Poker Hand Rankings

High Card

We haven’t made a pair or better so our hand strength is determined by the highest card (Aces are high).

If our opponent has the same high card as us, the second card is consulted (and so on).

For each hand, we’ll look at a Hold’em example where player 1 has made the exact hand in the image.

Hold’em Example:

Board: 2h 6s 5d Qs 3d

Player 1: Ah Tc
Player 2: Ad Jh

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – AhQsTc6s5d.

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

Both players hold Ace High in this example. So, it’s necessary to consult the second card to determine a winner. Both players hold the Queen as a second card (from the board). Player 1’s third card is the ten while player 2’s second card is the jack.

• Player 1 holds Ace-Queen-Ten High
• Player 2 holds Ace-Queen-Jack High

Player 2 wins the pot with Ace-Queen-Jack high.

Read this guide about high card hand.

One Pair

We have two cards of identical rank. Higher pairs are stronger. The three remaining cards are kickers.

Hold’em Example

Board: Qh 6h 2d

Player 1: Qs9c
Player 2: AdQd

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – QsQh6h9c2d.

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

Both players hold a Pair of Queens in this example. So, we need to look at kickers to determine a winner.

• Player 1 has a Pair of Queens with a Nine Kicker.
• Player 2 has a Pair of Queens with an Ace Kicker.

Player 2 wins with a Pair of Queens, Ace Kicker.

Note that we are still on the flop in this Hold’em example so anything could change by the river.

Read this guide about high card hand.

Two Pair

We have two sets of two cards of identical rank. The strength of the higher pair is most essential. The second pair is only consulted if two players have the same high pair.

This hand uses four cards directly which leaves room for one kicker to complete the 5-card hand.

Hold’em Example

Board: Jh 9d2d 2c

Player 1: Jc9c
Player 2: Kh Ks

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – JhJc9d9c2d .

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

This is a classic example of a spot that might cause some arguments. At first glance it appears that player 1 has two pair while player 2 has one pair. This is not the case, though.

• Player 1 has Two Pair, Jacks and Nines
• Player 2 has Two Pair, Kings and Deuces

This means player 2 wins with Two Pair, Kings and Deuces. His higher pair is higher than player 1’s and he can create his second pair from the board. This is a turn spot so things could potentially change by the river.

Read this guide about two pair hand

Three-of-a-Kind

We have three cards of identical rank. Often referred to as ‘Trips’. Higher ranked trips beat lower ranked trips. This situation leaves room for two kickers.

Hold’em Example

Board: Qh Qs 2h 3d 6s

Player 1: Qd 7c
Player 2: Ah Qc

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – QhQsQd7c6s

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

Both players have Three of a Kind Queens in this example. So, we need to consult the kickers to determine a winner.

• Player 1 has Three of a Kind Queens with a Seven Kicker
• Player 2 has Three of a Kind Queens with an Ace Kicker

This means player 2 wins with Three of a Kind Queens, Ace-Kicker.

Read this guide about three of a kind hand.

Straight

We have five cards in direct consecutive order e.g., 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The suits don’t matter. The higher the rank of the card at the top of the straight, the stronger the straight.

This hand has no kickers since it already uses all 5 cards.

Hold’em Example

Board: 8d 7c 6s

Player 1: Th 9s
Player 2: 9c5c

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – Th9s8d7c6s

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

Both players have a straight here. But they are not equal.

• Player 1 has a Ten-High Straight
• Player 2 has a Nine-High Straight

Player 1 wins with the Ten-High Straight.

Read this guide about straight hand.

Flush

We have five cards all in the same suit. The highest ranked card determines the strength of the flush.

If two players have the same high card, the second-highest flush card is consulted (and so on).

Hold’em Example

Board: 2sJd8d5dKs

Player 1: Ad7d
Player 2: Td4d

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – AdJd8d7d5d

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

Both players have a flush in this case. So, we need to consider who has the highest flush Card.

• Player 1 has an Ace-High Flush.
• Player 2 has a Jack-High Flush.

Player 1 wins with his Ace-High Flush.

Both players have access to the same community cards. So, player 2’s hand will often be referred to as a Ten-High Flush (even though it is really jack-high).

Similarly, if player 2 held 3d4d it would often be referred to as a Four-High Flush (even though such a hand is technically impossible in poker and in the absolute sense it is still a jack-high flush).

Read this guide about flush hand.

Full House

Our hand has three cards of one rank and two of another. (Three-of-a-Kind plus one pair). The strength of the hand is determined by the rank of the Three-of-a-Kind.

The pair is only consulted if two players have the same ranked Three-of-a-Kind.

Hold’em Example

Board: Ah 7c 7d

Player 1: Ad As
Player 2: Ac 7h

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – AdAsAh7c7d

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

Both players hold a full house, so we need to analyze who has the strongest three-of-a-kind component.

• Player 1 holds a Full House, Aces full of Sevens
• Player 2 holds a Full House, Sevens full of Aces

Player 1 wins with Aces full of Sevens. Note how player 1 has the three-of-a-kind aces while player 2 has the inferior three-of-a-kind sevens.

Read this guide about Full House hand.

Four-of-a-Kind

We have four cards of identical rank. Often referred to as ‘Quads’. Higher ranked quads beat lower ranked quads. This leaves room for 1 kicker.

Hold’em Example

Board: Qh Qs Qd Qc 2s

Player 1: 5c 5d
Player 2: Kh 6d

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – QhQsQdQc5d .

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

This one has been known to cause a few arguments also. At first glance, it seems that player 1 must be stronger because he has a pair of Fives in the hole. But this is not the case.

Both players are forced to use the four Queens on the board. The hand strengths are therefore as follows.

• Player 1 has Four-of-a-Kind Queens with a Five Kicker.
• Player 2 has Four-of-a-Kind Deuces with a King Kicker.

Player 2 wins with Four-of-a-Kind Deuces, King Kicker.

Read this guide about four of a kind hand.

Straight Flush

We have five cards in consecutive rank order all in the same suit – e.g., 5,6,7,8,9 all hearts.

The strength of the straight flush is determined by the card at the top of the straight (Aces are high).

Hold’em Example

Board: 6h7h8h9h 2c

Player 1: AhTh
Player 2: Qc 5h

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – 10h9h8h7h6h.

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

It’s completely irrelevant that player 1 holds the Ah here. He instead plays the Th to make the higher end of the straight flush.

Player 2 also makes a straight flush. So, we need to compare the card at the top of the structure to determine a winner.

• Player 1 has a Straight Flush, Ten High
• Player 2 has a Straight Flush, Nine High

Player 1 wins with the Straight Flush, Ten High.

Read this guide about straight flush hand.

Royal Flush

We hold TJQKA all in the same suit. This hand is the strongest in poker and can never be beaten. (At worst, it will tie). The royal flush is a type of straight flush - the best possible Straight Flush.

Hold’em Example

Board: TsJsQsKsAs

Player 1: 2d 2h
Player 2: Kc Kh

Player 1 has made the exact hand in the above image – TsJsQsKsAs.

But is it a winner, loser, or tie?

At first glance player 2’s hand might seem significantly stronger. But none of the hole cards matter in this case since there is a royal flush on the board.

• Both players play the 5 community cards to create a Royal Flush.

This hand is, therefore, a tie.

Read this guide about Royal Flush hand.