All Poker Hands Ranked
Royal Flush
Strongest Hand 1 in 649,740The best possible hand in poker. A Royal Flush consists of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten, all of the same suit. It cannot be beaten by any other hand. In Texas Hold'em, you might play your entire career and only see one at showdown — the odds of being dealt one are roughly 1 in 650,000.
How to play it Bet for value relentlessly. The board will rarely scare an opponent off, so build the pot early — once they call a flop bet they're often calling streets.
Straight Flush
1 in 72,193Five cards in consecutive order, all of the same suit. If two players both have a straight flush, the one with the higher top card wins. You'll most commonly make these with suited connectors like 7♣6♣ when the board cooperates. A Royal Flush is technically just the highest possible straight flush.
How to play it Play fast on coordinated boards. If you slow-play, the same texture that made your straight flush possible may make your opponent fold their second-best hand.
Four of a Kind
1 in 4,165Four cards of the same rank from different suits, plus one side card. Also known as "quads." Higher-ranked quads beat lower-ranked quads, and if two players somehow both flop quads, the fifth card (the kicker) breaks the tie. In Hold'em, quads usually mean you're stacking someone — the challenge is getting paid off.
How to play it Don't slow-play quads on dry boards — opponents won't bluff into a paired board. On wet boards, let them keep barrelling.
Full House
1 in 694A combination of three of a kind and a pair. When comparing full houses, the rank of the three-of-a-kind determines the winner — so Q-Q-Q-5-5 beats J-J-J-A-A. Often called a "boat" at the table. Full houses come up more often than you'd expect, especially on paired boards.
How to play it Bet for value on paired boards; opponents often have a flush or straight that they'll pay off thinking it's good. Watch out for a bigger boat on highly-paired boards.
Flush
1 in 509Five cards of the same suit, in any order. If two players each have a flush, the one with the highest card wins. If those match, compare the next highest, and so on. In Hold'em, be cautious when three cards of one suit appear on the board — if you don't hold the Ace of that suit, someone else's flush could have you beaten.
How to play it Position matters. Out of position with the Ace-high flush, you can value-bet thinly; without the Ace, slow down on the river if a fourth suited card hits.
Straight
1 in 255Five cards in consecutive order, regardless of suit. The Ace can be used as high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A), but not both — so K-A-2-3-4 is not a valid straight. Straights are often disguised hands that catch opponents off guard, especially when made with middle cards on the board.
How to play it On wet boards, bet to charge draws. Be aware of higher straights — if the board comes 7-8-9 and you have 10-J for the Jack-high straight, watch out for someone with Q-10 making the Queen-high straight.
Three of a Kind
1 in 47Three cards of the same rank, plus two unrelated side cards. When you make three of a kind using a pocket pair plus one board card, it's called a "set." When you use one hole card and two board cards, it's called "trips." Sets are generally stronger because they're harder for opponents to spot.
How to play it Sets (pocket-pair-based) play differently from trips (one hole card matched). Sets are concealed and value-bet aggressively; trips are obvious and require more pot control.
Two Pair
1 in 21Two separate pairs of cards with the same rank, plus one side card. The highest pair determines the winner. If tied, the second pair is compared, then the kicker. Two pair is often cited as the average winning hand in Texas Hold'em — strong enough to win most pots, but vulnerable to straights and flushes.
How to play it Top + bottom two pair (e.g., A♠5♥ on A♣ K♦ 5♣) is the most vulnerable two pair — Kings and fives counterfeit you on any K turn. Bet for value but cap the pot.
Pair
1 in 2.4Two cards of the same rank, plus three unrelated side cards. Higher pairs beat lower pairs. If tied, the side cards (kickers) are compared one by one. You'll make at least a pair on the flop around a third of the time when starting with two unpaired cards — it's the most common made hand in poker.
How to play it Pocket pairs aim to hit a set (about 12% of flops). Overpairs to the board are strong; bet for value but reduce sizing on boards with obvious draws.
High Card
Weakest Hand 1 in 2When no other hand is made, the highest card in your hand plays. If two players have the same high card, the next highest card is compared, and so on. Despite being the weakest ranking, high-card hands win more pots than you'd think — most hands in Hold'em are won by betting, not by showdown.
How to play it With Ace-high you can sometimes still win at showdown. Otherwise, your value comes from bluffing — pick spots where the board favors your perceived range.
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What Beats What in Poker?
The simplest way to remember: any hand higher on the list above always beats any hand lower on the list. A Flush always beats a Straight. A Full House always beats a Flush. Within the same hand type, higher cards win — a pair of Aces beats a pair of Kings. When hands are completely identical in rank, the pot is split.
Common "does X beat Y?" matchups
Does a Flush beat a Straight?
Yes. A Flush always beats a Straight in standard poker. Statistically, a Flush is harder to make — 5,108 possible five-card Flush combinations versus 10,200 possible Straights from a 52-card deck. Even the lowest Flush (7-high) beats the highest Straight (Ace-high).
Does a Full House beat a Flush?
Yes. A Full House outranks a Flush even when the Flush is Ace-high. The reasoning is again rarity — there are 3,744 Full Houses possible versus 5,108 Flushes. When two Full Houses meet, the rank of the three-of-a-kind portion decides the winner, then the pair if the trips are equal.
Does Three of a Kind beat Two Pair?
Yes, always. Even three 2s beats Aces-and-Kings two pair. Three of a Kind is rarer (54,912 possible) than Two Pair (123,552). This is a common spot where new players misread the board — pairs feel strong, but trips beat any two pair regardless of the kicker.
Does a Straight beat Three of a Kind?
Yes. A Straight outranks Three of a Kind. The rule of thumb still holds — Straights (10,200) are rarer than Three of a Kind (54,912). At the same time, when you flop a set, you'll usually be ahead of any made straight unless the board has 3+ connected cards.
Kickers and Tied Hands
A "kicker" is a side card that decides the winner when two players hold the same primary hand. Kickers come into play more often than you'd expect — in cash games and tournaments, single-pair and two-pair hands account for the majority of showdowns, and most of those showdowns turn on a kicker comparison.
Example: you hold A♠K♣ on a board of A♦ 9♥ 4♠ 7♦ 2♣. Your opponent holds A♥J♥ on the same board. Both of you have a pair of Aces. The board contributes 9♥ as the next-highest community card to both hands. After that, your K♣ (kicker) outranks their J♥. You win the pot. If both of you held A-K, the pot would be split.
Kicker rules apply at every hand strength below a Straight. A Full House compares the trips first, then the pair. A Three of a Kind compares the trips first, then the higher of the two side cards, then the lower. A Pair compares all three side cards in descending order. If every relevant card is tied, the pot is split — the suits do not break the tie in standard Texas Hold'em or Omaha.
Probability and Odds
Knowing the rough probability of each hand helps you size bets, decide whether to chase a draw, and read what hands an opponent is realistically representing. The table below shows the chance of being dealt each hand on a random 5-card deal from a standard 52-card deck — and what that translates to in betting terms.
| Hand | Possible combos | Odds (against) | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 4 | 1 in 649,740 | 0.00015% |
| Straight Flush | 36 | 1 in 72,193 | 0.0014% |
| Four of a Kind | 624 | 1 in 4,165 | 0.024% |
| Full House | 3,744 | 1 in 694 | 0.14% |
| Flush | 5,108 | 1 in 509 | 0.20% |
| Straight | 10,200 | 1 in 255 | 0.39% |
| Three of a Kind | 54,912 | 1 in 47 | 2.11% |
| Two Pair | 123,552 | 1 in 21 | 4.75% |
| Pair | 1,098,240 | 1 in 2.4 | 42.26% |
| High Card | 1,302,540 | 1 in 2 | 50.12% |
Two takeaways for everyday play: first, anything stronger than two pair is rare enough that the bet sizing your opponents use should tell you they have something real. Second, you'll make a pair or better on the flop about 50% of the time when starting with two unpaired hole cards — so do not over-value a single pair just because you flopped one. The premium hands above the line (Full House and up) appear in roughly 0.4% of dealt 5-card hands; meet them with a healthy bankroll and a willingness to fold middling holdings.
Hand Rankings in Other Poker Variants
Standard Texas Hold'em hand rankings apply to most popular formats — Hold'em, Omaha, Stud, and most home games. A few variants change the rules in ways serious players need to know.
Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
Hand rankings are identical to Hold'em, but the rules for forming hands differ. In Omaha you receive four hole cards and must use exactly two of them plus exactly three community cards. That constraint changes which made hands are reachable — for example, holding 4 of one suit in your hand does NOT give you a flush, because you can only use two of those cards.
Short Deck (6+ Hold'em)
Played with a 36-card deck (twos, threes, fours, and fives removed). Two ranking changes flow from the smaller deck — a Flush is rarer than a Full House, so a Flush now beats a Full House. Three of a Kind is rarer than a Straight, so Three of a Kind beats a Straight. Ace can still be used as both high and low for straights (A-6-7-8-9 is the lowest straight).
Lowball variants (Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw)
The rankings are inverted — the worst standard hand wins. In Razz (Ace-to-Five low), straights and flushes do not count and Aces are low; the best hand is A-2-3-4-5. In 2-7 Triple Draw (Deuce-to-Seven low), straights and flushes do count against you and Aces are high; the best hand is 2-3-4-5-7 (no straight, no flush, lowest possible).
Wild card games (Spit-in-the-Ocean, Deuces Wild)
When wild cards are in play, Five of a Kind becomes the strongest hand (above a Royal Flush). Five of a Kind is impossible in standard rules because a single deck contains only four of each rank. Most home-game versions of wild card poker use this rule, but tournament play generally doesn't.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the order of poker hands?
From highest to lowest, the poker hand rankings are: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, and High Card. A Royal Flush is the best possible hand, while a High Card is the weakest.
Which suit is highest in poker?
In most poker games, including Texas Hold'em and Omaha, no suit is ranked higher than another. All four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) are equal in value. Suits are only used to break ties in certain rare situations, such as determining the dealer button or the bring-in in stud poker, where the standard ranking is spades (highest), hearts, diamonds, and clubs (lowest).
What is the order of suits in poker?
When suits need to be ranked (which is uncommon in most poker variants), the standard alphabetical order is used: clubs (lowest), diamonds, hearts, and spades (highest). Remember, in Texas Hold'em, suit rankings never determine the winner of a hand.
What beats what in poker?
A higher-ranked hand always beats a lower-ranked hand. For example, any Flush beats any Straight, and any Full House beats any Flush. Within the same hand type, the higher cards win. For instance, a pair of Aces beats a pair of Kings.
How many poker hand combinations are there?
There are 2,598,960 possible five-card poker hands from a standard 52-card deck. Of these, only 4 are Royal Flushes, making it the rarest hand. There are 36 possible Straight Flushes, 624 Four of a Kind combinations, and 3,744 Full Houses.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. A flush (five cards of the same suit) always beats a straight (five consecutive cards of mixed suits). This is because flushes are statistically harder to make — there are 5,108 possible flush combinations vs 10,200 possible straights from a standard deck.
Does three of a kind beat two pair?
Yes. Three of a kind always beats two pair in standard poker hand rankings. Even the lowest possible three of a kind (three 2s) beats the highest possible two pair (Aces and Kings).
What happens if two players have the same hand?
If two players have the same type of hand, the higher-ranked cards within that hand win. For example, a pair of Kings beats a pair of Queens. If the hand ranks are identical, kickers (side cards) are compared one by one. If all five cards are the same rank, the pot is split equally.
Is Ace high or low in poker?
In most poker games, the Ace can be used as both the highest and lowest card. It can form the top of a straight (A-K-Q-J-10) or the bottom (5-4-3-2-A, known as a "wheel"). However, it cannot wrap around — K-A-2-3-4 is not a valid straight.
How can I improve at poker beyond learning hand rankings?
Knowing hand rankings is just the starting point. To consistently win, you need to track your sessions, analyze your results over time, and identify patterns in your play. Tracking metrics like win rate, hourly earnings, and performance by game type helps you spot leaks and make better decisions at the table. PokerCharts makes this easy by automatically calculating your stats and surfacing insights from your session history.
Do I need poker tracking software?
If you play poker regularly and want to improve, tracking software is essential. Without data, you are relying on memory and gut feeling, which are notoriously unreliable. A poker tracker helps you answer critical questions: Are you actually a winning player? Which stakes are most profitable for you? Are you playing too many hours and tilting? PokerCharts is a free poker tracker that works on any device, with no download required.
Where can I learn more about poker strategy?
Check out The Session Log for in-depth guides on poker strategy, bankroll management, variance, and more. Whether you're looking to understand GTO concepts, improve your tournament game, or learn how to analyze your session data, The Session Log covers it all with practical advice you can use at the table.