The poker hands can be said to either win or loose based on the type of cards they have. Of the many poker hands possible here is an explanation for a basic few:

• Flush poker hands refer to hands that have the cards of the same suit, but not necessarily in sequence.
• Straight poker hands refer to hands that have a sequence of numbers, but not of the same suit.
• Straight flush poker hands are a combination of any sequence and same suit in order like 7-8-9-10-J etcetera. A-K-Q-J-T is a high rank straight flush whereas A-2-3-4-5 is a low rank combination.
• Royal flush poker hands refer to the combination of the same suit of A-K-Q-J-T.
• Four of a kind refers to the combination of all 4 cards like 4 As, 4 Ks, 4 Qs, 4 Js etcetera.  If two players happen to have four of a kind, then the player who has the high ranking 4 wins the pot.
• Pair refers to 2 cards of the same rank like 7-7, A-A, 10-10 etcetera
• Two pair refers to a combination of two different ranking pairs.
• Three of a kind refers to three cards of any rank like 3As, 3Ks, 3Qs, 3Js, three 5s, three 4s etcetera.
• Full house refers to three of a kind and a pair of cards, which can be like 9-9-9-4-4.  If there is more than one player with full house, the high ranking three of a kind wins.

In most games the high ranking card wins the pot, in some games the low ranking poker hands win the pot.  High-low games split the pot between best high and best low rank poker hands.

There is not normally any ranking based on the suits, while some games do have ranking for the suits starting from hearts as the highest,  followed by diamonds in the next rank, clubs coming third and spades occupying the last.

A basic understanding of these poker hands or winning combinations is a must for any player.