Most people have heard of poker, but few know about the greatest hands ever played. This article will define the term ‘poker hand’ and list some of the greatest poker hands in the game’s history.
What is a poker hand?
There are 10 possible poker hands, it is the set of cards that a player holds during the game. There are usually 5 cards in a poker hand, although this number can vary depending on the poker variation that one is playing.
Nowadays, poker hands can be physically held or digitally held thanks to both land-based and online poker operators. Players can choose what type of gaming suit them best.
Poker hands can be ranked depending on their strength. Here are the best poker hands rankings in standard poker.
- Royal Flush
A Royal Flush is the strongest of poker hands. To score a Royal Flush, a player needs to have an Ace, a King, a Queen, a Joker and a 10 in the same suit (for example in hearts).
- Straight Flush
A Straight Flush is another great poker hand. To score this one, a player needs five cards in the same suit and in a sequence. For example, they need heart cards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. They are in a sequence and in the same suit, which makes a Straight Flush.
- Four of a kind
This strong poker hand can be achieved with four cards of the same rank but different suits and a card of another rank. For example, if a player has a Joker card in the four different suits and a non-Joker card (of any suit), they will have a Four of a kind poker hand.
- Full house
Full house is similar to Four of a kind in the sense that players need three cards of the same rank but of different suits. They then need two other cards that are both of the same pair but different suits. For example, a Full House hand can include three 10 cards of different suits. It then needs to include two other twin cards which can be, for example, two 9 cards of different suits.
- Flush
A Flush hand is achieved with five cards that are not in a sequence but are of the same suit. For example, if a player has cards 1, 5, 3, 9 and a Queen in the same suit, they have a Flush hand.
Poker variations
It is also important to note that some of the winning poker hands in traditional poker do not work with all poker variations. That is why it is important to check which poker variation you are playing and to learn the rules of that specific variation. The most famous poker variations are:
- Texas Hold’Em
- Pot Limit Omaha
- Omaha Hi/Lo
New players should start by learning the rules of standard poker before learning the rules of different variations.
Greatest poker hands ranked
Here are some of the great poker hands ever played.
- Dead Man’s Hand / Hickok’s hand
This is an older yet extremely famous Five-Card Stud poker hand. To score a Dead Man’s Hand, players need two black aces, two black eights and an unknown hole card. Legend has it that this was Wild Bill Hickok’s poker hand when he was killed by another gamer, Jack McCall.
- The Doyle Brunson Hand
Doyle Brunson has changed the game of Texas Hold’em with his incredible poker performances in the 1976 and 1977 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Brunson won both the 1976 and 1977 WSOP with the same hand, a full house in 10-2. Before Brunson won the World Series of Poker tournaments with this hand, it was considered one of the worst starting hands in Texas Hold’em. Because Brunson managed to defy the odds and win despite his seemingly unlucky hand, a 10-2 hand is now called a ‘Doyle Brunson hand’.
- Moneymaker’s KO
During the 2003 WSOP Main Event, Chris Moneymaker made poker history. The player won with a strong ace-queen full house hand. He went from having a three-of-a-kind hand to a strong full house hand. You can watch the full poker game and how Phil Ivey eventually lost to Chris Moneymaker online. This game boosted the popularity of online poker and led to a real ‘online poker boom’. To this day, Chris Moneymaker remains one of the most famous and successful poker players.
Final thoughts
Of course, there are many more great poker hands out there. These are just three of the most famous and iconic ones that every poker player needs to know about. Do you know of any more great poker hands? Feel free to share them in the comments below.