What are the Best Five Card Holdem Poker Hands?
To win at Texas Holdem, you are going to have to win a showdown or two. The only way to win a showdown is by showing the best hand. But what is the best hand in Texas Holdem? Once all of the cards are out, the best hand is a royal flush, five consecutive cards of the same suit, from ten through ace, followed by a straight flush, which is any five consecutive cards of the same suit, and the four of a kind, four cards of the same rank. Very rarely will anyone show one of these hands. If you have a full house you can be pretty confident that you will be the winner, especially if you have the highest full house possible. This does not hold quite as true if most of the full house is already on the board. For example, if the board is A A 9 9 5 and you hold a 9, there is a very real possibility that even though you have a nines high full house, you are losing to an aces high full house. Similarly, if you have 22 and the board is 8 8 8 A K, your eights over deuces full house will lose to any pocket pair, any ace, or any king. On the other hand, if the board is K K 4 9 2 and you are holding K4, you can be fairly confident that you hold the winning hand.
Remember that the best hand, or “the nuts” in Holdem is determined by what is already on the board. If there is no pair on the board, the highest possible hand anyone can have is a flush. If there is no pair and only two of any given suit on the board, the highest possible hand anyone can have is a straight. There are not that many five card boards which don't allow someone to be holding a straight, although they are out there, for example, 7 9 2 K A, or 3 4 8 9 K. In this case, the best possible hand anyone can have is a set, which is three of a kind using a pair in your hand. On the board of 3 4 8 9 K of mixed suits, if you have KK for a set of kings, you hold the nuts.
Keep in mind there are very few times when you will hold the “stone cold nuts,” that is, the best hand that cannot be beaten by a better hand that improves. Even if you have the ace high flush on the turn, the river could pair the board, giving an opponent a full house or four of a kind. If you have three of a kind or a straight, the river card could put the third of a suit on the board making a flush possible, or it could be a card that can give someone a higher straight. This is why it is often important to bet your big hands, so that opponents cannot profitably draw to a card that beats you.
When you have a great hand, always consider how likely it is to be the best hand, and how likely it is that your opponent will be able to improve to beat you on the turn or river. This will inform your betting patterns and make you an all around more successful player. Think about these things next time you're in a real or
online poker room and see if the information helps.
What are the Best Five Card Holdem Poker Hands? : Poker Player
