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What are good poker hands to play and how are they ranked? To answer these questions, we have put up our poker hand rankings table for you to find out all poker hands ranked from the best to the worst. Understanding the strength of poker hands and how they rank against each other is one of the most important parts of the basics you should learn about poker. This holds true whether you’re trying out the game for the first time at online poker sites, at a live casino or a home game. Don’t be worried about having to memorize complex math or probabilities at this point though. While poker is a skill game where luck plays a significant factor, getting a basic understanding of poker hands is quite easy!
In most common poker games and variants, including the popular No-Limit Texas Holdem and Pot-Limit Omaha Hi, all poker hands are made up of 5 cards. On top of the complete hand rankings listed in our table below, you can find also a printable hand rankings list in PDF format as well as a chart of Top 10 Texas Holdem starting hands to help you understand what the strongest starting hands are. The last section covers some of the most frequently asked questions about poker hands to give you a jump-start with playing poker and winning chips at the table!
1. Royal flush
A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 10♥
The best and the rarest hand you can make in poker is a royal flush, consisting of broadway cards of the same suit – A, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit. The 4 different suits in poker are ranked equally. You can consider yourself incredibly lucky if you get this hand in poker!
2. Straight flush
8♣ 7♣ 6♣ 5♣ 4♣
Five cards in a sequence, all in the same suit. Any straight with all cards in the same suit is a straight flush, but this hand is also very rare. Our example hand of a straight flush is the winning hand held by Mr. Bond in Casino Royale (2006), 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of spades.
3. Four of a kind
Q♥ Q♦ Q♠ Q♣ 9♦
The third best hand possible in poker, four cards of the same rank with a side card. Also known as quads. If both you and your opponent share the same Four of a Kind on the board, the player who has the higher side card has the winning hand.
4. Full house
J♥ J♦ J♠ 7♣ 7♦
Three of a kind with a pair. Also known as a boat. If two or more players have a Full House, the player with the highest 3 cards of the same rank has the winning hand.
5. Flush
Q♠ T♠ 7♠ 4♠ 2♠
A hand with all cards of the same suit. Our example hand is a Queen High Flush.
6. Straight
8♣ 7♦ 6♠ 5♦ 4♥
Any five cards in a sequence that are not all the same suit. The lowest straight in poker, from Ace to Five, is known as a wheel. Any Ace can count as either a high or a low card in forming a straight.
7. Three of a Kind
5♣ 5♦ 5♠ Q♣ 8♦
Three cards of the same rank with two side cards of any value. Also known as trips. Using both of your hole cards for three of a kind is called a set in Texas Holdem, and it is of equal absolute hand strength as any three of a kind. With our example hand, your hand would be a set if you whole cards are a pair of fives and one of the community cards is a five.
8. Two pair
9♣ 9♠ 5♣ 5♦ J♣
Two different pairs with one side card. The higher pair of the two determines the rank of the Two Pair in case two or more players hold Two Pair.
9. One Pair
K♥ K♦ 9♣ 4♠ 2♥
A very common poker hand, consisting of two cards of the same value and 3 other cards. The best possible One Pair hand is a Pair of Aces. Our example shows a hand with the second best one pair hand, a Pair of Kings.
10. High Card
A♦ J♣ 8♠ 5♥ 3♠
In case you cannot form any of the hands above, the highest card available plays. In our example, the hand is called Ace High, according to the highest card which is the ace of diamonds.
