Poker hand rankings

All ten hands, explained

1. Royal flush

Ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all of the same suit. It's the best possible hand and can only be tied, never beaten. Two players can only share a royal flush when all five cards are on the board, and then they split the pot.

2. Straight flush

Five cards in a row, all of the same suit. Between two straight flushes, the one with the higher top card wins. The lowest is 5-4-3-2-A, where the ace counts as one.

3. Four of a kind

All four cards of one rank, also called quads. Higher quads win. If both players share four of a kind on the board, the fifth card, the kicker, decides it.

4. Full house

Three cards of one rank plus a pair of another, read as "kings full of fours". Compare the three of a kind first; if those match, the pair decides. Kings full of fours beats queens full of aces.

5. Flush

Any five cards of the same suit that aren't in a row. Compare the highest card first, then the next, all the way down to the fifth. A-J-8-6-2 beats A-J-8-5-4. Suits are never ranked, so two identical flushes split.

6. Straight

Five cards in a row in mixed suits. The ace can sit at the top, 10-J-Q-K-A, or at the bottom, A-2-3-4-5, but a straight can't wrap around the corner: Q-K-A-2-3 is just ace high. The straight with the higher top card wins.

7. Three of a kind

Three cards of one rank. With a pocket pair plus one on the board it's called a set; with one card in your hand and a pair on the board it's trips. Higher three of a kind wins, then the two kickers in order.

8. Two pair

Two different pairs. Compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the fifth card. Jacks and fives with an ace beats jacks and fives with a king.

9. One pair

Two cards of the same rank. The higher pair wins. With the same pair, compare the three kickers one at a time, highest first.

10. High card

No pair, no straight, no flush. The hand is named after its highest card, here "ace high". Compare the cards one at a time from the top.

How ties are broken

Ties are always settled by the five cards in each player's best hand, never by the sixth or seventh card and never by suit. Work through it in this order:

1. Compare the hand categories. A flush beats any straight.
2. Within the same category, compare the cards that make the hand: the higher pair, the higher three of a kind, the higher top card of a straight.
3. Still level? Compare the kickers, the remaining cards of the five, from highest to lowest.
4. If all five cards match in rank, the pot is split.

Mix-ups that cost pots

• Flush or straight? The flush wins. It's rarer, so it ranks higher.
• Three of a kind or two pair? Three of a kind wins, even though two pair uses four matching cards.
• Two pair plus a pair on the board. With three pairs available you only play the best two. 9-9 on a K-K-5-5-2 board is kings and nines, while a player holding A-3 plays kings and fives with an ace kicker. The nines win.
• The board plays. If the five board cards beat what anyone can make, everyone still in splits the pot.
• Counterfeited hands. Holding 7-7 on a board of A-A-K-K-3 gives you aces and kings with a seven kicker. Your pair of sevens no longer counts.

Questions