Reviewed by WSOP Winner Chris ‘Fox’ Wallace- Beginner-friendly
- 1 minute read
Reviewed by Poker hands fall into one of 10 categories. The highest is a royal flush, followed by a straight flush, then four of a kind,a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and finally a high card. This is the same for all the main poker variations, including Texas Hold’em.
Download and print out our poker hands ranking chart, or save it to your phone. Keep this poker cheat sheet nearby when playing so that you always know the ranking of hands from best to worst.
Poker hands ranking chart
| Rank | Hand name | Example | Probability | Combinations | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush |  | Probability 30,939 to 1 | Combinations 4 | A Royal Flush is made out of 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, all of the same suit. |
| 2 | Straight Flush |  | Probability 3,437.8 to 1 | Combinations 36 | A Straight Flush is five cards in a row, all in the same suit. |
| 3 | Four of a Kind |  | Probability 594 to 1 | Combinations 624 | Four of a Kind is the same card in each of the four suits. |
| 4 | Full House |  | Probability 37.5 to 1 | Combinations 3,744 | A Full House is a pair plus three of a kind in the same hand. |
| 5 | Flush |  | Probability 32.1 to 1 | Combinations 5,108 | A Flush is five cards in the same suit, not in numerical order. |
| 6 | Straight |  | Probability 20.6 to 1 | Combinations 10,200 | A Straight is five cards in numerical order, but not in the same suit. |
| 7 | Three of a Kind |  | Probability 19.7 to 1 | Combinations 54,912 | Three of a Kind is three of one card and two non-paired cards. |
| 8 | Two Pair |  | Probability 3.26 to 1 | Combinations 123,552 | Two Pair is two different pairings of the same card in one hand. |
| 9 | One Pair |  | Probability 1.28 to 1 | Combinations 1,098,240 | One Pair is a pairing of the same card. |
| 10 | High Card |  | Probability 4.74 to 1 | Combinations 1,302,540 | A High Card refers to a hand with no matching cards. |
Understanding hand rankings is your first step on the road to becoming a winning poker player. Knowing the best hands will help you win more, beat your friends at home, and become a better player
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Ties and kickers
It’s possible that the best hand at the table will be held by more than one player. In this case, the tie is broken using a ‘kicker’ – the next highest card in the hand.
For example, a player holding a pair of 9s with a King, 8 and 5, would beat a player with a pair of 9s alongside a Jack, 8 and 5. If kickers are also tied, the next highest card decides the winner, and if all cards are tied the pot is evenly split between the winning players.
Poker guides
Once you have mastered poker hands, check out our other guides to help you become a better player.
Texas Hold’em Rules
Poker Starting Hands
Online Poker
Poker Sites
Poker hand rankings FAQ
What is the best hand in poker?
The best hand in poker is a Royal Flush. It’s made up of an ace, king, queen, jack and 10 in the same suit.
What is the worst hand in poker?
The worst hand in poker is a high card. The lowest possible high card five-card poker hand (if Aces are high) is 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 with no flush present.
What beats what in poker?
You can see the poker hand rankings above. One pair beats a high card, two pair beats one pair, three of a kind beats two pair, a straight beats three of a kind, a flush beats a straight, a full house beats a flush, four of a kind beats a full house, a straight flush beats four or a kind, a royal flush beats a straight flush. Nothing beats a royal flush.
What’s the highest suit in poker?
There is no highest suit in poker. They are all ranked equally.
How many poker hands are there?
There are 10 possible poker hands. The most valuable hand is a Royal Flush, a Straight Flush made of the highest value cards in the game.
What is the ranking order of poker hands?
The highest value poker hand is a Royal Flush, while the lowest is a high card. The full ranking order is royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.
What’s the highest poker suit?
In popular poker games such as Texas Hold’em, there is no ranking of card suits. However suits are sometimes ranked in other games like Bridge, where the ranking order of suits is spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.
What happens if two poker hands are the same?
If two poker hands are the same, the winner is decided by a kicker. A kicker is the highest value card outside of the pair/three-of-a-kind etc. For example, a pair of 8s with a K kicker beats a pair of 8s with a 10 kicker. If two hands are identical, the pot is split.
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