Poker hand rankings order the ten possible five-card hands from strongest to weakest: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card.
The chart below shows all ten with examples and odds, so use it or download PDF chart for reference.
I have coached thousands of players, and knowing this list is the easy part. Knowing how strong your hand really is on a given board is where you make money, and this page breaks down both.
Poker Hands in Order: Ranked From Best to Worst
| Poker Hand | Explanation | Example |
| #1. Royal Flush | Five highest cards of the same suit | A♣K♣Q♣J♣T♣ |
| #2. Straight Flush | Any five consecutive cards of the same suit | J♣T♣9♣8♣7♣ |
| #3. Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same rank | 4♣4♠4♦4♥J♣ |
| #4. Full House | Three cards of one rank + two cards of another rank | 3♣3♠3♦7♥7♣ |
| #5. Flush | Five cards of the same suit | K♦J♦7♦5♦3♦ |
| #6. Straight | Five consecutive cards in different suits | 6♠5♠4♦3♦2♥ |
| #7. Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank | 7♣7♥7♦2♥J♠ |
| #8. Two Pairs | Two cards of one rank + two cards of another rank | Q♣Q♠2♣2♥J♠ |
| #9. One Pair | Two cards of the same rank | 8♥8♠A♣K♠5♦ |
| #10. High Card | Any other hand | A♣Q♦J♠4♥3♣ |
Download Poker Hand Rankings Cheat Sheet (PDF)
We have listed all possible poker hands, but let’s take a deeper dive to see exactly how they rank and how to make them in Texas Hold’em Poker.
How to Remember the Poker Hand Order
One rule underpins the whole chart: the harder a hand is to make, the higher it ranks. A royal flush is one specific five-card combination. A pair happens almost half the time. Everything in between follows the same logic.
If you want a memory hook, try this one: “Royal Straight Four Full Flush, Straight Three Two One High.” Say it a few times and the order sticks.
In my experience, new players do not lose pots because they forget the order. They lose them because they see a flush and stop thinking. Once the list is automatic, the real work starts: reading the board to work out which of these hands your opponent can actually have.
Test yourself with our hand ranking quiz before you move on.
#1. Royal Flush
A royal flush is the best possible combination of cards in Texas Hold’em. If you have this hand, you will win the pot, and there is no way for anyone to beat you.
A royal flush is made up of five consecutive cards of the highest ranking in the same suit. For example, AhKhQhJhTh is a royal flush.
You can make a royal flush with any combination of hole cards and community cards, but using both your hole cards to make it is the least probably and most advantageous situation.
You will probably only make a royal flush a few times in hundreds of hours of playing poker, so make sure it counts.
How To Play a Royal Flush
You will make a royal flush a handful of times in your life, so the only mistake that matters is winning a small pot with it. If an opponent is betting into you, let him keep betting and raise on the river. If nobody is betting, bet yourself, because checking twice and then shoving the river tells everyone what you have.
I once flopped a royal flush in a live tournament and took the smallest line to trap the other player, and he bluffed his entire stack. Patience is the whole strategy here.
#2. Straight Flush
Ranking just below a royal flush is a straight flush, a hand made up of five consecutive cards of any suit that don’t go up to the Ace.
For example, if you are holding 9s8s7s6s5s, you have a straight flush. This hand is nearly unbeatable and can only lose to a higher straight flush or a royal flush.
Straight flushes are also very rare, and making one in Texas Hold’em usually means you are about to win a big pot if your opponents give you action.
How To Play a Straight Flush
A straight flush is close to unbeatable, so your job is to build the biggest pot the board allows. Against an aggressive player, checking and calling on the flop lets him keep bluffing.
On a paired board, or one where a higher straight flush is possible, bet and raise, because your opponent can have a full house he is happy to stack off with, and you want the money in while he still loves his hand.
#3. Four of a Kind
Also known as quads, four of a kind is an extremely powerful poker hand and the best possible hand on many boards in Texas Hold’em.
An example of four of a kind would be KdKsKhKc9s, a hand containing four cards of the same rank along with another card on the side.
Four of a kind is akin to a straight flush in that it almost always wins the pot and is extremely hard to make in the game.
How To Play Four of a Kind
With quads, your only question is how to get the most money in. When the board is paired, opponents give full houses a lot of credit, so they call big bets with them. What I see students do wrong is bet a third of the pot on every street because they are scared of losing action.
Bet big. A player holding a full house on a paired board won’t fold to a large bet, and a small bet costs you money on the one hand that can pay you the most.
#4. Full House
A slightly more common hand than the above, a full house is made up of three cards of one rank and a pair of cards of another.
For example, QdQsQhJdJc makes for a powerful full house. Depending on the board texture, a full house can be the best possible poker hand in a given situation.
When you have a full house in Texas Hold’em, you will want to make bets and get some value, but be careful of higher full houses that might be lurking in the dark.
How To Play a Full House
A full house is usually the best hand, so bet it for value on every street. The exception is when the board has two pairs, and you hold the low full house. On a board of K K 7 7 2, my sevens full is a strong hand, but any king beats me, so I bet for value, but I don’t raise back facing a river check-raise.
In my experience, the expensive mistake with a full house is not slow-playing. It is refusing to consider that a bigger full house exists.
#5. Flush
A flush is a hand made up of five cards of the same suit that are not ranked in any particular order. For example, KdJd7d4d2d makes a flush.
If you make a flush in Texas Hold’em, you will want to be aware of any higher flushes that are possible, as well as the board pairing, as this opens opportunities for full houses and quads in other players’ hands.
How To Play a Flush
On an unpaired board, a flush is a hand to bet and raise with. Two things change that. First, a paired board puts full houses in play. Second is a low flush against heavy action.
If I hold 86 of hearts on a board with three hearts and my opponent raises my river bet, my flush is a bluff catcher, not the nuts. The pots I see students lose most often with a flush are the ones where they made a small flush and treated it like the nuts.
#6. Straight
The next best hand in poker is a straight, which is made up of five consecutive cards that are not suited, such as 7d6s5c4d3d for a 7-high straight.
Straights can be strong poker hands and even “the nuts” on some boards, but they can also be troublesome on certain community cards.
Calling bets to try and make a straight can be a good idea, but beware of cards of the same suit and board pairing when you have one.
How To Play a Straight
A straight is a value-betting hand on a dry board. On a board of 9 8 7 with two suits, holding J T for the nut straight, I bet, and I am happy to get it in. The hands that need care are the low end of the straight and the straight on a board with a flush draw that completes.
Holding 6 5 on a 9 8 7 board means anyone with J T or T 6 has me beat, so I bet the flop for value and slow down if the action gets heavy. Take it even more cautiously if there are three cards to the flush on the board.
#7. Three of a Kind
In Texas Hold’em Poker, there are two ways to make this particular poker hand. In either case, it is made up of three cards of the same rank, such as 6d6c6hAd3c.
When three of a kind is made with one hole card and two community cards, the hand is called “trips,” and your kicker will often play a big part in its strength.
On the other hand, when three of a kind are made with two hole cards and one community card, this is called a “set” and is a much more powerful and concealed hand.
How To Play Three of a Kind
A set, made with a pocket pair, is one of the most profitable hands in poker because nobody can see it coming. Bet it. On a coordinated board like J T 9 with two hearts, slow-playing a set of nines gives every straight and flush draw a free card, and that is the single most common leak I see in student hand histories with this hand.
Trips, made with one hole card, are different. Your kicker plays, and someone else can have the same three cards with a better kicker or even a full house, so bet for value but do not put in your whole stack against a raise without a good kicker.
#8. Two Pairs
A poker hand consisting of two pairs of cards of different rankings is called a two pair. For example, KdKc7d7c4s makes two pairs.
Two pairs is a hand with plenty of value in Texas Hold’em, but also one that you will want to be careful with when a lot of action goes down.
How To Play Two Pairs
Two pair is a strong hand on the flop and a fragile one by the river. Top two on a dry board, say A K on A K 4, is a hand I bet three streets with. Bottom two on a wet board, say 6 5 on 9 6 5 with two spades, is a hand I bet on the flop to charge draws and then reassess when a straight or flush card lands.
What I find with students is that they treat every two pair the same, and the one that gets them into trouble is the small two pair on a board that improves.
#9. One Pair
If you hold just one pair of cards of the same rank, along with three other cards, you have one pair, the weakest “made hand” in poker.
One pair of hands is often a winner in poker, but can be in trouble when the pot gets big and there is nothing else to fall back on.
How To Play One Pair
One pair wins most pots in Texas Hold’em, and it also loses most of the big ones. Top pair with a strong kicker is a hand I bet twice for value and then think hard about on the river.
Middle or bottom pair is a bluff catcher. I call one bet, sometimes two, and I fold to big river aggression a lot of the time. Here is the rule I give every student: one pair is almost never worth your whole stack at 100 big blinds. If you remember nothing else from this page, remember that.
#10. High Card
If you have no pair or any of the higher-ranked poker combinations, your high card will come into play and decide the winner.
For example, if a hand goes all the way to showdown, and neither player has a pair, the highest cards in the players’ hands will decide who wins.
If the highest card is the same, the next highest card will play, regardless of suits and any other details of the hand.
How To Play a High Card
Ace-high wins more pots than you think, but only when nobody bets. With no pair, your hand is a bluffing candidate, not a calling hand. I bluff with high-card hands when I have position and blockers to my opponent’s strongest holdings, and I fold them when I face real aggression.
Calling a river bet with ace-high because “he might be bluffing” is a leak I see constantly in student reviews.
Who Wins? Three Real Showdowns
The chart is easy. Reading it against a real board is where players go wrong. Work through these three hands before you look at the answers. All three are spots I have seen play out at the table or in student hand reviews.
- Showdown 1. Board: K♠ 9♥ 4♠ 2♠ 9♦. Player A holds A♠ J♠. Player B holds K♦ 9♣. Answer: Player B wins. Player A has the nut flush, but the river paired the board, and Player B holds nines full of kings. This is the exact hand I use to teach flush discipline.
- Showdown 2. Board: 8♣ 8♦ 5♣ 3♦ 2♥. Player A holds A♦ 8♠. Player B holds 9♠ 8♥. Answer: Player A wins. Both players have three eights. The kicker decides it, and the ace beats the nine. Kickers matter with one pair, two pair, and three of a kind, and they matter most when the board pairs.
- Showdown 3. Board: 9♦ 8♦ 7♣ 2♠ Q♥. Player A holds 6♠ 5♠. Player B holds J♣ T♣. Answer: Player B wins. Both players have a straight. Player A has the nine-high straight and Player B has the queen-high straight. When two straights meet, the higher top card wins. In my experience, the player holding the low end of a straight can overplay it, because the chart says “straight” and that feels like the nuts.
Poker Hand Probabilities & Odds
| Poker Hand | Odds to Make | Probability |
| Royal Flush | 1 in 649,740 | 0.00015% |
| Straight Flush | 1 in 72,193 | 0.0014% |
| Four of a Kind | 1 in 4,166 | 0.024% |
| Full House | 1 in 695 | 0.144% |
| Flush | 1 in 510 | 0.1965% |
| Straight | 1 in 256 | 0.39% |
| Three of a Kind | 1 in 47 | 2.11% |
| Two Pair | 1 in 21 | 4.75% |
| One Pair | 1 in 2.37 | 42.2% |
| No Pair | 1 in 2 | 50.1% |
Poker is a game of odds and probabilities, and understanding the probability of different outcomes is an essential part of the game.
In total, there are 169 different starting hands and 1,326 starting card combinations in poker, with as many as 2,598,960 possible five-card combinations out there.
Of your starting hands, 5.8% will be pocket pairs, approximately 23.5% will be suited, and the remaining hands will be neither paired nor suited.
On top of basic things, you can see how math works in practice by using our own PeakGTO to train in the most common situations.
But what are the odds of making specific poker hands by the river, and how likely are you to make a royal flush, quads, or a full house? Let’s find out!
What are the Odds of Getting a Royal Flush?
A royal flush is the best possible hand in poker, but if you have ever played the game, you probably know just how unlikely you are to make one.
The probability of making a royal flush is incredibly low, as only one in 649,740 poker card combinations is a royal flush.
This means you will have to play poker for quite a while before you finally make a royal flush, and you may not even get to see it if you end up folding the cards preflop, on the flop, or on the turn.
If you have never had a royal flush in Texas Hold’em, you are not the only one, as the odds of making a royal flush are only 0.000154% with just five cards, but the two extra cards in Texas Hold’em do make it somewhat more likely to come in.
What are the Odds of Getting a Straight Flush?
A straight flush is a lot more common than a royal flush, as it can be made up of any five consecutive cards of the same suit.
Yet, even a straight flush appears only 1 in 72,193 hands in Five Card Draw poker, which still makes it one of the least likely things to see at a poker table.
The odds are significantly improved compared to a royal flush, as 0.00139% of all five card hands are straight flushes, which means this is the number of times you will have a straight flush by flop in Texas Hold’em.
What are the Odds of Getting Four of a Kind?
Four of a kind is the next best hand in poker, and one that almost always takes the pot down both in five-card games and in Texas Hold’em.
The odds of making quads are significantly higher than those of making a straight flush, as 1 in 4,166 poker combos make four of a kind.
Still, you may go a long time without making this hand, as only 0.024% of all five card combinations include four cards of the same rank.
What are the Odds of Getting a Full House?
A full house is an even more likely hand to have in poker, and you will see this one take down pots time and time again in Texas Hold’em.
The odds of making a full house are 0.144%, but with many players at a table and multiple streets played, a full house will be dealt at a Texas Hold’em table significantly more often than the stronger hands.
One in 695 five card combos make a full house, and there are quite a few opportunities to make this hand in Texas Hold’em.
What are the Odds of Getting a Flush?
When it comes to flushes, 0.196% of all hands, or 1 in 510, are flushes, which means there will be flushes circulating through the table over a game of Texas Hold’em, with seven cards making a significant number of combos.
A flush is not as strong as full houses and stronger hands, but making a flush with a strong kicker in Texas Hold’em will make you a favorite to have the best hand quite often.
What are the Odds of Getting a Straight?
A straight is another hand that requires five specific card ranks, but without the need to be suited, their numbers go up.
The odds against a hand being a straight are 255:1 in a vacuum, as 0.39% of all five card combinations make up a straight.
What are the Odds of Getting Three of a Kind?
Three of a kind is the next best hand, and there are multiple ways to make three of a kind in Texas Hold’em Poker, which significantly boosts your odds.
In general, the odds of a poker hand being three of a kind are 46:1, as 2.11% of all five card hands include three cards of the same rank.
What are the Odds of Getting Two Pair?
The odds of making two pairs are even higher than any of the other hands we talked about thus far, as 4.75% of all hands in poker include two pairs.
If you were to take five random cards, you would have two pairs about 1 in 21 times, which makes this a reasonable hand to make, but one that will still be the winner in many hands in Texas Hold’em Poker.
What are the Odds of Getting One Pair?
One pair may not be a huge hand in poker, but it is also not that hard to make, as over 42% of all five card combos include a pair.
You will make a pair 1 in 2.37 times with just five cards, which means you are reasonably likely to have one pair by the flop.
Keep in mind that in Texas Hold’em, having just one pair on the board is not going to be enough to win too many pots, with the top pair being the one exception to this rule.
What are the Odds of Getting a High Card?
Just over 50% of all five-card combos end up being nothing but high cards, which means you should not be surprised when the flop does not improve your poker hand in any significant way.
Fortunately for us, Texas Hold’em is played with seven cards in total, and there are some chances to improve our hand further if the flop brings just a draw.
What Beats What in Poker?
Every comparison below follows the chart, but each one shows up at the table in its own way. I have linked the full breakdown for each matchup, including the odds and the mistakes I see players make in that exact spot.
Does a Royal Flush Beat a Straight Flush?
A royal flush is the best possible hand in Texas Hold’em and most other poker variants, and no hand beats it.
If you happen to have a royal flush against a weaker straight flush of your opponent, you will win the pot, and it will probably be a big one as well.
Learn why a royal flush beats a straight flush in poker.
Does a Straight Flush Beat Four of a Kind?
Four of a kind is a powerhouse in poker, but when faced with a straight flush, it will lose the pot regardless of how high the straight flush is.
In fact, straight flush and royal flush are the only two hands that can beat even 4 aces in poker, making it an unlikely but not impossible scenario.
Learn why a straight flush beats four of a kind in poker.
Does a Straight Flush Beat a Full House?
A straight flush beats all poker hands except a royal flush or a higher straight flush, and it always beats a full house as well. Full houses are powerful hands, but cannot beat a straight flush or a royal flush.
Learn why a straight flush beats a full house in poker.
Does Four of a Kind Beat a Full House?
A full house against quads is an encounter that happens more commonly than others listed thus far, as similar paired boards are needed for both hands to be possible.
If you happen to have quads against a full house on a paired board, you will win the pot, as four of a kind ranks higher in poker than a full house.
Learn why four of a kind beats a full house in poker.
Does a Full House Beat a Flush?
Full houses beat all hands other than quads and straight flushes in poker, and flushes are no different, regardless of their suit or rank.
This is why you must be careful when playing flushes on paired boards where full houses are a possibility in Texas Hold’em Poker.
Learn why a full house beats a flush in poker.
Does a Full House Beat a Straight?
A full house is a poker powerhouse and will beat a straight with ease. Being one of the best-ranked poker hands, a full house always beats any straight other than a straight flush.
Learn why a full house beats a straight in poker.
Does a Flush Beat a Straight?
A flush outranks a straight by one rank on the poker hands chart and always beats a straight regardless of the ranks of cards used to make it.
Learn why a flush beats a straight in poker.
Does a Flush Beat Three of a Kind?
Flushes are much more powerful than three of a kind in poker, with every flush beating every three of a kind hand.
Regardless of whether your three-of-a-kind comes with one or two hole cards, any flush in your opponent’s hand will be good for the entire pot.
Learn why a flush beats three-of-a-kind in poker.
Does a Straight Beat Three of a Kind?
Similar to a flush, a straight beats three of a kind in Texas Hold’em, as the hand stands higher on the poker hands chart and is an undisputed winner of this showdown.
Learn why a straight beats three of a kind in poker.
Does a Straight Beat Two Pair?
Two pairs is a hand even weaker than three of a kind, and a straight will beat it just as easily, as two pairs do not have the kind of power to stand up to straights.
Learn why a straight beats two pairs in poker.
Does Three of a Kind Beat Two Pairs?
Similar to a straight, three of a kind beats two pairs in all poker games because it is a much harder hand to make. Whether you have a set or trips to make your three-of-a-kind hand, you will win against any two pairs.
Learn why three of a kind beats two pairs in poker.
Does Two Pair Beat One Pair?
You might have guessed this one without even knowing the basic rules of poker, as two is usually better than one.
Two pairs are always better than one pair, regardless of the card ranks, so even if you have two pairs of deuces and three, it will be good enough to beat a single pair of kings or aces.
Learn why two pairs beat one pair in poker.
Does One Pair Beat a High Card Hand?
One pair is the weakest “made hand” in poker, and it will beat any lower pair and any non-pair hand, also known as a high card hand.
A high-card hand is a hand that does not have any standing on the hand chart and can only win against other weaker high-card hands.
Learn why one pair beats a high card in poker.
Poker Hands in Order (Additional Hand Ranking Rules)
Ties and Kickers in Poker
The above table shows all the possible Texas Hold’em hands; however, there are additional considerations to take into account, as certain situations in Texas Hold ’em require a more comprehensive analysis than simply referencing this chart.
A good example of this is when two players have identical hands. For instance, at showdown, two players could have the same straight with two of their hole cards and three community cards.
In a case like this, the hand is tied, and the dealer will split the pot evenly between the two players. If more players are involved in the hand, they will all receive an equal portion of the pot.
In other cases, two players may have the same hand, but the kicker will decide the winner. The kicker is the highest card the player has, along with the cards in their made hand.
For example, if two players have three of a kind on a board of 8c8d5c3d2h, the player with the highest kicker will win. A player holding Ad8s would beat the player holding 9s8h because the Ace kicker beats the Nine kicker.
Kickers can come into play with various hands, such as one pair, two pairs, and three of a kind. In situations where multiple players have straight or flushes, the player with the higher straight or flush wins.
Do Poker Suits Matter?
Another good question about poker hand rankings in Texas Hold’em is whether poker suits come into play.
The answer, quite simply, is that poker suits don’t matter in Texas Hold’em games. Suits will not be the deciding factor in who wins the pot in any scenario.
Since it is not possible for two flushes in different suits to be present in one Texas Hold’em hand, this scenario is not even in question. In all other situations, the suits of your cards will not help or hurt your chances of winning the pot, so pay them all equally.
Poker Hand Rankings in Other Games (Short Deck and Omaha)
The standard hand rankings apply to Texas Hold’em and most common poker variants. However, two games change the rules in ways that trip up many players: Short Deck Hold’em and Omaha.
Short Deck Hold’em (6+ Hold’em)
Short Deck uses a 36-card deck with all 2s through 5s removed. This changes how often you make certain hands, which flips one key ranking: a flush beats a full house in Short Deck.
The reason is simple. With fewer cards in the deck, hitting a full house becomes easier, while completing a flush gets harder.
The rankings adjust to reflect that reality. Every other hand stays in the same order, but if you sit down in a Short Deck game expecting standard rules, this one difference can cost you a pot.
Omaha
In PLO, the hand rankings themselves do not change. A flush still beats a straight, and a full house still beats a flush. What changes is how you make your hand.
In Omaha, you are dealt four hole cards but must use exactly two of them combined with exactly three community cards to make your five-card hand. This rule regularly catches Texas Hold’em players off guard. If the board runs out with four hearts and you have the ace of hearts in your hand, you do not have a flush unless you also hold a second heart to pair with three from the board.
If you play Omaha, the rankings stay the same. The construction rule is what you need to learn.
Poker Hand Rankings vs Starting Hands
The rankings above tell you which five-card hand wins at showdown. They are not the same thing as starting hand rankings, which tell you which two hole cards to play before the flop. Pocket aces are the best starting hand, but they are still only one pair on the chart.
If you want to know which hole cards to raise, call, and fold, I break down top starting hands in my guide to the best Texas Hold’em starting hands.
Poker Hands FAQ
