The high card hand, contrary to its namesake, is actually not a hand you want to find yourself having to play in poker. The best hand, as most people understand, is a royal flush, which features a run of matching suit picture cards. Then, we have the straight flush, which is a matching suit run of non-picture cards. Then we have four of a kind, which features all four of the same card in each suit. Full house is the next best hand, with three of one card and two of another – of course, each of these hands can be outranked by higher full houses e.g. 222-33 will be beaten by AAA-KK. Then we have the flush, with features five cards of the same suit. Then we have the straight, which features five consecutive numbered cards of any suit. Three of a kind comes next with three of the same card and two random cards, then two pair – which is the most common winning hand – and simply features two pairs of cards. Then we have one pair, which features just one pair and three miscellaneous cards, and then the high card hand, which consists of cards that don’t form any pairs or sequences.
So the high card hand is only worth playing should your opponents not have any of the above hands – which is less likely than you’d expect. The high card hand is based on the highest card in your hand. So, Ace High is the best for a game such as Texas Hold ‘Em poker. It’s difficult to attain a winning hand with high card moving down past the picture cards. Continue reading
