Ace Low Straight Texas Holdem
In Texas Hold'em an Ace can be high or low. So a low example is the straight you talked about also known as a wheel. It can also be high TJQKA. And as others have said it cannot wrap like QKA23. In the case of a flush that has an ace in it, that is always the highest possible flush. A Straight is a five-card combination which is ranked in order but does not hold the same suit. An example of this winning combination is 3-4-5-6-7. The Ace can be taken as either a high or low card. For example, it can be used as one in an A-1-2-3-4 combination or it can also be used as the highest card in a 10-J-Q-K-A combination. A straight flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit. If two players have a straight flush then the highest card wins. The highest possible straight flush, and the best hand in poker, is an ace high straight flush, also known as a Royal Flush. A royal flush consists of a straight from ten to the ace with all five cards of the same suit.
Wheel -1. A straight from Ace to five, A2345.
2. The best possible low hand in Lowball or High-Low games.
A “wheel” is slang terminology for a five high straight. This is read as A-2-3-4-5, with the ace counting for low. When an ace is used in a straight, it is sometimes counted as high and sometimes as low, depending upon which end of the straight it falls on. If a player holds A-2-3-4-5 (a wheel), the ace falls on the bottom end of the straight, and therefore counts as low. If a player holds T-J-Q-K-A (Broadway), the ace falls on the high side of the straight, and therefore counts as high. Since straights cannot turn the corner (K-Q-A-2-3 for example), when an ace is used in a straight, it must always fall on either the high side (in the case of Broadway) or the low side (in the case of a wheel). If a player happens to make an Ace to Five straight flush, then it is known as a 'Steel Wheel.' A wheel is the lowest valued straight possible, beating any three of a kind, but losing to any higher straight or better. This makes the wheel a medium-strong hand in a high-only game, like Texas Holdem or 7-Card Stud.
In a High-Low game, the wheel is much more powerful. There are a few reasons for this. The wheel is the nut low hand, so it beats all other low hands and can only be tied by another wheel. Since this is the case, when a player completes a wheel before the river it allows them to bet much more aggressively and potentially scoop a huge pot. Since a player who has a completed wheel will probably scoop at least the low, and can do no worse than tie for it, it gives them leverage in the betting. If other players are still drawing, this leverage allows the player with the wheel to bet and raise with impunity, thereby charging their opponents the maximum price for their draw. Another situation where the player with the wheel can bet and raise with impunity is when they are freerolling. They may be completely aware that the wheel is no good for high, but because they still have outs to beat the hand they suspect they are up against, it pays to bet aggressively in case they hit one of their high side outs. Even if they do not, they have the low side locked up. Finally, the most obvious reason to bet the wheel aggressively in a high-low game, it that the hand may be a scooper, which means that it is good for both the high and the low side of the pot without improvement. So, you can see that having an unbeatable low has serious betting implications in a high low game.
Ace Low Straight Texas Holdem Tournaments
In addition to this, the wheel is also a much stronger high hand in a hi-lo game than it is in a high only game. There is a very good reason for this. In hi-lo games, like all poker games, players choose their starting hands strategically. Given this, when playing hi-lo, it makes sense to pursue starting hands that have the potential to win both sides of the pot. This means that a good starting hand in a hi-lo game will have at least some potential to make a decent low hand, and will not contain only high cards. Compare this with the starting hand incentives in a high only game. In a high only game the incentive is generally to start with premium high cards only and avoid hands with low holdings. Since players typically start with lower holdings in the hi-lo format, they also tend to make weaker high hands than are made in the high only format. This makes the wheel, which is only a medium-strong hand in a high only game, an extremely powerful high holding in a hi-lo game.
The wheel is also the terminology used for the nut hand in a Lowball game. If the game is Ace to Five Lowball (also called California Lowball), the wheel is comprised of the standard A-2-3-4-5. If the game is Deuce to Seven Lowball (also called Kansas City Lowball), the wheel is comprised of 2-3-4-5-7. This is because the rules of Deuce to Seven state that Aces count as high cards, and straights and flushes are considered as high hands, which is not the case in Ace to Five. Considering these rules, 2-3-4-5-7 is the nut low, and therefore is referred to as the wheel, in Deuce to Seven. If the joker is used as a wild card in either of these Lowball games, it may replace any missing wheel card to complete the wheel.
Another nickname for a “wheel” is a “bicycle.” “Bicycle” is also short for The Bicycle Casino which is located in Bell Gardens, California. It is one of the major card clubs in the greater Los Angeles area, southeast of Los Angeles and close to Commerce Casino. The Bicycle Casino is also known as 'The Bike.'
Usage: Wheel for Low, I have a Wheel, Drawing to the Wheel, Freerolling on the Wheel.
Previous Poker Term: Variance
Next Poker Term: Wild Card
Royal Flush
Ace high Straight Flush.
Ace of Spades King of Spades Queen of Spades Jack of Spades 10 of Spades in a single suit. Also frequently referred to as 'Broadway'.
Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
Five sequential cards in the same suit. The highest type of Straight Flush is a Royal Flush, and the lowest is an A-2-3-4-5 hand (if Aces are low or high/low). This type of hand is referred to as a 'Steel Wheel'. Other Straight Flushes with special names include:
- King of Clubs Queen of Clubs Jack of Clubs 10 of Clubs 9 of Clubs - Off Broadway (because it's shifted down one rank from a Royal Flush, or 'Broadway').
Four of a Kind
One of each suit in a single rank.
Also known as Quads. Many of the Four of a Kind hands have their own nicknames:
- King of Clubs King of Diamonds King of Hearts King of Spades - Four Horsemen (of the Apocalypse)
- Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds Queen of Hearts Queen of Spades - Village People (four Queens)
- 10 of Clubs 10 of Diamonds 10 of Hearts 10 of Spades - Larry, after Larry Fortensky (four-ten-sky), Elizabeth Taylor's eighth husband
- 4 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts 4 of Spades - Yacht Club (because the 4 resembles a sail)
- 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds 3 of Hearts 3 of Spades - Forest (four 'trees')
- 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts 2 of Spades - Mighty Ducks (because the 2 resembles a duck)
Full House
Three of a Kind and One Pair.
A Full House is called as 'X over Y' where X is the Three of a Kind and Y is the Pair (e.g., in a A-A-A-Q-Q hand, you would call it as 'Full House, Aces over Queens').
A Full House is sometimes called a boat or a full boat. When called a Boat/Full Boat, the hand is announced as 'X full of Y' (e.g., the same A-A-A-Q-Q hand would be called a 'Full Boat, Aces full of Queens'). Some Full House hands have special nicknames:
- Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts - Marksman (bows and arrows)
- 7 of Clubs 7 of Diamonds 7 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts - Sailing rednecks
- 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds 3 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts - Nits and Lice, Mites and Lice
Flush
Five cards of the same suit.
Any five cards, all of which are in the same suit. A Flush all in hearts is referred to as 'Valentine's' while a flush all in clubs is known as a 'Golf Bag'.
Straight
Five consecutive cards.
Five cards in sequential order (but not all in the same suit, or it would be a Straight Flush). Also known as a Run (in many melding/counting games, such as gin and its variants, cribbage, and canasta, a Straight is referred to as a Run, and the name has carried over into poker).
- 6 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts 3 of Spades 2 of Clubs - Rabbit (the lowest Straight Flush if Aces are high)
- 5 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 3 of Hearts 2 of Spades Ace of Clubs - Wheel, Bicycle, Bike, Spike, First Street, Little Wheel (the lowest run if Aces are low or high/low)
Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank. Also known as Trips, a Set, or Triplets. Three-card combinations that have special names include:
- Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds Ace of Hearts - Beatles reunion
- King of Clubs King of Diamonds King of Hearts - Three Wise Men, Christmas Special (both references to 'Three Kings'), Alabama Night Riders, Ku Klux Klan (KKK is an abbreviation for the Ku Klux Klan, and 'Alabama Night Riders' is a colloquial term used to refer to this group, which has a history of carrying out their acts at night in rural ateas)
- Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds Queen of Hearts - Six Tits
- Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds Jack of Hearts - Hart, Schaffner, and Marx (Three Jacks)
- 10 of Clubs 10 of Diamonds 10 of Hearts - Dallas to Fort Worth (the I-10 connects these two Texas Cities), San Jose to Gilroy, Gilroy, Thirty Miles of bad road (the distance between San Jose and Gilroy, California, used to be 30 miles, although the two cities are now adjoining)
- 7 of Clubs 7 of Diamonds 7 of Hearts - 21, Slot Machine, Jackpot (all named after results in other casino games like Blackjack and Slots)
- 6 of Clubs 6 of Diamonds 6 of Hearts - The Devil, The Beast, Lucifer, Devil's Area Code
- 5 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds 5 of Hearts - Washington Monument, Pork Chop Sandwiches
- 4 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds 4 of Hearts - Grand Jury
- 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds 2 of Hearts - Huey, Dewey, and Louie (three ducks)
Two Pairs
Two pairs, each with two cards of the same rank. Notable named two pair combinations include:
- Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds 8 of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Dead Man's Hand (Arrows and Nooses)
- King of Clubs King of Diamonds Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Mommas and Poppas
- King of Clubs King of Diamonds 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds - Pair of Dogs (because it's K9K9-- two canines)
- Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - San Francisco Waiters (Queens with Trays/Treys)
- Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds 5 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Jackson Five (Jacks and Fives), Motown, Rock and Roll
- Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - Hookers with Crabs (because the Jacks hook and the 3 is like a sideways crab)
- 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds 8 of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Oldsmobile
- 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds 6 of Clubs 6 of Diamonds - Dinner for Four
- 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds - Socks and Shoes, Mites and Lice, Mits and Mites, Nits and Lice
One Pair
Ace Low Straight Texas Holdem Odds
Two cards of the same rank. The poker hand that contains a single pair that is the most worth noting is the Princess Leia (an A-A-2-3), so called because the room in which Leia was imprisoned in Star Wars was room A-A-2-3. The best known names given to (pocket) pairs include:
- Ace of Clubs Ace of Diamonds - Pocket Rockets, Bullets, American Airlines
- King of Clubs King of Diamonds - Cowboys, King Kong
- Queen of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Bitches, Double date, Canadian Aces, Siegfried and Roy
- Jack of Clubs Jack of Diamonds - Fish Hooks
- 9 of Clubs 9 of Diamonds - German Virgin (no, we don't know why.)
- 8 of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Snowmen
- 7 of Clubs 7 of Diamonds - Sunset Strip, Hockey Sticks
- 6 of Clubs 6 of Diamonds - Route 66
- 5 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Speed limit
- 4 of Clubs 4 of Diamonds - Magnum, Sail Boat
- 3 of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - Crabs
- 2 of Clubs 2 of Diamonds - Ducks
High Card
While the high card is the lowest possible hand in poker (every poker hand automatically has a 'high card' in it-- the card with the greatest value), it comes into play in some poker variants more than others. Poker rookies often underestimate the value of the high card.
Texas Hold'em, for instance, is frequently referred to as a game of high cards because a player with higher cards always has an advantage. If player 1 holds K-Q and player 2 holds J-10, there are three possible outcomes:
- The flop makes player 1's hand, and player 1 wins.
- The flop makes player 2's hand, and player 2 wins.
- The flop doesn't make either player's hand, and player 1 wins again.
The player with high cards has a statistical advantage and will win 63% of the time.
Well known nicknames given to pocket hands are:
Ace Low Straight Texas Holdem Game
- Ace of Clubs King of Diamonds - Big Slick, Anna Kournikova (looks great, never wins!)
- Ace of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Big Chick
- Ace of Clubs Jack of Diamonds - Black Jack, Jack-Ass
- King of Clubs Queen of Diamonds - Royalty, Marriage
- King of Clubs Jack of Diamonds - Kojak
- Jack of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Jackson Five
- Queen of Clubs 3 of Diamonds - Gay Waiter
- 9 of Clubs 5 of Diamonds - Dolly Parton
- Ace of Clubs 8 of Diamonds - Dead Man's Hand (player Wild Bill Hickok was shot in 1876 after winning with it!)
- King of Clubs 9 of Diamonds - Canine
- Jack of Clubs 4 of Diamonds - Flat Tire