Poker Hand Rankings — Complete Guide

The Complete Hand Rankings

Hand Descriptions and Tiebreakers

1. Royal Flush

A, K, Q, J, 10 — all the same suit. The best possible hand in poker. All Royal Flushes are equal regardless of suit — if two players both hold a Royal Flush (possible only in community card games), the pot is split.

2. Straight Flush

Five consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g., 8-7-6-5-4 of hearts). Tiebreaker: the higher top card wins. An Ace can be used as a low card in A-2-3-4-5 (a "wheel" straight flush), but cannot wrap around (Q-K-A-2-3 is not valid).

3. Four of a Kind (Quads)

Four cards of the same rank plus one kicker (e.g., Q-Q-Q-Q-7). Tiebreaker: higher four-of-a-kind wins. If both players have the same quads (in community card games), the highest kicker wins.

4. Full House

Three of a kind plus a pair (e.g., K-K-K-9-9, called "Kings full of Nines"). Tiebreaker: the higher three-of-a-kind wins first. If the trips are the same, the higher pair wins.

5. Flush

Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence (e.g., A-J-8-5-3 of diamonds). Tiebreaker: compare the highest card first, then the second-highest, and so on until a difference is found. Suit does not matter for tiebreaking — two flushes of different suits with the same card ranks split the pot.

6. Straight

Five consecutive cards of mixed suits (e.g., 10-9-8-7-6). Tiebreaker: the higher top card wins. Ace can be high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (A-2-3-4-5), but not both simultaneously. The lowest possible straight is A-2-3-4-5 (the "wheel"), where the Ace plays as a 1.

7. Three of a Kind (Trips / Set)

Three cards of the same rank plus two unrelated kickers (e.g., 7-7-7-K-2). Tiebreaker: higher trips win. If trips are equal, compare kickers. In Hold'em terminology, a "set" means you hold a pocket pair that connects with a board card; "trips" means two of the three matching cards are on the board.

8. Two Pair

Two different pairs plus one kicker (e.g., J-J-4-4-A). Tiebreaker: the higher top pair wins first. If top pairs match, the higher second pair wins. If both pairs match, the kicker determines the winner.

9. One Pair

Two cards of the same rank plus three kickers (e.g., 10-10-A-8-5). Tiebreaker: higher pair wins. If pairs are equal, compare kickers from highest to lowest.

10. High Card

No pair, no straight, no flush — just five unconnected cards (e.g., A-J-9-6-3). Tiebreaker: compare the highest card, then second-highest, down until a difference is found.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

• "A flush always beats a straight." Correct. A flush ranks higher because it's statistically less likely — 0.20% vs 0.39%.
• "Three of a kind beats two pair." Correct. Despite two pair containing "more pairs," three-of-a-kind is rarer and ranks higher.
• "Suits matter for tiebreaking." Incorrect. In standard poker rules, suits have no ranking. A heart flush and a spade flush with the same card values split the pot.
• "A-K-Q-J-10 is a straight, but A-2-3-4-5 isn't." Both are valid straights. The Ace can play high or low. However, K-A-2-3-4 is NOT a valid straight — the Ace cannot wrap around the sequence.
• "In Hold'em, you must use both hole cards." Incorrect. In Texas Hold'em, you make the best five-card hand from any combination of your two hole cards and the five community cards. You can use both, one, or neither of your hole cards. (Note: in Omaha, you must use exactly two of your four hole cards — different rules.)

Hand Rankings in Different Poker Variants

The standard ranking above applies to the vast majority of poker games, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, and Five-Card Draw. However, some variants use modified rankings:

• Lowball (Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw) — the lowest hand wins. Hand rankings are inverted, though the specific rules vary (in Razz, A-2-3-4-5 is the best hand; in 2-7, 7-5-4-3-2 is best because straights and flushes count against you).
• Hi-Lo games (Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud Hi-Lo) — the pot is split between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand (8-or-better rule). You need to know both standard and low rankings.
• Short Deck (Six Plus Hold'em) — cards 2–5 are removed, changing probabilities. In most Short Deck rules, a flush beats a full house because flushes become harder to make with fewer cards per suit.