is the strongest. For example, if the board runs out J♦ 2♦ 3♣ 7♠ 2♠, hands like 7♣ 6♣ and A♥ Q♥ and have showdown value, as this board doesn’t have any possible flushes or straights, and a pair or ace- high hand stands a reasonable chance of winning in a showdown.

Poker Hands What Beats What

Ace high Straight Flush.

Ace of Spades King of Spades Queen of Spades Jack of Spades 10 of Spades in a single suit. Also frequently referred to as 'Broadway'.

Straight Flush

Five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Five sequential cards in the same suit. The highest type of Straight Flush is a Royal Flush, and the lowest is an A-2-3-4-5 hand (if Aces are low or high/low). This type of hand is referred to as a 'Steel Wheel'. Other Straight Flushes with special names include:

• King of Clubs Queen of Clubs Jack of Clubs 10 of Clubs 9 of Clubs - Off Broadway (because it's shifted down one rank from a Royal Flush, or 'Broadway').

Four of a Kind

One of each suit in a single rank.

Also known as Quads. Many of the Four of a Kind hands have their own nicknames:

Poker Hands Value

• King of Clubs King of Diamonds King of Hearts King of Spades - Four Horsemen (of the Apocalypse)
• Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds Queen of Hearts Queen of Spades - Village People (four Queens)
• 10 of Clubs 10 of Diamonds 10 of Hearts 10 of Spades - Larry, after Larry Fortensky (four-ten-sky), Elizabeth Taylor's eighth husband
• 4 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts 4 of Spades - Yacht Club (because the 4 resembles a sail)
• 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds 3 of Hearts 3 of Spades - Forest (four 'trees')
• 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts 2 of Spades - Mighty Ducks (because the 2 resembles a duck)

Full House

Three of a Kind and One Pair.

A Full House is called as 'X over Y' where X is the Three of a Kind and Y is the Pair (e.g., in a A-A-A-Q-Q hand, you would call it as 'Full House, Aces over Queens').

A Full House is sometimes called a boat or a full boat. When called a Boat/Full Boat, the hand is announced as 'X full of Y' (e.g., the same A-A-A-Q-Q hand would be called a 'Full Boat, Aces full of Queens'). Some Full House hands have special nicknames:

• Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts - Marksman (bows and arrows)
• 7 of Clubs 7 of Diamonds 7 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts - Sailing rednecks
• 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds 3 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts - Nits and Lice, Mites and Lice

Flush

Five cards of the same suit.

Any five cards, all of which are in the same suit. A Flush all in hearts is referred to as 'Valentine's' while a flush all in clubs is known as a 'Golf Bag'.

Straight

Five consecutive cards.

Five cards in sequential order (but not all in the same suit, or it would be a Straight Flush). Also known as a Run (in many melding/counting games, such as gin and its variants, cribbage, and canasta, a Straight is referred to as a Run, and the name has carried over into poker).

• 6 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts 3 of Spades 2 of Clubs - Rabbit (the lowest Straight Flush if Aces are high)
• 5 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 3 of Hearts 2 of Spades Ace of Clubs - Wheel, Bicycle, Bike, Spike, First Street, Little Wheel (the lowest run if Aces are low or high/low)

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank. Also known as Trips, a Set, or Triplets. Three-card combinations that have special names include:

• Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds Ace of Hearts - Beatles reunion
• King of Clubs King of Diamonds King of Hearts - Three Wise Men, Christmas Special (both references to 'Three Kings'), Alabama Night Riders, Ku Klux Klan (KKK is an abbreviation for the Ku Klux Klan, and 'Alabama Night Riders' is a colloquial term used to refer to this group, which has a history of carrying out their acts at night in rural ateas)
• Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds Queen of Hearts - Six Tits
• Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds Jack of Hearts - Hart, Schaffner, and Marx (Three Jacks)
• 10 of Clubs 10 of Diamonds 10 of Hearts - Dallas to Fort Worth (the I-10 connects these two Texas Cities), San Jose to Gilroy, Gilroy, Thirty Miles of bad road (the distance between San Jose and Gilroy, California, used to be 30 miles, although the two cities are now adjoining)
• 7 of Clubs 7 of Diamonds 7 of Hearts - 21, Slot Machine, Jackpot (all named after results in other casino games like Blackjack and Slots)
• 6 of Clubs 6 of Diamonds 6 of Hearts - The Devil, The Beast, Lucifer, Devil's Area Code
• 5 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds 5 of Hearts - Washington Monument, Pork Chop Sandwiches
• 4 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts - Grand Jury
• 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts - Huey, Dewey, and Louie (three ducks)

Two Pairs

Two pairs, each with two cards of the same rank. Notable named two pair combinations include:

• Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds 8 of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Dead Man's Hand (Arrows and Nooses)
• King of Clubs King of Diamonds Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Mommas and Poppas
• King of Clubs King of Diamonds 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds - Pair of Dogs (because it's K9K9-- two canines)
• Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - San Francisco Waiters (Queens with Trays/Treys)
• Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds 5 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Jackson Five (Jacks and Fives), Motown, Rock and Roll
• Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - Hookers with Crabs (because the Jacks hook and the 3 is like a sideways crab)
• 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds 8 of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Oldsmobile
• 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds 6 of Clubs 6 of Diamonds - Dinner for Four
• 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds - Socks and Shoes, Mites and Lice, Mits and Mites, Nits and Lice

One Pair

Two cards of the same rank. The poker hand that contains a single pair that is the most worth noting is the Princess Leia (an A-A-2-3), so called because the room in which Leia was imprisoned in Star Wars was room A-A-2-3. The best known names given to (pocket) pairs include:

• Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds - Pocket Rockets, Bullets, American Airlines
• King of Clubs King of Diamonds - Cowboys, King Kong
• Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Bitches, Double date, Canadian Aces, Siegfried and Roy
• Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds - Fish Hooks
• 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds - German Virgin (no, we don't know why.)
• 8 of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Snowmen
• 7 of Clubs 7 of Diamonds - Sunset Strip, Hockey Sticks
• 6 of Clubs 6 of Diamonds - Route 66
• 5 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Speed limit
• 4 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds - Magnum, Sail Boat
• 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - Crabs
• 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds - Ducks

High Card

While the high card is the lowest possible hand in poker (every poker hand automatically has a 'high card' in it-- the card with the greatest value), it comes into play in some poker variants more than others. Poker rookies often underestimate the value of the high card.

Texas Hold'em, for instance, is frequently referred to as a game of high cards because a player with higher cards always has an advantage. If player 1 holds K-Q and player 2 holds J-10, there are three possible outcomes:

1. The flop makes player 1's hand, and player 1 wins.
2. The flop makes player 2's hand, and player 2 wins.
3. The flop doesn't make either player's hand, and player 1 wins again.

The player with high cards has a statistical advantage and will win 63% of the time.

Well known nicknames given to pocket hands are:

• Ace of Clubs King of Diamonds - Big Slick, Anna Kournikova (looks great, never wins!)
• Ace of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Big Chick
• Ace of Clubs Jack of Diamonds - Black Jack, Jack-Ass
• King of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Royalty, Marriage
• King of Clubs Jack of Diamonds - Kojak
• Jack of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Jackson Five
• Queen of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - Gay Waiter
• 9 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Dolly Parton
• Ace of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Dead Man's Hand (player Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1876 after winning with it!)
• King of Clubs 9 of Diamonds - Canine
• Jack of Clubs 4 of Diamonds - Flat Tire

The ongoing $200/$400 heads-up no-limit hold'em match between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu has captured the attention of the poker world, particularly with the dearth of other action of interest out there.

Two legends of poker battling back and forth for pots worth sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars has naturally produced some interesting hands that merit a closer look from a strategic point of view.

Getting an expert's perspective on such a hand isn't easy considering how few HUNL specialists are out there and qualified to comment critically on these stakes, but PokerNews did manage to get hold of one: Kevin Rabichow. The high-stakes pro and Run It Once Poker ambassador graciously agreed to help break down a pot I found fascinating while covering the action.

The hand can be viewed here but for those not wishing to relive it in video form, here's how the action goes:

Negreanu raised to $960 on the button and Polk reraised to $3,945. Negreanu four-bet to $10,800 and Polk called, bringing a flop. Both players checked and the turn was the . Polk led out $6,479 and Negreanu called. On the river, Polk shoved for $32,132. Negreanu quickly called with and won the showdown against to scoop a $98K pot.

PokerNews: How does being 125 bigs deep change preflop strategy with these hands if at all? Is everything they do here standard?

Kevin Rabichow: The interesting decision preflop as you get deeper is how do you adjust what you're going to stack off compared to three-bet-call or just call. Maybe you three-bet less than usual here but I still think this hand's always a three-bet. Sometimes you can five-bet all in for 100 bigs but maybe not 125.

On the flop, we see both players check. I assume that's also pretty standard or is there an argument to bet because this is a good flop for the four-bettor's range, and aces and queens are potentially bad turns than can cost you a pretty big pot?

It's common for button to bet range on this flop. The key thing is it's king-high. When the board comes king-high, the really important thing in heads-up preflop ranges is that button will have all ace-kings and big blind never has any ace-kings. You can't say that as confidently in other formats but in heads up you can.

Daniel should probably just bet. If Doug folds queen-jack or something with an ace in it, you get some equity out of the pot and can charge a gutshot or open-ended straight draw. I think it's a little non-standard not to bet. If I was gonna check anything, my first choice would be queens or jacks, though. If you're gonna play checks, this hand is up there.

After a turn, Doug leads one-third of pot. Is this for standard for value and protection?

Doug is very GTO-focused. He's trying to just play well and learn from the solver. The solver wouldn't check very much. is the type of hand that wants to lead small. It does depend on what types of hands Daniel is checking back though.

We had seen Daniel occasionally check as strong as top pair in these four-bet pots.

That makes it really tough if he's checking . What Doug has to ask himself is, 'Is this hand good enough to bet for protection?' Not just does it want to because it clearly does.

Keep in mind stuff like queen-six suited or ace-five suited are preflop bluffs and made a weak pair. That's part of the range that gets overlooked heads up. Daniel's gonna bluff with raggedy , . He could have pair of sixes or fives. If he folds out something like that has six clean outs, that's also great for him.

It's kind of thin. I think it's still clear the bet is fine.

We see a pot-sized shove on the river. I assume it's for value? Is this too thin?

I think on the surface, it's a pretty normal shove in heads up. In this situation, it's a little thin. The key thing here is Doug's out of position. It's a thin value shove for one pot-sized bet, so that makes the math pretty easy. If he was to check and get shoved on he needs 33% to check-call. Traditionally if you make a value-bet, you want to get called by a range you're ahead of. When he shoves and gets called, maybe he's got 43% equity.

Poker Hands Values

It gets weird out of position with these thin, in-between hands. But, he's ahead of , , even which might hero. A rivered pair of sevens which is unlikely but maybe a hand that bluffed preflop could have gotten here. There's stuff that he beats but it's certainly not thrilling.

But, Doug is someone who bluffs a lot, and Daniel will make hero calls. Maybe Doug doesn't think check performs very well. Maybe he's saying if he has or it's a cooler, which I kind of agree with. I think Doug's shoving for value fully expecting to lose more than time.

So, even though he might be beat more than half of the time he's called, jam can still be good for value?

You have to look at the [expected value] of check as a whole versus the EV of jam as a whole. If he jams, he always gets called by better hands and sometimes by worse hands. When he checks, Daniel will always check back the hands Doug beats. But, the concern is he will bluff sometimes and he will value-bet all the better hands. If he feels he cannot check-fold, then value-betting becomes worth considering.

Does block-betting the river make any sense?

From what I've seen of Daniel's game, I think block is very likely the best play. That would probably be my first choice. I think it's a good play. It's quite possible Doug randomized for his sizing or just kind of got caught up in making a greedy sizing choice.

Blocking river in a spot like this is definitely part of good strategy. The likely response we're hoping for is Daniel calls with . If that's the play he takes even a little bit of time, that's an amazing result. We get extra value from fives and sixes and don't lose the max against and .

What do regular players need to understand about heads-up no-limit that makes this shove good?

I think the framework within heads-up no-limit is to realize like and , even if we think Daniel is conservative, it's not an overwhelming majority of his range. We can't focus so quickly on that part of his range. Because preflop ranges are so wide, it's important to remember that ace-high needs to call the turn and and need to call river a lot of the time against a jam. Just recognizing that the overall strategy good heads-up no-limit players use in this spot isn't overly focused on the top of Daniel's range. There's all this trash and all these other weak hands.

What parts of heads-up no-limit can fans watching take and try to apply to their own games?

Honestly, it's probably just aggression. Recognizing the value of finding bets and stacking off uncomfortably light. It trickles to the rest of your strategy. The benefit of Doug having plays like this that are thin and look wild is you allow yourself to be aggressive with the bluffs in your range and find thinner value bets as a result. Your aggression goes up and you win more pots.

Almost all players are not aggressive enough, even professional players. Six-max, tournaments...players are by and large not aggressive enough. Here's a player at the top of the game on the biggest stage and he's going after it every pot. That's something worth trying to emulate, I think.

Kevin Rabichow is a high-stakes professional and coach for Run It Once Training. You can check out his personal coaching page here and reach him on Twitter with any questions or comments.

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  Doug PolkDaniel NegreanuCash PokerOnline Poker

• Related Players

  Daniel NegreanuDoug Polk