Poker Hand Evaluation

This project is a Poker Hand Evaluation tool that helps you evaluate and compare poker hands in Texas Hold'em games. It uses the PokerHandEval class from the poker-hand-eval package to evaluate various hand types such as Full Houses, Straights, Flushes, and more.

Installation

To get started, install the poker-hand-eval package:

npm install poker-hand-eval

Getting Started

To use the PokerHandEval tool for evaluating poker hands, follow these steps:

1. Instantiate the PokerHandEval Class

   • Begin by creating an instance of the PokerHandEval class. This instance will be used to perform the hand evaluations.

2. Prepare Player Hands and Community Cards

   • Player hands should be defined as an array containing exactly two elements, each representing a PlayingCard value.
   • The community cards, which are shared among all players, should be defined as an array containing five PlayingCard values.

3. Evaluate the Hands

   • To evaluate a player's hand, use the evaluate method of the PokerHandEval instance. Pass the player's hand and the community cards as arguments to this method.
   • The evaluate method returns an Evaluation object, which includes details that can be used to determine the hand's rank and category.

Example Code Snippet

The following example demonstrates how to compare the hands of four players, including one with a Full House and another with a Straight:

import { PokerHandEval } from "poker-hand-eval";
import type {
  PlayingCardType,
  PlayerHandType,
  CommunityCardsType,
  EvaluationType,
} from "poker-hand-eval";

// Create an instance of the PokerHandEval class
const evaluator = new PokerHandEval();

// Define the hands of four players
const playerOneHand = [
  PlayingCardType.HT,
  PlayingCardType.H9,
] as PlayerHandType;
const playerTwoHand = [
  PlayingCardType.D8,
  PlayingCardType.H6,
] as PlayerHandType;
const playerThreeHand = [
  PlayingCardType.S9,
  PlayingCardType.C9,
] as PlayerHandType;
const playerFourHand = [
  PlayingCardType.DA,
  PlayingCardType.HA,
] as PlayerHandType;

// Define the community cards
const communityCards: CommunityCardsType = [
  PlayingCardType.D9,
  PlayingCardType.H9,
  PlayingCardType.CT,
  PlayingCardType.D7,
  PlayingCardType.C6,
];

// Evaluate each player's hand against the community cards
const playerOneResult: EvaluationType = evaluator.evaluate(
  playerOneHand,
  communityCards
);
const playerTwoResult: EvaluationType = evaluator.evaluate(
  playerTwoHand,
  communityCards
);
const playerThreeResult: EvaluationType = evaluator.evaluate(
  playerThreeHand,
  communityCards
);
const playerFourResult: EvaluationType = evaluator.evaluate(
  playerFourHand,
  communityCards
);

// Compare the hand results
console.log("Player One Rank: ", playerOneResult.result.rank);
console.log("Player Two Rank: ", playerTwoResult.result.rank);
console.log("Player Three Rank: ", playerThreeResult.result.rank);
console.log("Player Four Rank: ", playerFourResult.result.rank);

Code Overview

Initialization

An instance of the PokerHandEval class is instantiated.

Hand Configuration

The hands of the players are specified using two PlayingCard values each (for example, HT signifies the 10 of hearts).

Community Cards Setup

A set of five PlayingCard values are designated as the community cards.

Hand Evaluation

The evaluate function is invoked for each player's hand along with the community cards to assess the hand's rank and category.

Rank Comparison

The ranks of the evaluated hands are compared to determine the strongest hand.

Supported Poker Hands

The PokerHandEval class is capable of assessing all primary poker hand categories, such as:

• High Card
• One Pair
• Two Pair
• Three of a Kind
• Straight
• Flush
• Full House
• Four of a Kind
• Straight Flush
• Royal Flush

API Reference

Methods

• evaluate(playerHand: PlayerHand, communityCards: CommunityCards): Evaluation
  • This method evaluates a player's hand together with the community cards.
  • It returns an Evaluation object, which contains details about the hand's rank and category.

Types

• PlayerHand: Represents the player's hand with two PlayingCard values.
• CommunityCards: Consists of five PlayingCard values, representing the community cards.
• Evaluation: An object detailing the outcome of the hand evaluation, including:
  • result.rank: Indicates the hand's rank, with a lower number signifying a stronger hand.
  • result.category: Specifies the category of the hand (e.g., Full House, Straight).

Conclusion

The poker-hand-eval package provides a simple and effective way to evaluate poker hands in Texas Hold'em games. With its easy-to-use API, you can determine the strength of each player's hand and compare hands to identify the winner.

Note: This package is intended for individuals already familiar with Texas Hold'em rules and the ranking of poker hands. A solid understanding of poker hand hierarchies is crucial for the effective utilization of this evaluation tool.

This README.md document offers a thorough overview of the project, encompassing setup procedures, illustrative examples, and in-depth explanations of the hand types and methods supported.