In Texas Hold Em, it is a game where a player drawing the best cards may not win the hand. There is an art to bluffing, betting and folding in this high stakes, high pressure event. It feeds the classic American story of the underdog going from rags to riches.
At the island's story line conclusion, this is the hand that the viewers were dealt:
The King turned out to be Hurley, since he was the island guardian (and the one who allegedly make up any rules he wanted to).
The Queen was Kate, the last female figure left at the climax of the series. She is the one who allegedly made the fatal shot to take down Flocke (which supposedly allowed the Ajira plane to leave the island with several people on board).
The Jack was Jack because a) Jack is the name of the card, and b) a Jack is not as powerful as a queen or king, but a valuable soldier in battle. One can sacrifice a jack if one has a king or queen left.
The Joker is a wild card, and Sawyer was the wild card in the end. He could have gone evil with Flocke. He could have gone good with Jack. But Sawyer only went for Sawyer - - - all he was concerned about was "getting off this damn rock." He did not help either Jack or Kate in defeating Flocke, but he did agree to "take" Kate off the island (which really wasn't a promise to a dying friend but a tag along okay).
Were these the characters you thought would be the end players when the series ended on the island?
