Hierarchy of Poker Hands
As I mentioned on my home page Three Card Poker is
based on the all-American game of stud poker. However, unlike the
original stud poker you will be competing against the dealer instead
of another player. (You will also be playing with just three cards
instead of five). Nonetheless, you will still need to understand
Three Card Poker hands to know "what beats what." If
you and the dealer have the exact same cards it is considered a
tie or a push.
3 Card Poker is played with a standard 52-card
deck (Without a joker) that is shuffled after each game. The 52
cards have one of 13 ranks listed below:
13 Ranks from Lowest
Value to Highest*
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Jack (J)
|
Queen (Q)
|
King (K)
|
Ace (A)
|
* An Ace can also be used as a "one" when
forming a hand called a "straight." You will learn what
a straight is in the next section.
The ace is the best and highest card, followed in
descending order by the king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,
3 and then the deuce or 2, which is the lowest
ranked card. The king, queen and the jack are known as picture
cards or face cards.
When the cards are held together in various combinations,
they form hands of different strengths. These are called hand
rankings or poker rankings.
Information about Suits
Each rank comes in one of four suits:
clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. It is important to note
that one suit does not have precedence over the other. For
example, if you have a Queen-Jack-5 and they are all spades;
and the dealer has a Queen-Jack-5 and they are all clubs, one
hand is not stronger than the other and the hands are considered
a tie.

Poker Rankings of Three Card
Hands
1. Straight Flush: Three
cards of the same suit in order of rank.
Hierarchy - Highest
to Lowest:
|
| Ace |
King |
Queen |
of same suit |
| King |
Queen |
Jack |
of same suit |
| Queen |
Jack |
10 |
of same suit |
| Jack |
10 |
9 |
of same suit |
| 10 |
9 |
8 |
of same suit |
| 9 |
8 |
7 |
of same suit |
| 8 |
7 |
6 |
of same suit |
| 7 |
6 |
5 |
of same suit |
| 6 |
5 |
4 |
of same suit |
| 5 |
4 |
3 |
of same suit |
| 4 |
3 |
2 |
of same suit |
| 3 |
2 |
Ace |
of same suit |
2. Three-of-a kind: Three
cards of the same rank.
Hierarchy - Highest
to Lowest:
|
| Three Aces |
Three Kings |
Three Queens |
Three Jacks |
Three 10s |
Three 9s |
Three 8s |
Three 7s |
Three 6s |
Three 5s |
| Three 4s |
Three 3s |
Three 2s |
3. Straight: Any
three cards in order of rank.
Hierarchy - Highest
to Lowest:
|
| Ace |
King |
Queen |
of different suits |
| King |
Queen |
Jack |
of different suits |
| Queen |
Jack |
10 |
of different suits |
| Jack |
10 |
9 |
of different suits |
| 10 |
9 |
8 |
of different suits |
| 9 |
8 |
7 |
of different suits |
| 8 |
7 |
6 |
of different suits |
| 7 |
6 |
5 |
of different suits |
| 6 |
5 |
4 |
of different suits |
| 5 |
4 |
3 |
of different suits |
| 4 |
3 |
2 |
of different suits |
| 3 |
2 |
Ace |
of different suits |
4. Flush: Any
three cards of one suit.
If two or more players have a flush, the one with the highest ranking card
wins. If two or more hands have the same high card, then the next highest card
is compared and so forth.
5. Pair: Two
cards of the same rank.
Two Aces are highest, two Deuces are lowest. In the case of two players having
the same pair, the third card determines the winner based on rank.
6. Non-Pair Hands: All
other card combinations.
A winner is determined by comparing the highest card of the three. If two or
more players have the same high card, the second highest card is compared and
so on.
Special Note to Those Accustomed to Five
Card Hands:
Those of you who play traditional stud poker will notice three card hands have
a slightly different ranking order than that of five card hands. This is because
it is harder to get three-of-a-kind on three cards than on five cards; however
it is much easier to get a flush on three cards than on five cards. A straight
is also more difficult to get on three cards than is a flush.
The Best
Way to Learn Hand Rankings is to Play! |
Practice
online at Golden
Casino and get familiar with poker hand and
card rankings. When you play Three Card Poker at this casino
it will actually display the hand rankings of your cards and
the dealer's cards following each round of play. |
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