How hand rankings work
Hand rankings determine which combination wins when two or more players reach a showdown. The traditional ranking has ten categories, from strongest to weakest. In formats such as Texas Hold’em, each player considers their best five cards; in Hold’em, those cards are selected from two private cards and five community cards.
The key is to learn the overall order first, then recognize which cards make each hand. Suits do not break ties: if two hands differ only by suit, the pot is split. The ranking below describes the traditional system; some variants, including lowball and Short Deck, are exceptions.
The ten hands, strongest to weakest
1. Royal flush: an ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit. It is the highest straight flush and cannot be beaten. 2. Straight flush: five consecutive cards of the same suit. Between two straight flushes, the one with the higher top card wins. An ace can also count low in the A-2-3-4-5 sequence.
3. Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank, plus a fifth card. 4. Full house: three cards of one rank and a pair; compare the rank of the three of a kind first. 5. Flush: five cards of the same suit, not necessarily consecutive. 6. Straight: five consecutive ranks, with suits that may differ; an ace can complete the low sequence described above.
7. Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank. 8. Two pair: two pairs of different ranks. 9. One pair: two cards of the same rank. 10. High card: if the five cards make none of the other combinations, the highest card determines the hand. This is the traditional hierarchy, not a substitute for the rules of a variant that uses a different ranking.
A practical example at the table
Suppose the five community cards in Texas Hold’em are 9♠, 8♦, 7♣, 6♥ and 5♦. They form a five-card straight. A player evaluates the best possible combination using the community cards and their two private cards; they do not have to use both private cards if the best hand can be made another way. The principle is to compare five-card hands, not hands of six or seven cards.
At the table, check the categories from the top down: first look for a straight flush, then four of a kind, a full house and so on. Rarity helps explain why the categories have different positions, but correctly identifying the five cards is what matters. Since the traditional ranking does not cover every variant, check the applicable rules before playing lowball or Short Deck.