Poker is generally played with a standard 52-card deck,  which is comprised of four equal suits.  These suits consist of clubs,  spades,  hearts,  and diamonds.  In a game of Poker the cards are ranked high to low: Ace,  King,  Queen,  Jack,  10,  9,  8,  7,  6,  5,  4,  3,  2 with Aces always being high.

There are 10 or 11 possible hands in Poker;  it depends on whether or not wild cards are utilized.  Ranked in descending order from Best to Worst the Poker hands are as follows:  Five of a Kind,  Royal Flush,  Straight Flush,  Four of a Kind,  Full House,  Flush,  Straight,  Three of a Kind,  Two Pair,  One Pair,  and High Card.

A Five of a Kind is only possible when wild cards are used as part of a Poker game.  This hand consists of five cards of any suit in sequential order,  and is the highest possible hand attainable.

If no wild cards are used and a natural game of Poker is being played,  the highest hand possible is a Royal Flush.  A Royal Flush is made up of 10,  Jack,  Queen,  King and Ace.  All five cards must also be of the same suit,  which makes the Royal Flush the toughest hand to get in a Poker game.

Also requiring that the cards be of the same suit is a Straight Flush.  In addition,  the cards must also follow a sequential order for the Straight Flush to be completed.  If two players both get a Straight Flush than the person with the highest card value wins the hand.

A Four of a Kind simply mandates that there be four cards of the same numerical value.

A Full House,  which is also referred to as the boat,  is a combination of one three of a kind and one pair.  Any ties are decided first with the three of a kind and then if necessary with the remaining pairs.

A Flush is any five cards of the same suit regardless of the number.  In case of a tie the highest ranking card wins.

Contrasting a Flush is a Straight,  which is five cards in sequential order with disregard to suit.  If a tie exists the higher ranking straight prevails.

Three cards bearing the same number but different suits comprise a Three of a Kind,  or Trips.  The remaining two cards in the hand may not be a pair,  otherwise the hand would become a Full House.

Two sets of numerical pairs comprise a Two Pair,  regardless of suit.

One Pair consists of two cards with the same number and different suit.

High Card is utilized when no one in the Poker hand can produce anything higher.  With two being the lowest card and the Ace the highest,  the person holding the highest card is pronounced the winner of the hand.