Poker hand
A poker hand is a combination of cards ranked under a game’s rules to determine which player wins a pot or ties.
Poker hand rankings: The ordered hierarchy used to compare poker hands, from high card to the strongest permitted combination. This hierarchy assigns each qualifying card combination its relative strength.
Texas hold 'em: A poker variant in which players combine two private cards with five community cards to make a five-card hand. Its seven available cards produce the best five-card hand under standard rankings.
Royal flush: An ace-high straight flush consisting of 10, jack, queen, king, and ace of one suit. It is the strongest standard five-card poker hand.
High card by itself: A five-card hand that forms none of the ranked combinations above it. It is the lowest standard category, decided by comparing cards from highest downward.
Playing card: A printed card from a deck, bearing a rank and suit or another identifying symbol. Poker hands are assembled from cards with ranks and suits.
Omaha hold 'em: A poker variant that gives each player four private cards and requires using exactly two with three community cards. Its exact-card requirement changes which combinations can form a valid hand.
Straight flush: Five consecutive ranks in a single suit. It combines sequence and suit matching into a high-ranking hand.
Lowball poker: A poker format in which the lowest qualifying hand wins rather than the highest. It reverses the usual objective of poker-hand rankings.
Card rank: A card’s position in a sequence, such as 2 through 10, jack, queen, king, and ace. Ranks determine pairs, sequences, and high-card comparisons.
Community card poker: A poker format in which players share face-up cards and combine them with private cards. Shared cards let several players use overlapping parts of their hands.