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Poker Terms Explained: Snake eye? Big Slick?

Poker has been played for decades and is the type of game that will have you sitting at a table for hours and hours. As the years have progressed, poker players have gotten inventive with the cards and the actual game. Each game has its own vocabulary and jargon, which applies to poker and other such games like Texas Holdem.

The names of poker hands can be unique and fun, and one hand might have a few different words to describe it. Keep reading to learn more about what these poker hand names are so that the next time you play a game of poker with your friends, you'll know exactly what they are referring to! 

Here is an easy-to-follow guide to explain what each hand is regularly called and how that name occurred. 

Terms Used To Describe Poker Hands

1. Royal Flush

A♥, K♥, Q♥, J♥, 10♥

This is the best and highest poker hand, when all the face cards are in order from Ace all the way down to 10, and they all come from the same suit.

2. Straight Flush

9♦, 8♦, 7♦, 6♦, 5♦

This is when you have a series of cards in numerical order (straight), and they all come from the same suit (flush).

3. Four Of A Kind

J♠, J♦, J♣, J♥, 5♠

This is when you have four cards with the same face value (four Jacks, for instance). On the off chance that two players both hold four-of-a-kind poker card hands, the highest value will always win.

4. Full House

A♠, A♥, A♣, K♥, K♦

This is when you have three of the same number and a pair in the same hand. The three numbers that are the same take precedence. For instance, three Aces and two Kings ("Aces full of Kings or Aces over Kings") will always beat three Kings and two Aces ("Kings full of Aces or Kings over Aces").

5. Flush

A♥, J♥, 9♥, 6♥, 3♥

This is when you have five cards in any order, as long as they are all the same suit. The high card decides the winner of a tied hand. For instance, 2, 3, 4, 5, King will beat 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen.

6. Straight

9♣, 8♦, 7♠, 6♣, 5♥

This is when you have five cards in numerical order, no matter the suit. An Ace can count as either a high or low card (10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace or Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5).

7. Three Of A Kind

A♥, A♣, A♦, J♣, 3♠