Poker hand rankings: from royal flush to high card, with examples
In Texas hold'em you make the best five-card hand from your two cards and the five shared cards on the table. You can use both of your cards, one, or even none. Here are the hands from best to worst.
The ten hands, best first
| # | Hand | Example | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ | Ace-high straight flush |
| 2 | Straight flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ | Five in a row, one suit |
| 3 | Four of a kind | Q♣ Q♦ Q♥ Q♠ 3♦ | Four cards of one rank |
| 4 | Full house | J♠ J♦ J♣ 4♥ 4♠ | Three of a kind plus a pair |
| 5 | Flush | A♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 2♦ | Five cards of one suit |
| 6 | Straight | 10♣ 9♦ 8♠ 7♥ 6♣ | Five in a row, any suits |
| 7 | Three of a kind | 7♠ 7♥ 7♦ K♣ 2♠ | Three cards of one rank |
| 8 | Two pair | A♣ A♦ 9♠ 9♥ 5♣ | Two different pairs |
| 9 | One pair | K♥ K♠ 10♦ 6♣ 3♥ | Two cards of one rank |
| 10 | High card | A♠ Q♦ 9♣ 5♥ 3♠ | None of the above |
The ace counts high or low in a straight: A-2-3-4-5 (the "wheel") is the lowest straight, and 10-J-Q-K-A the highest. A straight can't wrap around: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
Ties and kickers
When two players have the same kind of hand, the higher cards decide:
- Pairs, trips and quads: the higher rank wins (a pair of kings beats a pair of queens). If they're equal, the remaining cards, the kickers, decide, one by one.
- Two pair: compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
- Full house: the three of a kind decides first, then the pair.
- Flush and high card: compare the highest card, then the next, and so on.
- Straights: the top card decides.
If the best five cards are exactly equal, the pot is split. Suits never break ties.
Mistakes beginners make
- Counting six or seven cards. Only five count. With A♠ K♠ on a board of A♦ A♣ 7♥ 7♠ 2♦ you have aces full of sevens: A A A 7 7.
- Missing the "board plays". If the five shared cards make a better hand than anything using your cards, everyone still in shares it.
- Forgetting the kicker. With A-K against A-Q on an ace-high board, both have a pair of aces, and the king wins.
- Seeing a flush that isn't there. You need five cards of one suit. Four hearts on the board plus none in your hand is not a flush.
Practice without the risk
The quickest way to learn the hands is to play them. On Anytable you can open a private hold'em table for your friends in the browser and play for free site chips: the table highlights your best combination as the board comes out, and the cheat sheet with all ten hands is one tap away. Every deck is provably fair, so after the session anyone can check that the cards weren't stacked.