Before learning poker strategies, tips and techniques, there is a first step to take in order to play the game. That step is to know what your hands represent, how much each of them ranks and how strong they are. Poker hands are various combinations of five cards that mean different things and rank differently in the confrontation for the big pot.

	Royal Flush The strongest poker hand is the Royal Flush and it consists of ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all in the same suit.
	Straight Flush The next strong hand is the Straight Flush – five consecutive cards in the same suit. If there were two straight flushes in the same round, the one that ranks better is the one that has the highest top card.
	Four of a kind Four of a kind is a combination of four cards of the same rank and another different card whose rank is not important. If in a game happens to be two fours of a kind, better is the one with the strongest set of four cards.
	Full House The Full House is made of a set of three cards of the same rank and other two cards of a different rank. The strongest Full House is determined by the three card set. If it were equal, then the two cards set determines the best hand.
	Flush The Flush is a combination of five cards of the same suit. Their rank doesn’t matter. If there are two flushes in the same game, the highest card is decisive in determining the winning flush.
	Straight The Straight is an arrangement of five consecutive cards of different suits and when it comes to comparing two straights – the highest card is the one that establishes the strongest straight.
	Three of a kind The Three of a kind (The Triplets) is made out of three cards of the same position and other two cards.
	Two pairs Two pairs is a combination of two pairs of cards that combine each a pair of cards of the same rank and another ordinary card. First the higher pairs have to be compared in order to determine the winner and if the high pairs are equal, then players must compare the lower pairs.
	One Pair One Pair is an arrangement of two cards of the same rank.
	High Card The worst poker hand that you could get is the High Card. Your five card combination doesn’t mean any of the above said hands. If unfortunately there were the case for comparing two such hands, the highest card wins.

Another thing that can be is useful for you to know is the wild card hand: poker players use a specific card (usually the joker, a card that is removed from poker games) to substitute for any card they wish. This technique enables players to have five cards of a kind the best possible hand, beating the royal flush.