With 13 different cards and 4 suits, for 52 cards total, there is a total of 2,598,960 different possibilities of hands! Ever wonder why you never hit that straight flush? Well there are only 40 different straight flushes (including royal flushes) which means 40 out of over 2.5 million possibilities, for a grand total of a 0.00154% chance. If we both have an ace, king high flush, then we look at the third card, and so on. For example, let’s say I have an ace high flush and so does my opponent. In the event of a tie, let’s say a pair of aces or an ace high flush, you always look at all five cards for the tie-breaker. If my opponent and I both have a straight, whoever’s straight is higher wins. For example, if my opponent and I both have 1 pair, then whoever’s pair is higher wins (ie – AA beats KK). Within each grouping, the rank of all five of your cards will determine the winner. So these basic poker hand rankings apply to Texas Holdem, 5 card draw, seven card stud, etc.
You may play in games that have 7 cards or 9 cards or whatever, but you always use only the best five cards to make your best poker hand. These are some basic poker rules that apply to most all poker games.
