Almost all variations of poker use the same ranking system for poker hands. It ranks the relative strengths of all the different poker hands so players can understand and determine which is the best.
Most popular forms of poker such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha or Seven Card Stud use these rankings, so it is essential to know exactly what each of them means.
To help you in getting started, the list of poker hands below is arranged from highest to lowest. We have also created a handy poker hand rankings chart that you can download to your phone.
Hand Rankings
1. Royal Straight Flush
The royal straight flush is the best possible hand in poker. It consists of five consecutive cards, all of the same suit, in order of value from 10 through to ace. For example, 10-J-Q-K-A all of spades.
2. Straight Flush
Any five cards in a sequence (straight), all in the same suit. For example, 6-7-8-9-10 all of hearts.
3. Four of a Kind
Four of a kind, or quads, consists of four cards of the same value, accompanied by an additional card referred to as a kicker. For example, Q-Q-Q-Q-5 is a quad of queens with a five as the kicker.
4. Full House
A Full House, or boat, consists of three cards of one value and two cards of another. For example, A-A-A-7-7.
5. Flush
A flush is a hand with all cards of the same suit, in no particular order. For example, 5-7-8-J-A all of diamonds. If more than one player has a flush, the hand with the highest valued card will win.
6. Straight
Five cards in a sequence, but not of the same suit. For example, 6-7-8-9-10.
7. Three of a Kind
Also known as trips or set, three of a kind is 3 cards of the same value and 2 side cards of different values. For exemple, Q-Q-Q-7-6.
8. Two Pairs
This is two cards of one value and another two cards of another value, and one extra card. For example, J-J-9-9-2.
9. One Pair
A one pair hand is formed by two cards of the same value, and three extra cards. For example, Q-Q-9-6-2.
10. High Card
When you haven’t made any of the hands above, you are left with a High Card hand, the lowest-ranked hand available. High card is when you have five cards that do not interact with each other, for example, A-Q-T-6-5.
Ties and Kickers
When two or more players have the same hand, the extra cards (also know as Kicker) come in to play. The player with the higher kicker will win the pot. If the highest kicker is the same, than we go to the second kicker and so on. If all the kickers are the same and the players’ best five card poker hands are identical, than there is a tie and the pot is split equally between the players.
Texas Hold’em Example:
- Player A has T♣️ A♣️
- Player B has T♦️Q♠️
- The board is T♠️T♥️7♠️ 6♣️ 2♣️
With this board each players hand is the following:
- Player A: T♠️T♥️T♣️A♣️7♠️
- Player B: T♠️T♥️T♦️Q♠️7♠️
Both players have three of a kind (tens), but the winner of the pot is Player A because he has a better kicker (Ace vs. Queen) then Player B.
Cheat Sheet
The poker hand rankings cheat sheet we offer serves as an excellent tool to assist you in memorizing the various poker hand rankings. This resource will prove valuable to you, whether you’re engaged in online poker or participating in traditional, in-person poker games.
Short Deck Hand Rankings
It is important to notice that for Short Deck Poker the rankings are slightly different. Here are the maind differences:
- Flushes beats full houses.
- Aces play as high or low, but as there is no 2-5, A6789 is the low straight. TJQKA remains the high straight.
- Ah,6h,7h,8h,9h, would therefore be the low straight flush.
Hand rankings for lowball and hi-low games
Another important observation is that in some forms of poker, the winner is not decided by the highest hand. We’re specifically talking about lowball and hi-low games. Below is a brief explanation of these games and what differs them from Hi or high-hand poker, which was the ranking explained above.
Lo, low-hand or lowball poker: Lowball poker, in contrast, takes an opposing approach to hand rankings compared to High hand games. Here, the conventional poker hand hierarchy is flipped, making the least-ranked hand the most desirable. Variations often emerge concerning whether Aces are treated as high or low, as well as the consideration of straights and flushes. A commonly played examples is Razz.
Hi-lo or high-low split poker: In this format, the prize pool is evenly distributed between participants boasting the highest-ranking poker hand and those with the lowest-ranking hand. The most common games are Omaha Hi-Lo and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
We hope you enjoyed this content and that it can help you understand and play poker even better. Follow us on our social networks to receive all the news from WPF and the world of poker.
