Poker games generally share the same hand rankings – i.e. a Royal Flush is the best possible showdown hand in Omaha, Stud, and Texas Hold’em. Hand StrengthThe strength of a hand when compared to other hands of the same type is determined by the highest value card that makes up the hand. For example, a straight with a jack as the highest value outranks a straight with a 10 as the highest value.The value of the cards does not matter when comparing different hands though. For example, the strongest four-of-a-kind, four aces, would lose to the weakest straight flush, 2♠-3♠-4♠-5♠-6♠. Suit does not matter. When it comes to answering the question of how many decks of cards for poker, the only answer is one deck. As soon as you start playing with two decks, you won’t be playing traditional poker anymore and the rules, rankings, and odds become increasingly difficult.