Poker Hand Rankings, Best to Worst

The ranking

From strongest to weakest: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. A royal flush is simply the highest straight flush, A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit.

A hand is always the best five cards you can make. In Texas Hold'em that is any five of your two hole cards and the five board cards, and you may use both, one or neither of your own cards. Using neither is called playing the board.

How often each hand appears

Out of the 2,598,960 possible five-card hands, a royal flush is 4 hands, a straight flush 36 more, four of a kind 624, a full house 3,744 and a flush 5,108. A straight is 10,200, three of a kind 54,912 and two pair 123,552.

One pair is about 42.3% of hands and high card about 50.1%. The ranking follows rarity: the rarer the hand, the higher it ranks.

Ties and kickers

Hands of the same type are compared card by card. A higher pair beats a lower one. If both players hold the same pair, the highest side card, the kicker, decides. With A-K against A-Q on a board of A-8-5-3-2, both have a pair of aces and the king kicker wins.

Flushes are compared from the highest card down. Full houses compare the three of a kind first, then the pair. Suits never break ties, so if the five best cards match, the pot is split.

Details that trip people up

The ace plays high or low in a straight: A-2-3-4-5, the wheel, is the lowest straight and K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight. A straight needs five consecutive ranks, so a board of 9-10-J-Q-K gives a straight to everyone, and only a hole card ace (making A-K-Q-J-10) beats it.

Two pair plays only the best two pairs and the best fifth card, even if you hold three pairs among seven cards.

Questions

What beats a full house in poker?

Four of a kind, a straight flush or a royal flush. Between two full houses, the higher three of a kind wins.

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. A flush is rarer than a straight, so it ranks higher.