Poker Hand Rankings
How to Rank Poker Hands in Order
If you've ever asked yourself "what beats what in poker?", then this page is for you.
Poker Cards - Suits and Ranks
Poker is almost always played with a 52 card deck, although some games include a joker, which makes the number of cards 53. A standard deck of poker guides has cards with two different qualities:
- Each card has a rank. There are 13 ranks.
- Each card has a suit. There are four suits.
The rank is the numeric value of the card. The numbered cards are numbered deuces through tens. There's also an ace, which can be played as either a high card, or as a low card. (If it's played as high, it's higher than all the other ranks. If it's played low, it's lower than all the other ranks.)
Besides the numbered cards, there are also three face cards in each suit: the jack, the queen, and the king. They're ranked in that order, from low to high.
The four suits are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. Other than determining flushes and straight flushes, suits have no effect on the ranking of hands.
Poker hands are determined by the best five cards in your hand, no matter
how many cards are being played with. So even if you're playing seven card
stud, you'll make the best poker hand you can with five of those seven
cards--the other two cards don't count.
Wild cards are often used in home poker games, especially when there's a dealer choice game going on. Often the joker is wild, but sometimes deuces or other cards are wild. A wild card can count as a card of any rank or suit in order to improve a player's hand.
Poker strategy tip: In a game with wild cards, you need better hands to win than in games without wild cards.
High Hand Rankings - What Beats What in Poker
Poker hand rankings are ranked from high to low below. The higher a hand is ranked, the less likely it is that you'll have the hand. (Makes sense, doesn't it?)
- Five of a kind
- Straight flush
- Four of a kind
- Full house
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a kind
- Two Pair
- One Pair
- High card, no pair
A "five of a kind" is only possible in games with wild cards, so you won't see this hand very often. Five of a kind is a hand where all five cards have the same rank. For example, AAAAA would be five of a kind.
A "straight flush" is a poker hand where all of the cards are the same suit, AND all of the cards have consecutive rankings. For example, A2345 would be a straight flush ONLY if all five cards shared the same suit. The best possible straight flush is a "royal flush", and that consists of TJQKA of the same suit.
A "four of a kind" is a poker hand in which four cards share the same rank. If multiple players have a four of a kind at the showdown, the four of a kind of higher rank wins. For example, JJJJ5 would beat 7777A.
A "full house" is a poker hand where three cards share one rank, and the other two cards share another rank. For example, if you have AAAJJ, you have a full house. The three cards are more important than the two cards, so ties are broken by the higher rank in the three ranking cards. i.e. AAAJJ would beat KKK88, even though they're both full houses.
A "flush" is a poker hand where all five cards share the same suit, but they're not ranked consecutively. For example, if all the cards in your hand are spades, you have a flush. If two players have a flush, then the highest ranked card in each hand determines who wins.
A "straight" is a poker hand in which all five cards have consecutive rankings with no gaps. For example, A2345 is a straight. The cards do not have to share suits, but if they do, the hand is a straight flush, not a straight.
A "three of a kind" is a poker hand in which three of the five cards share the same ranking, but the other two cards are not paired. The higher ranking three of a kind wins when another player also has a three of a kind.
A "two pair" is a poker hand in which two cards share a rank, and two more cards share another rank. In the event of a tie, the person with the highest ranked pair wins.
A "pair" is a poker hand in which two cards share a rank. Ties are broken by the rank of the cards in the pair, and if they're still tied, by the highest ranking card in the hand besides the cards in the pair. (That card is called "the kicker.")
"High card, no pair" means that none of the above hands are possible. It only wins if an opponent also doesn't have any of the above hands, AND if the opponent's highest card is lower than yours.
Low Hand Rankings - What Beats What in Lowball Poker
Some poker games split the pot between the lowest hand and the highest
hand. Other poker games award the pot to the lowest hand. Depending on which
type of lowball poker game you're playing, the lowest possible hand will be
determined in one of the following two ways:
- Aces count low, and straights and flushes are ignored.
- Aces count high, NOT low, and straights and flushes are NOT ignored.
In method 1, the best possible hand is A2345.
In method 2, the best possible hand is 23457. (This is called "Kansas City low" or "deuce to seven low".)
You should always be sure you understand which type of low hand rules are being used when you play in any type of "lowball poker" game.
This page about poker strategy, poker articles, and good poker players was last updated on May 3, 2010.