BEST POKER HANDS
By George Steinbach

Royal Straight Flush
Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of the same suit.

Straight Flush
Straight with all five cards in the same suit.

Four of a Kind
Consists of four cards of any one rank together with any fifth card; for example:

constitutes four sevens

Full House
Consists of any three of one kind and any pair of another kind, such as:

It is referred to by the three-of-a-kind it contains; the example shown would be "sixes full."

Flush
Consists of any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.

This example is referred to as a "jack high flush."

Straight
Consists of any five cards of two or more suits in sequence of rank, with the ace ranking either high in sequence

or low in the sequence. You do not need to have an ace to have a straight, of course. Any five cards in a row will do.

Three of a Kind
Any three cards of the same rank plus two other cards which do not constitute a pair and do not include the fourth card of the same rank.

The above example is referred to as "three nines," or "trip nines."

Two Pairs
Consists of two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and any fifth card which is neither of those ranks; it is referred to by the higher of the two pairs. Thus,

would be "Queens up."

One Pair
Any two cards of the same rank, together with three other cards which do not combine with the other two to form any of the higher-ranking hands above.

This example is a pair of kings.