The basic hands of poker are generally the same from variant to variant. In Texas Hold'em they are completely standard and "according to Hoyle." It is, however, vital for those who want to master the game--or even just play it casually--to memorize the ranking of the various poker hands.

All Texas Hold'em hands are standard five-card hands. Players each hold two cards, and five community cards are dealt in the center of the poker table. The player with the highest five-card total hand wins. Players can use either one, both, or neither of their hole cards in order to make the five-card hand.

The order of hands is as follows, from lowest to highest. High card is the lowest hand on the scale. Moving up we get to paired cards. This is just what it sounds like, i.e., two cards of the same value. After one pair, we have two pair, and from there we get to three of a kind, or trips. Trips are beaten by a straight, which is composed of five cards in numerical order of any combination of suits.

Straights are then beaten by flushes, which are five cards of the same suit in any numerical order. Flushes are then in turn beaten by a full house, which is a combination of a pair and a three of a kind. A full house is beaten by a four of a kind, and a four of a kind is in turn bested by a straight flush, which is five cards in numerical order all of the same suit. The highest possible hand in Texas Hold'em is the royal flush, which is a straight flush starting with ten and going up to ace. Sign up now at VIPpoker.com and start playing real money multi-player poker today!