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Did you know...

...that there are 4,324 possibilities to make the elusive Royal Flush and that this comes down to a chance of only 0.003232% of getting it?

More poker hand probabilities >>

Poker hand rankings - What beats what in poker?

Below you will find a ranking of all the hands possible in poker. The poker hands are ranked from lowest to highest in value. Also provided are some examples of what beats what in poker to clarify some of the hand match-ups that might give you trouble.

You can also download the PDF-file at the top in which the poker hand rankings are listed to print and use as a reference while playing.

Card ranking:


2 of diamonds3 of diamonds4 of diamonds5 of diamonds6 of diamonds7 of diamonds8 of diamonds9 of diamonds10 of diamondsjack of diamondsqueen of diamondsking of diamondsace of diamonds

Note: the ace by default is the highest card in the deck, but can have the function of a 'one' to make a straight from ace to 5.

Suits

Clubs ♣, diamonds , hearts and spades ♠. All suits are of equal value in Texas hold'em.

Determining your hand value

In Texas hold'em a player must pick exactly 5 cards from the 2 hole cards and the 5 community cards together to form the best hand (even if that means playing all the community cards and no hole cards). In Omaha a player has to pick exactly 2 of his hole cards and 3 community cards to form the best hand.

Poker hands ranked from lowest to highest in value:


High card


2 of spades8 of hearts10 of diamondsjack of spadesace of hearts
If no player has any of the hands listed below, than the player holding the highest card wins.

One pair


4 of hearts5 of heartsace of clubs6 of diamonds6 of spades
Two cards that match form a pair. The player who holds the pair of cards with the highest value wins. If two players hold the same pair than the player holding the highest unpaired card with it (called the 'kicker') wins.

Two pair


4 of spades9 of diamonds9 of clubsqueen of spadesqueen of hearts
Two sets of two matching cards form two pair. The highest pair of the two determines the rank of the two pair. If two or more players have the same highest pair in a two pair hand, than the ranking of the lower pair will determine the winner.

Three of a kind


queen of clubs7 of clubs8 of hearts8 of spades8 of diamonds
Any 3 cards of the same rank. If multiple players hold the same three of a kind then the highest kicker (unpaired card) will determine the winner. Three of a kind formed with a pocket pair (pair in the hole) and one of the community cards is also called a 'set'.

Straight


6 of clubs7 of clubs8 of spades9 of clubs10 of clubs
Any five consecutive cards of different suits form a straight. The ace can also serve as the lowest card (which would be a 'one') to form a straight from ace to five (the lowest straight possible).

Flush


2 of spades6 of spades7 of spadesjack of spadesking of spades
Any five cards of the same suit that are not consecutive form a flush. The highest card determines the rank of the flush.

Full house ('boat')


10 of clubs10 of diamonds6 of clubs6 of spades6 of hearts
Three of a kind with a pair forms a full house. The ranking of the cards forming the three of a kind determines the ranking of the full house. If two players are holding the same three of a kind then the ranking of the cards forming the pair will determine the winner.

Four of a kind ('quads')


ace of diamondsjack of heartsjack of clubsjack of spadesjack of diamonds
Any 4 cards of the same rank forms a four of a kind. If the community cards show a four of a kind, then the player holding the highest kicker wins.

Straight Flush


7 of spades8 of spades9 of spades10 of spadesjack of spades
A straight that is also a flush.

Royal Flush


10 of diamondsjack of diamondsqueen of diamondsking of diamondsace of diamonds
The highest straight flush from ten to ace is called a Royal Flush. This hand is exceptionally rare and therefore it appeals to the imagination of many poker players.

Poker hand ranking examples: what beats what in poker?


Examples of what beats what in poker.
Board (community cards) Player 1 Player 2 Winning hand
10♠ 8♠ K♠ Q♠ A♠ 3♠ 4♠ 6♠ 7♠ 8♠ 10♠ Q♠ K♠ A♠
split pot
10♠ 8♠ K♠ Q♠ A♠ 4♠ 9♠ 6♠ 7♠ 9♠ 10♠ Q♠ K♠ A♠
6 7♣ 9 4♠ 8 A♣ 10♣ 9♠ 10♠ 6 7♣ 8 9 10♣
=
6 7♣ 8 9 10♠
split pot
J 7 7♠ Q J♣ 6♣ 6 A 2♠ A 7 7♠ J J♣
4♣ 5♣ 10 6♣ 6 3♣ 7♣ A♣ K♣ 3♣ 4♣ 5♣ 6♣ 7♣
J 8♣ 9♣ 5 6♠ 7 10♠ 10 Q 8♣ 9♣ 10 J Q
A♠ 9♣ 9 K K♠ A K♣ A♣ A K K♠ A♠ A♣ A
6 9♣ Q♣ K♠ 6 J♣ 6♣ 5♠ 6♠ Q♣ K♠ 6 6 6♣
=
Q♣ K♠ 6 6 6♠
split pot
6♠ J Q♣ J♠ 2 7♣ 7 A 6 Q♣ 7♣ 7 J J♠


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