Poker hand 101: What makes a winning hand?

Poker is easily one of the most popular games in the casino, mainly because it doesn’t rely on luck alone. To win the game, you need to strategise and more importantly, understand where you stand in the game by knowing the different poker hands. 

Here at Bitcasino, we will show you a guide on which hands beat poker to help you get a good grasp of your game and practice poker! Discover what makes a winning hand below: 

Poker hand meaning: Down to the basics

Before you get familiar with what poker hand wins and loses, you must first understand what is a poker hand. It consists of five cards, two of which are your hole cards and three coming from the community cards. This should be the best card combination you can make out of the combined seven cards (two hole cards and five community cards) available to you.

Understanding the card ranking and poker hand sets

Not all poker hands are equal and most of the hand combinations here are based on the value of each card. The ranking itself is pretty straightforward, but there are some cards that can change position and value in the game. Take a look at the card ranking below arranged from highest to lowest card value: 

• Ace 
• King 
• Queen 
• Jack 
• 10 
• 9
• 8
• 7
• 6
• 5
• 4
• 3
• 2

As you might have noticed, there is no card value with 1 in poker. The reason for this is that the Ace can act as either 1 or a rank higher than the king. Its value depends on what would be most beneficial for you in the game. 

Winning hands: What beats what in poker?

There are different poker games in the world and each of them applies a unique mechanic that sets them apart from the others. However, no matter what type of poker you are playing one thing remains the same and that is the ranking of the winning hands. 

Take a look at the hands that can grant you a win on the table and which hands beat what right here at Bitcasino!

Royal flush 

A royal flush is the highest-ranking card in poker and is considered to be the best hand you could have in the game. You are basically impossible to beat if you have this on your hand. 

What makes up this hand is five of the highest-ranking cards coming from the same suit: 10, jack, queen, king and ace. In some casinos, the card suit is also considered in determining the strength of the hand.  

Straight flush 

A straight flush can consist of any five sequential cards in the same suit that are not the royal flush. This hand can be a combination of consecutive cards starting from 2 to king. An example of a straight flush would be 5-6-7-8-9. 

Four of a kind 

A four of a kind hand has four cards of the same value but varying suits and another card of a different rank. The highest-ranking card in your hand completes the five-card hand. 

Full house 

A full house consists of three cards with the same value coming from different suits or a three of a kind and a separate pair with two similar ranking cards belonging to different suits. If more than one player has a full house on the poker table, the winning hand would be the one with the higher value three of a kind.  

Flush

Flush is a hand that consists of any five cards from the same suit with no particular sequence. If two or more players have a flush, the player with the hand featuring the highest valued card wins the game. 

Straight

A straight hand is made of five cards with sequential numerical values from more than one suit. An ace in this sequence can either be placed above a king or lower than a 2, but it shouldn’t appear in the same hand. 

Three of a kind 

To have a three of a kind hand, you need three cards of the same rank but of different suits and two of the highest value cards available. It doesn’t matter if the two cards have the same rank or suit. 

Two pair 

Two pairs are exactly what its name suggests. You should have two pairs of cards with the same value and any card to complete this hand. The highest-ranking card available becomes the fifth card. 

Pair 

In a pair hand, you should have a pair of similarly ranked cards from different suits. The highest-ranked cards available on your deck become the three remaining cards. 

High card 

A high card is considered the lowest-ranked hand of them all. What this means is that your ‘best hand’ would be the highest value card in your hands.  

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Best and worst starting hands in poker 

Before discussing the good and bad hands in poker, we must make it clear that every poker hand performs a different role and could be used to your advantage depending on the situation and how good you can make it work. 

However, the hands we have listed below can either be a nightmare at the beginning of your game or a sign that luck is entirely on your side. With that said, take a look at the best and worst starting hands in poker: 

Best starting hands 

Ace-Ace 

You are one lucky punter if you get this combination as your hole cards. The pair of aces also known as pocket rockets only appear once in every 221 hands on average. It’s one of the best pairs you can have since it grants you an 80% chance to win. It can only be beaten if any of your opponents has a stronger card in hand. 

King-King 

This card can win you the big pots if it lands in your hands. The pair of kings or King Kong has a 70% equity over any ace, which ensures that you would get your money preflop.

Queen-Queen

The two queens or the ladies, as they call it, is one of the best starting hands in poker. It is a powerful enough combination that can take down a pair of jacks and tens as well as any other cards below. This hand proves to have amazing preflop strength, but it can be difficult to play post-flop, especially if there are some overcards or cards that are ranked higher than any other card or pair. 

Ace-King (suited) 

The ace-king pair is among the premium hands in poker considered to be one of the strongest unpaired holdings. What makes this hand one of the best to start with is that it can win against almost all of the pocket pairs except the pocket aces and pocket kings. 

Jack-Jack 

Pocket jack or the hooks guarantees that you would win at least 20% of the time. It presents a 50-50 chance for you against any unpaired and would do well as a preflop hand against any lower pocket pair. 

Worst starting hands 

2-7 (offsuit)

This hand is the worst you can start with in poker since it limits your options exponentially. You do not have any straight draw, no flush draw and you are unlikely to have the best hand even if you manage to get a pair of 7s and 2s. The only thing that can save these hands is if you hit the flop with a rare 7-7-2 hand, which only happens once in a blue moon. 

2-8 (offsuit)

The 2-8 hand is basically the same as the 2-7 hand. The only thing making it better is the fact that the other pair is 8 and not 7. This hand has no good option going forward and it would likely be better for you to drop out of the game before the betting starts. 

3-8 (offsuit)

A 3-8 hand in poker is unlikely to make you win the game. The only thing you can do here is to wait for a better hand in the game. 

2-9 (offsuit)

This hand is not the best, but it is slightly better than the ones above since the 9 gives you a chance to form a middle pair. Even then, it can still be beaten by a hand holding pocket 10s, jacks, queens, kings and aces. Even worse is that no straights can fill the gap between these cards. 

2-6 (offsuit)

Out of the 169 possible starting hands in poker, this card pair would probably be ranked 165th. While it's not the worst, it's still a hand you wouldn't want to wager on. Even if you got a miracle flop of either 3, 4 or 5 giving you a straight, you will still lose to a higher straight. 

Poker hand statistics: Calculating the poker odds

Calculating the odds in poker is a special skill most professional players have to ensure that they’d win money over the long run in the game. You could say that it is the first step you need to know to master the mathematical side of the poker strategy. Review the details below and learn how to calculate the odds of your game! 

What are poker odds?

Poker odds are known as the probability of a game being in your favour. In most cases, it can specify how often you need to have the best hand to call a bet. You should know that every raise, call or bet you make in poker has its own odds and understanding this would lead you to make the best decisions for your wager.

Why is it important to calculate the odds? 

Calculating the odds is how you assess your situation in poker. Having an understanding of where you stand when it comes to odds can help you make a profitable plan for your game. 

Odds of each poker hand appearing

The probabilities below are calculated based on a five-card stud or a five-card hand. See how often the winning card would appear in a game in the poker hand range chart below:

Mastering the turn in poker

The turn in poker is a vital moment in a game. Coming right after the flop, which is the first three cards to be dealt, it is called the turn because it is the moment that can turn the tide of the game. If you can master the turn, then you have the ability to make sure that the game will go in your favour whenever possible. Here are the easy ways to master the turn when you are just starting out playing poker. 

Do you have a good hand?

When playing poker and it gets to the turn, it is relatively simple in general whether you should keep betting. Do you think you have a hand that could win? If you think your hand could win, then it makes sense to keep betting. That does not just mean that you have a winning hand already though. Obviously, you could well have a winning hand already in theory, but you could have the potential for a winning hand after the turn. 

This could mean that you only need one card to complete a flush or a straight. In this situation, if you think the turn has a good chance of giving you a hand that is going to be very hard to beat, then you should bet to continue. Make sure that you build up the pot by a good amount for when you get to the river. 

Does your opponent have a good hand?

This is the other thing to take into account. If your opponent is betting strong after the flop, or if there is a pair in the community cards, then there is a chance that your opponent is sitting on a good hand. If you have a poor to average hand and your opponent is showing signs that they have a good hand, then it makes sense to drop out. Poker is not all about the quality of your hand – it is equal parts judging what your opponent has too. 

Of course, they could be bluffing, but unless you have a very strong hand yourself, do you really want to call their bluff? It could be very easy to lose big if you call a bluff with a mediocre hand and they have a good hand. More experienced players will know when to call a bluff on a weaker hand, but as a beginner player, this is not something that you want to be doing. 

After the turn

After the turn is when things can get really spicy. Your own hand should dictate what you do after the turn. If you only need one card to make what you feel will be a winning hand, then you want to try to keep the wagers down for the river. This is because you need that final card. If you raise the betting artificially, then there is a good chance that other players will fold and you will not get the chance to take that little bit more away from them. Make sure that you stay calm and try to extract as much as possible from the other players. 

Of course, if you are absolutely sure that you already have a winning hand, then it makes sense to raise the stakes as much as possible. Because the others might be waiting for a winning card from the river, you raising the stakes makes them less likely to go for it. Even though your hand is likely to win, you do not want to give your opponents the chance to take another card that could give them a hand that challenges yours. Make it expensive – that way, if they do take it, you can take them to the cleaners when you show your hand. 

If your hand is not improved by the turn card, then you need to think carefully about whether you want to keep betting after the turn. Unless you think there is a good chance of you getting the card you need on the river, then it could be time to fold. No point going in for more than you need to if you are going to lose anyway. 

Folding on the turn

You do not always need to call on the turn. If you called on the flop without having a strong hand, and your opponent is betting strong all of the way through this, then there is a good chance they have a strong hand. As you do not have a strong hand to challenge them, it makes sense to fold before you go in too deep. Why keep feeding money to another player if you are not confident in your hand? 

It is important to look at the community cards as well. If they are showing a pair, then there is a possibility of being up against a full house. If your hand is not on the way to beating a full house, then it could be worth folding just to mitigate the risk of this occurring. 

Most controversial poker hands in history 

Now that you have an idea about the different poker hands and what beats what in poker, here’s a peek inside the most controversial hands played in the game according to history. Learn about the poker hand terms you’ll only hear in tournaments below:

1. Estelle Denis and her pocket aces 

This story is one born out of misfortune and perhaps a mistake by both Estelle and the dealer. It all began with Estelle running short on the stack in the 2009 World Series of Poker with her opponent JC Tran making a raise to 32,000. Estelle got lucky that when she peeked down at her cards, she found a pocket ace. 

This prompted Estelle to push all her remaining chips in the middle. However, perhaps due to hurry, she forgot to protect her cards and it was swept by the dealer and put into a muck. 

Before Estelle even realised, it was already too late and the hand she had wasn’t easily retrievable. The floor decided that Estelle’s hand was dead and she had to put 32,000 chips to match JC. Truly an unfortunate event for Estelle. 

2. Negreanu’s fortunate mis-click 

Having your chips mixed up is common in poker. Oftentimes, players put out a bet that is accidentally higher or lower than they intend to and that is exactly what happened to Daniel Negreanu in his match with Silverman on the European Poker Tour in 2013. 

Negreanu opens the button while holding a strong hand of ace-king. However, instead of making the standard 3x or 2.5x, Negreanu accidentally clicked 11x. Daniel laughed to let everyone know that it was only a misclick, which then put his opponent who has a king-jack in a tough spot despite having a strong hand against a button raise. 

In the end, Silverman decided to move all his chips in and pick up all the extra chips in the middle. Needless to say, Silverman wasn’t very pleased when he saw Negreanu’s cards that rendered any poker hand strategy useless. 

3. Tony G vs Phil Hellmuth 

You can miss out on every controversial hand on this list, but this one is a tale for the legends. This legendary poker hand involves two of the best poker players in the world: Hellmuth and G. 

Hellmuth started the game by playing short stack which aggravated Tony who wants to get all of Phil’s chips and force him to either rebuy or leave the game. An opportunity presented itself to Tony when he looked down on an ace-king in the double straddle facing an open on Phil. 

Tony then decided to move all in, which gave Hellmuth a dilemma. Tony declared that he didn’t look at Hellmuth’s card before moving all in and everything came crumbling down when Phil took Tony’s word and made a call. 

Easy to say, Hellmuth lost the round and was shocked that Tony lied to him. Tony replied with the legendary ‘Of course I lied. It’s poker, Phil.’ It might not be the most honest move, but it highlights the lesson every poker player must know by now: never take a poker player’s words at face value. 

Factors you can control in poker

Our hand

When the dealer sends those two cards our way, we are ultimately in control of how we play them. 

Of course, we have no control over their quality, so if we are dealt a 9-2 horror show, then clearly the control that we have is to dump them and start again with the next round. 

Whether we are given a strong starting hand or something that is going to take some work, we can – to some extent – control the table with our actions. 

We can play our hand on its merits, controlling as and when we call, raise or fold, or we can command control by raising and bluffing if we want to exert power over our rivals. 

It goes to show that we can command authority almost regardless of the cards we have in hand. 

Our emotions

Most players will have experienced negative emotions in their poker game, and the resultant decisions they make aren’t steeped in sense and smart thinking. 

It could be a bad beat, or failing to really nail an opportunity to profit when you have pocket aces or similar. 

What tends to follow is emotion-led nonsense – an aggressive raise or foolhardy call that ultimately ends with your chip stack dwindling as a result. 

By taking control of your emotions, you are actually protecting your chips, and that in turn will help you to maintain your skin in the game for longer. 

Our opponents

We are all different as people and personalities, and that is reflected on the poker table. 

Not all of us favour an aggressive approach on the felt – that is just not who we are. That being said, it is this type of personality that can ‘bully’ others in tournaments and cash games and that can lead to easy wins with the minimum of fuss. 

The big bluff is not in everybody’s armoury, but all of the best poker players in the world – professional and otherwise – know when to put the hammer down and dominate the table. 

Those are just three elements in our control at the poker table: our hand, our opponents and our emotions. Master that holy trinity and you will go a long way towards prolonged success. 

Five avoidable mistakes in poker

Even if you have read all the beginner poker guides and followed closely the seemingly endless number of tutorials out there, it is still easy to make mistakes in a game as complex as poker. However, many of these mistakes are relatively simple and are easy to correct once you become aware of them. Here are five avoidable mistakes poker players make and how to avoid making them. 

1. Playing too many hands

One of the biggest mistakes that rookie players make is playing too many hands in a game. Typically, this comes from a feeling that if you don’t play a hand, you are somehow missing out on the action or letting the competition get ahead. Male players, in particular, don’t want to look like a weak player in front of their friends, which causes them to play a round no matter how bad their hand is. 

The problem with feeling compelled to play every hand is that you get sucked into playing and putting money on the line even when you have a weak hand. You shouldn’t be afraid to play at your own pace and to sit out a round if you aren’t feeling confident about a hand. In fact, this is the best possible bankroll management strategy you can adopt, and to do so will ensure that your pot lasts for a decent amount of time. 

2. Lacking a betting strategy

Surprisingly, one of the most frequently overlooked aspects of poker playing is having a betting strategy. This is surprising, given the whole point of playing poker is to bet and, hopefully, win! However, players often get too caught up in the hand they are playing and who they are betting against. In these circumstances, it is easy to overlook how much you are betting in each round and considering how much cash is left in your pot. New players tend to raise or bet within a more extreme range, meaning that they bet way too high. Another mistake that rookies often make is overbetting with a hope that they can throw the competition off the scent and protect their hand, although this is actually a major giveaway for experienced players. 

With these examples in mind, it’s important to pay attention to how much you are wagering in each round of betting and that you can justify to yourself why you are betting that amount. If you can’t find a good reason for your decision, there’s a good chance you shouldn’t be betting that amount. Failing to do so could see you chasing your losses within a matter of a few hands. 

3. Spending too much time bluffing

When people think of poker strategy, they often make the mistake of thinking it is all about strategic lying. This leads rookie players to think that bluffing is the ultimate, if not the only, strategy to take. This is an easy mistake to make, as bluffing is quite simply a lot of fun. There are few things in life as thrilling as when you successfully convince a table full of seasoned poker players that your hand is unbeatable when all you have are a few low-number cards. 

However, there is a lot more to poker than just bluffing. In fact, if you rely too much on bluffing as part of your strategy, any decent poker player will immediately pick up on this and call you on your own bluff. If you do intend to implement bluffing as part of your strategy, you need to do so strategically and, most importantly, sparingly. Bluffing is a powerful strategic tool in your arsenal, but it is ultimately only one of many tools you have access to. 

4. Letting yourself get psyched out

As you all know, poker is ultimately a deeply psychological game. In fact, many of the best poker strategies out there rely on reading your opponent’s manoeuvres and reactions in a bid to find out what their hand really is. However, to avoid being easily ‘read’, poker players will engage in a lot of posturing to throw their rivals off the scent, but the last thing you want to happen is to let this posturing get to your head. If you get too sucked into this posturing, the risk is that you will psych yourself out and not take the risks necessary to win. This can have a massive impact on your own strategy, and it’s important to not let their bluffing lessen your own self-confidence. If you feel yourself getting caught up in this, just remember that this is all part of their strategy. 

5. Overcommitting to a hand

One mistake that novice players frequently make is overcommitting to hand that they really need to let go. If you are playing smart, each individual hand won’t make a massive difference to your overall success, as you should aim to accrue smaller victories more often. However, newer players often get caught up in chasing the larger, more dramatic victories and as a result tend to hold on to a hand that they think will win for far longer than they should. If you don’t think your hand has much of a chance of winning, don’t be afraid to let it go by folding and starting afresh the next round. This will keep you in the game much longer rather than whittling your pot down through overbetting. 

Top tips for poker success

Are there any tips to ensure poker success? Of course, we can’t deal the cards you want, so we can’t guarantee any hot winning streaks. That said, there are some simple rules you can try that might just make you a better player and will make your video poker games infinitely more fun and rewarding. 

1. Practice makes perfect

You can of course play many of our games here at Bitcasino for free and it’s not necessary to part with a single bitcoin if you’re trying to get more familiar with the game before making a stake. 

This could not come highly recommended enough, as you will learn more about the gameplay, become more familiar with the rules, and ensure that if you do decide to play money games in the future, you are well prepared for the challenge. 

2. Strength in numbers

Unless you have a really good memory, newcomers to poker sometimes forget the hierarchy of winning hands. 

That’s cool, nobody’s perfect. 

However, it does make sense to get to grips with the winning combinations as soon as possible so that you know when to call and when to fold. 

Our advice? Just write them down in order on a bit of paper or find a printout online. That way, you can refer to your notes and ensure that no winning possibilities pass you by. With the added discretion of online gaming, you never have to worry about other players sizing you up or dismissing your cautious approach. It’s your game, after all, and here at Bitcasino we respect that. 

3. Watch and learn

There’s absolutely no harm in watching others play video poker before you get stuck in yourself. 

You can watch how your fellow players go about their business, or search for tuition videos to help hone your craft further. 

4. Try donk-bets

A donk-bet is defined as a post-flop bet made out of position (OOP) by a player who was not the aggressor during the previous street. 

Therefore, to make a donk-bet on the flop, the definition implies that you called on the pre-flop. You might have called an open-raise, a 3bet or a 4bet, but the main point is that you did not make the last aggressive move pre-flop. In the case of making a donk-bet on the turn, the implication of the definition is that you closed the flop action by making a call OPP, but you do not necessarily have to be the pre-flop caller. 

Exploitive donk-betting

In situations where you expect to have a high number of continuation bets (c-bets) on a post-flop street, making a donk-bet has little usefulness. If your opponent will almost always c-bet, you could get a check-raise, which has the potential to be more profitable for you. 

When you don’t think that your opponent will make c-bets very often, making donk-bets begins to become a valuable exploitative betting strategy. You want to limit your opponent’s ability to check back often and get additional equity. You also don’t want to miss value on your stronger hands, so leading with a donk-bet makes sense. 

The other situation where making donk-bets becomes a valuable exploitative betting strategy is when your opponent does not play against donk-bets effectively. 

There are several fundamental mistakes that you should look for in your opponent’s behaviour. 

- Folding and calling too often. The ratio of folds to donk-bets should be approximately 40% on each street. If you see that your opponent folds 70% of the time in response to a donk-bet, you should use a bluff-heavy donk-bet strategy on the turn. 

- Making too-aggressive raises. If your opponent subscribes to the strategy of always raising flop donk-bets, you should take advantage of that by making donk-bets on all your strong hands, with the confidence of knowing that your exploitative betting strategy will result in a flop raise by your opponent. There is no reason why you can’t use a donk-bet to build value. 

Have the upper hand in Bitcasino poker

See if luck would favour your gamble with a good hand! Play poker at Bitcasino after mastering poker hand meaning and beat your opponents with a winning hand! 

Frequently asked questions

How does video poker actually work?

Essentially with video poker, we utilise a Random Number Generator (RNG) that selects and deals cards to both yourself and the dealer. The casino has absolutely no control over what comes up when, and we at Bitcasino only use RNG algorithms that have been tested and certified by third-parties to ensure fairness. 

Most often you are playing exclusively against the casino, pitting your wits against theirs. 

Can anyone play video poker?

As long as you are aged 18 or older, then yes. There are no other requirements for video poker, so once you have an approved account with Bitcasino, you can jump right in. 

Can I play video poker for free?

Yes, you can. Here at Bitcasino, our games are available in both free play and real-money modes, so you can “try before you buy”, so to speak. 

Can I play video poker using Bitcoin?

Absolutely: Bitcasino is the first Bitcoin-focused casino to get an official licence, so you can deposit and withdraw your cryptocurrencies with complete confidence. For more information about how that process works, head to our payments support page. If you don’t yet have an account with us, sign up today to make use of our welcome bonuses for new players, and whet your appetite for one of the most iconic casino games. 

Words by: Ana Gabrielle A. Gundran