A
Archie Dos Santos
Enthusiast
Silver Level
Hi!
Just decided to learn how to play poker the other day as I decided I wanted to get a new hobby. This hobby looks a lot of fun. Went through all the poker hands through wikipedia and understood them all except one. I was bit confused with the explanation of the straight hand. It's got
"A straight is a poker hand containing five cards of sequential rank, not all of the same suit, such as 7♣ 6♠ 5♠ 4♥ 3♥ (a "seven-high straight"). It ranks below a flush and above three of a kind. As part of a straight, an ace can rank either above a king or below a two, depending on the rules of the game. Under high rules, an ace can rank either high (e.g. A♦ K♣ Q♣ J♦ 10♠ is an ace-high straight) or low (e.g. 5♣ 4♦ 3♥ 2♥ A♠ is a five-high straight), but the ace cannot rank both high and low in the same hand (e.g. Q♠ K♠ A♣ 2♥ 3♦ is an ace-high high-card hand, not a straight).
The underlined part is what I am confused about. I understand an A♣ can be a high or a low depending on the rules of the game. Q♠ K♠ A♣ 2♥ 3♦ is an ace high card so the ranking would be A♣K♠Q♠3♦2♥. If the ace was ranked as a low for the rules then it would be K♠Q♠3♦2♥A♣. Why is it saying on wikipedia it is not a straight? It says on wikipedia "but the ace cannot rank both high and low in the same hand" What does that mean? Thanks for any information. Archie
Just decided to learn how to play poker the other day as I decided I wanted to get a new hobby. This hobby looks a lot of fun. Went through all the poker hands through wikipedia and understood them all except one. I was bit confused with the explanation of the straight hand. It's got
"A straight is a poker hand containing five cards of sequential rank, not all of the same suit, such as 7♣ 6♠ 5♠ 4♥ 3♥ (a "seven-high straight"). It ranks below a flush and above three of a kind. As part of a straight, an ace can rank either above a king or below a two, depending on the rules of the game. Under high rules, an ace can rank either high (e.g. A♦ K♣ Q♣ J♦ 10♠ is an ace-high straight) or low (e.g. 5♣ 4♦ 3♥ 2♥ A♠ is a five-high straight), but the ace cannot rank both high and low in the same hand (e.g. Q♠ K♠ A♣ 2♥ 3♦ is an ace-high high-card hand, not a straight).
The underlined part is what I am confused about. I understand an A♣ can be a high or a low depending on the rules of the game. Q♠ K♠ A♣ 2♥ 3♦ is an ace high card so the ranking would be A♣K♠Q♠3♦2♥. If the ace was ranked as a low for the rules then it would be K♠Q♠3♦2♥A♣. Why is it saying on wikipedia it is not a straight? It says on wikipedia "but the ace cannot rank both high and low in the same hand" What does that mean? Thanks for any information. Archie