Top 5 Hands In Poker

Poker is a game of numbers, which is why the top pro poker players can raddle off figures such as, “go ahead and draw for it, after all, you’ve got a one chance out of 3700 to draw that inside straight.”

Of course, idn poker players play against each other, which is why half of the World Series of Poker contestants wear hoodies, dark glasses, and look like they belong in a cell next to the Unabomber.

But regardless of the fact that when playing online poker in your jammies, you’re not likely to intimidate anyone, it does pay to know the odds of some of poker’s best hands to help make your decisions whether to fold or go all in.

 Royal Flush

The granddaddy of poker hands, a royal flush is getting a 10, jack, queen, king and ace of any suit. Your odds of drawing a natural straight flush are 1 in 649,740, so if you do draw this hand, not only bet the farm, but take your winnings and buy a Powerball ticket too.

Of course, if you are playing Texas Hold’em, and working with 7 cards, the odds drop down to one in 30,939, but it’s a pretty rare hand to be sure.

 Straight Flush

Next in line is the straight flush, five cards in a sequence, within the same suit, such as the 8, 9, 10, jack and queen of clubs.

Your odds here on the initial draw: once in 72,000. Or in the case of seven cards, once in 3,589. So the stars would be have to stacked against you pretty bad if you loose with a straight flush to either a player with a higher straight flush or a royal flush.

 Four of a Kind

Here the odds drop down into the possible, but never the less, drawing four of a kind naturally is still a steep climb. With five cards, the odds of a natural four of a kind are one in 4,165, while with 7 cards, we’re still talking a downright difficult draw of one time out of 594 hands.

If you lose with four of a kind, maybe it’s better to hit the slots for the night. The poker gods just aren’t behind you.

 Full house

You can even get pretty excited about being dealt a full house, three of a kind, plus a pair. The odds with five cards are 1 in 693, while a natural with 7 cards comes in at 37.5 to one.

Here you’re in the driver’s seat here, but you have to be able assess opposing players as well.

 Flush

A flush, five of one suit, (minus a royal flush) is dealt on the first five cards about 1 in 580, while it happens with seven cards about once every 32 hands.