The Many Hands of Hold'em
Texas Hold'em is probably one of the most popular variations of poker. Walk into any land-based casinos and the sheer number of Texas Hold'em tables and Texas Hold'em machines will confirm that. The casinos make money from a combination of the popularity of Texas Hold'em and the fact that people usually play it the wrong way. Many aim to just get a royal flush, partly because it's what television protagonists usually get, and because they probably didn't know any better. While those other people are waiting for that elusive winning hand, you can spend your time actually winning because you know better than they do.
First off, you should know that a royal flush isn't the only winning hand in Texas Hold'em. There are several ways for you to get the win, depending on the circumstances besides twiddling your thumbs for the royal flush. It's just that royal flushes are the ones to get you a sure win no matter the circumstances. Of course, anyone will tell you that winning consistently at Texas Hold'em means you'll have to affect the circumstances in your own little way.
Take, for example, the highest hand next to a straight flush, a four of a kind. Your odds of getting a four of a kind are about 156 times higher than for a straight flush. If your opponents don't have any reasonable chances of getting hands higher than a flush, why, you've got yourself the winning hand.
Another good example would be a flush. If you were to make a list of possible winning hands for Texas Hold'em and arrange the hands in order, the flush would be somewhere in the middle. If the figure for the four of a kind above was jaw-dropping, this one's even more so. Your chances for getting a flush are about a thousand times higher than that for royal flush. How's that for better chances?
The figures above are based on raw calculations that don't take other factors - you, for instance - into account. However, the point is very clear. The term 'winning hand' in Texas Hold'em doesn't just refer to royal flushes, the highest winning hand of all. There are many other ways to get that pot at the poker table, allowing you to pick and win consistently. Don't waste your time waiting for the royal flush. Sure, your opponents might not look as glamorous getting lower winning hands, but they'll be the chip winners at the end of the day.