Poker Ranking of Hands

The ranking of hands in poker is really simple and ranking a poker hand will become second nature to you in a very short amount of time. Hold em poker hand rankings work the same way, you start with 2 hole cards and build the best 5 card hand with the 2 cards in your hand and the 5 community cards.

The same goes for any poker game, all poker games have the same system of ranking hands. The best 5 card hand wins, some games differ a bit but let us focus on a game like holdem which is very straightforward in its poker hand rankings.

There are 52 cards in a deck and the ranking of cards from high to low is: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The suits of the cards make no difference, no suit is worth more than the other.

Usually in a game like Holdem you will have 7 cards total when the hand is done but you must choose the best 5 card hand and the cards that do not matter anymore.

Before I go into examples I will go through the poker ranking of hands, from best to worst.

1. Royal Flush (AKQJT)

The best possible hand in poker is a royal flush, it looks like this Ah-Kh-Qh-Jh-Th. All of the suits must be equal and the cards must range from Ace to Ten.

2. Straight Flush (65432)

A straight flush is like a royal flush but the range of cards can be from A to the lowest card, 2. The cards must be of the same suit and connected, for example 6s-5s-4s-3s-2s is a straight flush but 7s-5s-4s-3s-2s is not because of the gap between the 5 and 7, this now becomes a 7 high flush.

3. Four of a Kind (KK KKA)

On third place we have four of a kind, and it means having four cards of the same rank. For example K-K-K-K-A is four of a kind Kings. If someone else has four of a kind at the same time as you then the higher one wins, for example four of a Kind Kings wins against a four of a kind Jacks

4. Full House (A AA KK)

A full house means having two of one rank and three of another. An example of having Aces full of Kings (A-A-A-K-K). When deciding the best hand between two full houses the hand with the higher 3 cards wins, for example Fives full of Kings (5-5-5-K-K) wins against Sixes full of Kings (6-6-6-K-K). If the three cards are of equal rank then the rank of the remaining two cards decides who the winner is.

5. Flush (AK532)

In the poker ranking of hands world a flush is 5 cards of the same suit and the cards can be of any rank. For example Ac-Kc-5c-3c-2c is an Ace High Flush. If someone else has an Ace High Flush then the second card determines the winner, and if the second card is equal we look at the third highest and so on until a winner is determined.

6. Straight (98765)

A straight is like a straight flush but without needing the suits, a straight looks like this
9-8-7-6-5. The highest card in the straight decides the winner, so if someone has a Queen High Straight (Q-J-T-9-8) he loses against a King High Straight (K-Q-J-T-9) but wins agains a Six High Straight (6-5-4-3-2). The higehst straight possible is A-K-Q-J-T and the lowest straight is 5-4-3-2-A.

7. Three of a Kind (555AK)

A three of a kind means having 3 of one rank and 2 others cards (the other 2 are irrelevant). This hand is also called trips or a set in Texas Holdem. When comparing two hands that both hold three of a kind the one with the higher three of a kind wins. For example 5-5-5-A-K wins against 2-2-2-K-Q, and remember when it comes to the poker hand ranking the other 2 cards are irrelevant unless you are playing a game where you can have the same three of a kind, in that case it is decided by the two cards remaining.

8. Two Pair (AA KKT)

One pair in poker is two cards of the same rank, two pair is just one pair twice and when deciding between two two pairs the one with the highest pair wins and if you happen to have the same two pair as someone else then the odd card wins, for example 6-6-5-5-A beats 6-6-5-5-K.

9. One Pair (AAK 53)

In the poker ranking of hands one pair is the second worst hand, it means that two of your five cards are of equal rank with three other cards that do not match anything. When two one pair hands come up against each other the one with the higher pair wins, and when both players have the same pair then the one with the highest third card wins and so on.

10. High Card ( AKQ53)

And finally, the worst hand in the poker ranking of hands, the High Card. It is just a five card hand that doesn't have any cards of equal rank, isn't connected like a straight nor does it have five suits like a flush. When two high cards come up against each other the one with the highest card wins, if both have the same high card then the second card is looked upon and so on until a winner is crowned. For example A-K-Q-5-3 beats A-K-J-5-3.

Done with Poker Ranking of Hands?

Are you ready to play? Click here to be taken to the featured poker room (don't worry, you can play for play money in the beginning or just nickles and dimes).

Finished with Poker Ranking of Hands? Return to Beginners Guide to Poker