Poker Hands Ranked, Best to Worst
Royal flush > straight flush > four of a kind > full house > flush > straight > three of a kind > two pair > one pair > high card. Any hand beats every hand below it. The same order applies in Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud and nearly every standard poker game, and you always play your best five cards.
Updated By the PokerLog team at MoneySense Labs
1. Poker hand rankings chart
| # | Hand | Example | 5-card combos | 5-card odds | Hold'em (7 cards) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flushA-K-Q-J-10, all one suit | 4 | 1 in 649,7400.000154% | 0.00323% | |
| 2 | Straight flushFive in a row, all one suit | 36 | 1 in 72,1930.00139% | 0.0279% | |
| 3 | Four of a kindFour cards of one rank | 624 | 1 in 4,1650.0240% | 0.168% | |
| 4 | Full houseThree of a kind plus a pair | 3,744 | 1 in 6940.144% | 2.60% | |
| 5 | FlushFive of one suit, not in a row | 5,108 | 1 in 5090.197% | 3.03% | |
| 6 | StraightFive in a row, mixed suits | 10,200 | 1 in 2550.392% | 4.62% | |
| 7 | Three of a kindThree cards of one rank | 54,912 | 1 in 472.11% | 4.83% | |
| 8 | Two pairTwo different pairs | 123,552 | 1 in 214.75% | 23.5% | |
| 9 | One pairTwo cards of one rank | 1,098,240 | 1 in 2.442.3% | 43.8% | |
| 10 | High cardNone of the above; highest card plays | 1,302,540 | 1 in 2.050.1% | 17.4% |
Straight flush counts leave out royal flushes. Rarer hands rank higher; that's the whole logic of the order.
2. Visual chart
3. Does X beat Y? Quick answers
Flush vs. straight
Flush winsA flush (5th) beats a straight (6th). 5,108 five-card flushes vs. 10,200 straights.
Full house vs. flush
Full house winsA full house (4th) beats a flush (5th): 3,744 full houses vs. 5,108 flushes.
Two pair vs. three of a kind
Three of a kind winsTrips (7th) beat two pair (8th). There are 54,912 ways to make trips and 123,552 to make two pair.
Straight vs. three of a kind
Straight winsA straight (6th) beats three of a kind (7th).
Straight flush vs. four of a kind
Straight flush winsOnly a royal flush, which is the ace-high straight flush, ranks above it.
A-2-3-4-5 vs. 2-3-4-5-6
2-3-4-5-6 winsWith an ace low, A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel) is the lowest straight. The ace can't play both ends, so Q-K-A-2-3 isn't a straight.
Royal flush vs. royal flush
Split potIn Hold'em two players can't hold different royal flushes. Two royals would need ten cards and only five are shared. Both players have one only when the royal is on the board, and then they split.
4. Ties and kickers
When two players have the same kind of hand, compare the cards that make it, highest first: the higher pair, the higher trips, the higher top card of a straight. If those match, compare the kickers, the leftover cards in the best five. If all five cards match in rank, split the pot. Suits never break a tie.
Same pair: the kicker decides
Board: K♠ 9♦ 7♣ 4♥ 2♠
Player A K♥ Q♣ · Player B K♦ J♠
Both have a pair of kings. A's queen beats B's jack, so A wins.
Both players play the board
Board: A♠ A♦ K♣ Q♥ J♠
Player A 9♣ 8♣ · Player B 7♦ 6♦
Neither hand improves on A-A-K-Q-J, so the best five cards are the same and the pot is split.
Two pair on the board: the fifth card decides
Board: 9♠ 9♦ 6♣ 6♥ 2♠
Player A A♣ 4♦ · Player B Q♥ J♣
Both have nines and sixes. A's ace beats B's queen as the fifth card.
Flush vs. flush: highest card first
Board: K♥ 9♥ 4♥ 7♣ 2♦
Player A A♥ 3♥ · Player B Q♥ J♥
A has an ace-high flush, B a king-high flush (K-Q-J-9-4). A wins. Compare card by card until one is higher.
Full house vs. full house: trips first
Board: J♣ J♦ 8♠ 8♥ 3♣
Player A J♠ 5♦ · Player B 8♦ 2♣
A has jacks full of eights, B has eights full of jacks. The three of a kind is compared first, so A wins.
5. Best starting hands in Texas Hold'em
Hand rankings tell you who wins at showdown. Which two cards are worth playing is a different question. These are the top ten starting hands as Sklansky and Malmuth group them in Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players (groups 1 and 2):
| # | Hand | Name | Sklansky group |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A♠ A♥ | Pocket aces | Group 1 |
| 2 | K♠ K♥ | Pocket kings | Group 1 |
| 3 | Q♠ Q♥ | Pocket queens | Group 1 |
| 4 | J♠ J♥ | Pocket jacks | Group 1 |
| 5 | A♠ K♠ | Ace-king suited | Group 1 |
| 6 | 10♠ 10♥ | Pocket tens | Group 2 |
| 7 | A♠ Q♠ | Ace-queen suited | Group 2 |
| 8 | A♠ J♠ | Ace-jack suited | Group 2 |
| 9 | K♠ Q♠ | King-queen suited | Group 2 |
| 10 | A♠ K♥ | Ace-king offsuit | Group 2 |
Which of these to raise, call or fold depends on your seat. The preflop chart shows ranges for every position, and the hand calculator gives the exact odds for any matchup.
6. Printable cheat sheet
Poker hands, best to worst
- 1Royal flushA-K-Q-J-10, all one suit
- 2Straight flushFive in a row, all one suit
- 3Four of a kindFour cards of one rank
- 4Full houseThree of a kind plus a pair
- 5FlushFive of one suit, not in a row
- 6StraightFive in a row, mixed suits
- 7Three of a kindThree cards of one rank
- 8Two pairTwo different pairs
- 9One pairTwo cards of one rank
- 10High cardNone of the above; highest card plays
Ties: compare the hand's cards, then kickers. Five matching ranks split the pot. Suits never break ties. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight. pokerlog.app/poker-tools/hand-rankings
7. FAQ
What are the poker hands in order?
From best to worst: Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. Any hand beats every hand below it on the list.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. A flush (five cards of one suit) beats a straight (five cards in a row). A flush is harder to make: there are 5,108 five-card flushes against 10,200 straights.
Does three of a kind beat two pair?
Yes. Three of a kind beats two pair, even though two pair uses four matching cards. Three of a kind is rarer: 54,912 five-card combinations against 123,552 for two pair.
Is ace high or low in poker?
Both, in a straight. A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest straight and 5-4-3-2-A (the wheel) is the lowest. A straight can't wrap around the ace, so Q-K-A-2-3 isn't a straight. Everywhere else the ace is the highest card.
What happens if two players have the same hand?
Compare the cards that make up the hand, then the kickers, highest first. A pair of kings with a queen beats a pair of kings with a jack. If all five cards match in rank, the players split the pot. Suits never break a tie.
What are the odds of a royal flush?
1 in 649,740 in a five-card deal. In Texas Hold'em, using all seven cards (your two plus the five on the board), it's about 1 in 30,940.
Sources
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