Poker Hand Rankings at a Glance
Scroll horizontally to view the full table.
| Rank | Hand | Example | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ | Ace-high straight flush |
| 2 | Straight flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ | Five consecutive cards of one suit |
| 3 | Four of a kind | Q♣ Q♦ Q♥ Q♠ 3♣ | Four cards of the same rank; also called quads |
| 4 | Full house | J♣ J♦ J♠ 9♥ 9♣ | Three of one rank plus a pair |
| 5 | Flush | A♥ Q♥ 9♥ 5♥ 2♥ | Five cards of one suit, not consecutive |
| 6 | Straight | 10♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ | Five consecutive ranks, mixed suits allowed |
| 7 | Three of a kind | 8♣ 8♦ 8♠ K♥ 4♦ | Three cards of one rank |
| 8 | Two pair | Q♠ Q♥ 6♣ 6♦ 5♣ | Two different pairs |
| 9 | One pair | A♦ A♣ J♠ 7♥ 2♣ | Two cards of one rank |
| 10 | High card | A♣ 10♦ 7♠ 4♥ 3♣ | No pair, straight, or flush |
Watch PokerNews walk through the ten poker hand rankings and the key tie checks in the verified segment below. The video is in English; captions are available.
That order is the standard high-hand ranking used in Texas Hold'em. A flush beats a straight. A full house beats a flush. Quads beat a full house. Suits do not break a tie in ordinary Hold'em.
How Poker Hands Are Ranked
A poker hand is always evaluated as five cards. Hold'em gives you seven cards to choose from, but the extra two are discarded when the final hand is named. That is why “three pair” is not a showdown hand: the best two pairs and the highest remaining card make the final five.
Compare hands in two steps:
- Compare the category: straight versus flush, pair versus two pair, and so on.
- If the category matches, compare the ranks that define it, then the remaining kickers in descending order.
You never add the value of all seven cards. You also do not receive a bonus for using both hole cards. If the board itself is the best five-card hand, the board plays.
The Ten Poker Hands, Strongest to Weakest
1. Royal flush
A royal flush is A-K-Q-J-10 in one suit. It is the highest possible standard high hand. Two players cannot make different-ranked royal flushes; when the five-card board is a royal flush, every remaining player has the same hand and the pot is split.
2. Straight flush
A straight flush is five consecutive cards of one suit. Compare the highest card: 9-high beats 8-high. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight flush, with the five acting as its high card.
3. Four of a kind
Four cards of one rank are quads. Higher quads win. When the board contains quads, the fifth card can matter: on Q-Q-Q-Q-2, a player holding an ace plays Q-Q-Q-Q-A and beats a player whose best kicker is a king.
4. Full house
A full house combines trips and a pair. Compare the three-of-a-kind rank first. J-J-J-4-4 beats 10-10-10-A-A. Only if the trips match do you compare the pair.
5. Flush
A flush contains five cards of one suit without forming a straight. Compare the highest card, then the next highest, until the tie breaks. An ace-high flush is not automatically the nut flush on every board; the exact available suited cards matter.
6. Straight
A straight contains five consecutive ranks. Suits do not matter. The ace can sit above the king in A-K-Q-J-10 or below the two in A-2-3-4-5, but it cannot wrap around: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
7. Three of a kind
Three cards of one rank make trips. Players often say they flopped a set when a pocket pair connects with one board card. They usually say trips when one hole card connects with a paired board. Both hands occupy the same ranking category, but the card-removal and range implications differ.
8. Two pair
Compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the kicker. A-A-4-4-Q beats K-K-Q-Q-A because aces are the higher top pair. On a double-paired board, make sure you are selecting the two strongest pairs available.
9. One pair
Compare the pair first, then up to three kickers in order. A pair of tens with A-Q-4 kickers beats the same pair with A-J-9 because the queen beats the jack at the second kicker.
10. High card
When nobody makes a pair or better, compare the highest card and continue down. A-K-9-6-3 beats A-K-9-5-4 at the fourth card.
How to Choose the Best Five Cards
Do not start by asking whether your hole cards “play.” Lay out all seven cards and select the strongest legal five-card combination.
Both hole cards play. You hold A♠ K♠ on Q♠ J♠ 10♠ 4♦ 2♣. Your best five are A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠, a royal flush.
One hole card plays. You hold A♣ 7♦ on A♦ K♠ K♥ 9♣ 3♠. Your best five are A♣ A♦ K♠ K♥ 9♣, two pair with a nine kicker. The seven does not play.
The board plays. You hold 2♣ 2♦ on A♠ K♥ Q♦ J♣ 10♠. The board makes Broadway, so your pocket deuces are irrelevant. Every opponent who also reaches showdown has at least that same straight; nobody can improve it with a single hole card.
Kickers, Ties, and Split Pots
A kicker is a side card used only after the made part of a hand ties. It can decide high card, one pair, two pair, trips, and quads. It does not sit outside the five-card hand.
Use this comparison order:
- Same pair: compare the highest kicker, then the second, then the third.
- Same two pair: compare the higher pair, lower pair, then kicker.
- Same trips: compare the two kickers.
- Same straight: compare the high end of the straight.
- Same flush: compare suited cards from highest downward.
- Same full house: compare trips first, then the pair.
- Same quads: compare the rank of the quads, then the kicker.
If all five cards tie, the pot is chopped. The ace of spades does not beat the ace of hearts simply because of suit. House rules may use suits for administrative purposes such as assigning a first button, but that is not a showdown tiebreaker.
Common Ranking Mistakes
Reading six cards. A hand has five cards. “Three pair” becomes two pair plus one kicker.
Forgetting the wheel. A-2-3-4-5 is a five-high straight. In that sequence the ace is low.
Overvaluing a single suited card. In Hold'em, five suited cards are required. Four hearts on the board plus one heart in your hand make a flush; three hearts on the board plus one in your hand do not.
Calling any three of a kind a set. The rank is the same, but table language distinguishes a set made with a pocket pair from trips made with one hole card on a paired board.
Using Omaha rules in Hold'em. Hold'em allows zero, one, or two hole cards. Omaha normally requires exactly two hole cards and exactly three board cards. Do not carry one construction rule into the other game.
Three Worked Hold'em Showdowns
Top pair, kicker plays. Board: K♣ 9♦ 6♠ 3♥ 2♣. Maya has K♦ Q♦; Leo has K♥ J♥. Both have one pair, kings. Maya's queen kicker beats Leo's jack kicker.
The board counterfeits a pair. Board: A♣ A♦ 8♠ 8♥ 4♣. Noor has K♠ 2♠; Eli has Q♣ J♣. Both use aces and eights from the board. Noor's king is the fifth card, so Noor wins.
The straight on board chops. Board: 9♣ 8♦ 7♠ 6♥ 5♣. One player tables A-A and another tables K-Q. Neither can make a higher straight with one hole card, so the board plays and they split the pot.
When Rankings Change by Variant
The chart above is for standard high poker. Some variants change either the construction rule or the ranking goal. Omaha changes how hole cards must be used. Hi-lo games can award part of the pot to a qualifying low hand. Lowball games reverse or reshape the objective. Short Deck may use a different flush/full-house order depending on the rules in force.
Always confirm the room's rules before the first hand. The article on types of poker games compares these families without mixing their rules.
What to Learn Next
Once the order feels automatic, follow a complete deal in how to play poker. When a showdown still leaves you in the tank, use the hand-review process to reconstruct what you knew before the cards ran out.
Poker-Eye can use the current cards, position, table situation, and available opponent context during supported play to display an action cue over the poker-room interface. That in-play cue does not replace knowing which five cards actually win at showdown. See how Poker-Eye works for the current product boundary.
Sources
- PokerStars: Poker Hand Rankings for the standard hand order and official poker-room terminology.
- PokerNews: Poker Hand Rankings for five-card examples and explanations of tie-breaking rules.
- Poker.org: Poker Hand Rankings Chart for the printable chart structure and common beginner comparisons.
- Upswing Poker: Poker Hands for kicker rules, edge cases, and additional worked examples.
Poker involves financial risk. No tool or strategy guarantees a result. Follow local requirements and the current rules of the poker room you use.
About the Editorial Team
The Poker-Eye Editorial Team researches, checks, and maintains product and educational content. Sources and product boundaries are reviewed before publication.