Poker Hand Rankings Explained, From High Card to Royal Flush

Before you can follow a hand of poker, you need to know which hands beat which. The ranking is the same for most popular games, including Texas Hold'em, and it is based on how rare each combination is. The rarer the hand, the higher it ranks. Here is the full list, from strongest to weakest, with a few notes on ties and common confusion.

The ranking, from best to worst

Royal flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all of the same suit. It is the best possible hand and an extremely rare sight.
Straight flush: five cards in sequence, all of the same suit.
Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank, plus one other card.
Full house: three cards of one rank and two cards of another.
Flush: any five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
Straight: five cards in sequence, of mixed suits.
Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank.
Two pair: two cards of one rank and two cards of another.
One pair: two cards of the same rank.
High card: none of the above; the highest single card plays.

How the ranking reflects rarity

The order is not arbitrary. If you deal five cards from a standard 52-card deck, a high card hand or a single pair is far more common than a flush or a full house, and a straight flush is very rare indeed. This is why a flush beats a straight: there are fewer ways to make a flush, so it ranks higher. Poker hands are ranked by this scarcity, not by how impressive they look.

How ties are broken

When two players hold the same type of hand, the ranks of the cards decide the winner.

Pairs, trips and quads: the higher rank wins. A pair of kings beats a pair of nines.
Two pair: compare the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the leftover card.
Straights: the straight with the highest top card wins. The ace can sit at the top or the bottom, which makes ace-two-three-four-five the lowest straight.
Flushes: compare the highest card first, then work down.
Kickers: when hands tie on rank, the highest unused card, called the kicker, can decide the winner.

Suits do not rank against each other in standard poker. If hands are identical, the pot is split.

Common beginner mix-ups

Many newcomers mix up a flush and a straight, forgetting that a flush beats a straight. Others forget that a full house is made of three and two, and that a higher three of a kind wins when two full houses meet. Another common slip is reading the board as a straight when it needs an extra card, or missing that a flush is possible when three cards of the same suit appear.

Reading the board

In community card games, it is a good habit to check the table before you celebrate. Ask what the best possible hand is on this board, and where your hand sits among the possibilities. This habit helps you avoid costly misreads, and it also keeps the game fair and friendly. Do not assume another player has read their cards correctly either. Most casual disputes come from simple miscounts.

A reminder about responsible play

Knowing the rankings is part of enjoying the game, not a promise of winning. If you play for stakes, keep them within a limit you set in advance, and only if you are of legal age in your area.

Frequently asked questions

Does a flush beat a full house? No. A full house outranks a flush, because it is rarer in a five-card hand.

Can the ace be low in a straight? Yes, in the lowest straight, ace through five. The ace cannot wrap around, so queen-king-ace-two-three is not a straight.

What happens if everyone has the same hand? The pot is divided equally among the tied players, with any odd chip handled by the house rules of the game.