Bd88 · Rules and examples
Bd88 Poker Hand Rankings and the Best Five Cards
A poker hand is decided by the best permitted five-card combination, not by the number of attractive cards a player can point to. PokerStars' high-hand ranking guide runs from high card up to royal flush. The order applies to common high-hand games, while the number of private and shared cards a player may use depends on the particular variant.
Rank the category before comparing the cards
In ascending order, the familiar high-hand categories are high card, one pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush and royal flush. A flush is five cards of one suit; a straight is five consecutive ranks. A full house combines three cards of one rank with a pair. A higher category beats a lower one before any kicker is considered. Five hearts do not beat a full house merely because one heart is an ace.
Within the same category, compare the relevant ranks in order. A pair of kings beats a pair of queens. When both players have a pair of kings, the next highest unmatched card can decide the winner; that card is a kicker. Suits do not break a tie between otherwise identical high hands. A visible five-card board can even create the same best five for two players, in which case a split is possible.
Build an actual Hold'em hand from seven available cards
In Texas Hold'em, two private cards and five community cards are available by the river; choose the strongest five. Suppose your private cards are A♠ and 7♦, while the board is A♥, 7♣, K♠, 2♦ and 9♣. Your best five are A♠, A♥, 7♦, 7♣ and K♠: two pair, aces and sevens, with a king kicker. Calling this only 'a pair of aces' ignores the second pair made with the board.
If an opponent holds A♦ and Q♦ against that board, their best five are A♦, A♥, K♠, Q♦ and 9♣: one pair of aces with king, queen and nine kickers. Your two pair wins. The opponent does not have three aces—there is only one ace in the private cards and one on the board. Writing down all five selected cards before naming the category prevents that tempting but incorrect count.
A kicker example and a shared-board tie
Take a board of K♠, K♦, 8♣, 5♥ and 2♠. Player A holds A♣ and Q♣; Player B holds A♦ and J♦. Both have one pair of kings. They share the ace kicker, but A can add a queen while B adds a jack, so A has the stronger five-card hand: K, K, A, Q, 8 against K, K, A, J, 8. The queen decides it; the suits do not.
Now use a board of A♥, K♥, Q♥, J♥ and 10♥. It already forms a royal flush. In Hold'em, each remaining player can use all five community cards, so ordinary hole cards cannot improve on that hand; eligible players still in the pot share it. Do not carry that board-use rule into every poker variant. Omaha, for example, has different private-card usage requirements.
Showdown result is not every market's result
A hand can also end without a showdown if the last bet is uncalled and other players fold. In that case, the winner need not expose the highest-ranked cards. PokerStars' ranking table explains comparisons at showdown; it does not prove what cards an unseen opponent held or what any named casino offers. A side bet about 'winning hand', 'next card' or 'player to win' can specify its own conditions.
Use a disciplined order: establish the variant, list the cards actually available under that variant, choose exactly five, compare category, then compare ranks and kickers. Finally distinguish the game's pot award from any external wager's settlement terms. No ranking example here implies a particular brand hosts a live poker table or uses identical side-market rules.