In Texas Hold’em poker, the most popular form of poker, it doesn’t matter where the cards are coming from. You can make a hand from the two cards in your hand with three cards on the table, one card in your hand with four on the table or with all five cards that are on the table. Do note that if you have a hand with all five cards on the table, your opponent will have at least that hand as well and possibly better.
In Pot Limit Omaha the rules are quite different. Make sure to read our guide and watch the video on Pot Limit Omaha for more information.
Poker follows the same basic order of cards as most other card games. The highest card is an Ace, followed by King, Queen and Jack. From there it goes down in numbers from 10 until 2. This means that a pair of Aces is higher than a pair of Kings and a three of a kind of Jacks will beat a three of a kind of 7s
If you have the same hand as an opponent, for example a straight, it matters what the highest card in the straight is. So a straight that goes from 10 until an Ace beats a straight that goes from 9 until a King. The same goes for all other hands where the hands are of the same kind.
If the poker hand isn’t formed with five cards, for example with four of a kind, the last card is the highest card that is available. This can be a card you have in your hands or a card that’s lying on the table. The same goes for Two Pair and one Pair..
If you’re still learning to play online poker, it might a good idea to keep the poker cheat sheet above as a reference. You can download the image and open it when you are playing poker to keep track of which hands beats which.