Every poker hand, strongest to weakest, with an example of each. These standard rankings apply to Texas Hold’em and most poker games — when two players make the same hand, the higher cards (the “kicker”) decide it.
A, K, Q, J, 10 all of the same suit. The best possible hand — it cannot be beaten.
Five cards in sequence, all the same suit. Ranked by the highest card.
Four cards of the same rank. Also called “quads.”
Three of a kind plus a pair. Ranked first by the three, then the pair.
Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. Ranked by highest card.
Five cards in sequence of mixed suits. The ace can be high or low.
Three cards of the same rank. Also called a “set” or “trips.”
Two different pairs. Ranked by the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
Two cards of the same rank. Ranked by the pair, then the highest side cards.
No pair or better. The hand is judged by its highest card, then the next, and so on.
When two players hold the same type of hand, the higher-ranked cards win. Two flushes? The one with the highest card wins, then the next, and so on. Two players with one pair? The bigger pair wins; if the pairs match, the highest side card (the kicker) decides it. If every relevant card matches, the pot is split.
In a straight, the ace can be the high card (A-K-Q-J-10) or the low card (5-4-3-2-A, the “wheel”). It cannot wrap around — Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
A Royal Flush — A, K, Q, J, 10 all of the same suit — is the highest possible poker hand. It cannot be beaten by any other hand.
A full house is beaten by four of a kind, a straight flush, and a royal flush. It beats a flush, straight, three of a kind, and everything below.
Yes. A flush (five cards of the same suit) beats a straight (five cards in sequence). Straight, then flush, then full house is the order going up.
High card — the highest single card wins when no one has a pair or better. Ace-high is the strongest high-card hand.
These standard rankings apply to Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, and most common games. A few lowball variants invert them, but for the vast majority of poker the order above is what you use.
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