Ranking of Hands : THE BACKBONE OF POKER

Learning the ranking of hands is essential. Make sure you know what beats what before you start playing. Hands are listed in descending order from strongest to weakest :

ROYAL FLUSH

The five highest cards in sequence, all of the same suit
EXAMPLE:
A♣, K♣, Q♣, J♣, 10♣
TIES: Two or more Royal Flushes split the pot.

STRAIGHT FLUSH

Five consecutive cards, all of the same suit, but not a Royal Straight Flush
EXAMPLE:
6♥, 5♥, 4♥, 3♥, 2♥
TIES: Whoever has the highest card in his or her straight wins.

FOUR OF A KIND

Four cards of the same rank
EXAMPLE:
5♣, 5♦, 5♥, 5♠, 10♦
(The fifth card is irrelevant.)

TIES: Whoever has the higher-ranking four of a kind wins. (Ex: Four Jack beats four 10s.)

FULL HOUSE

Three cards of the same rank plus two cards of the same rank.

EXAMPLE:
K♣, K♥, K♠, 9♥, 9♠
TIES: Whoever has the higher-ranking three of a kinds wins.

FLUSH

Any five cards in sequence
EXAMPLE:
4♦, 5♦, 10♦, K♦, a♦
TIES: Whoever has a flush with the highest-ranking cards wins. (If those are the same, compare the second-highest cards in the hands, and continue down to the fifth card, if necessary.)

STRAIGHT

Any five cards in sequence
EXAMPLE:
7♠, 8♥, 9♥, 10♣, J♦
TIES: Whoever has the straight with the highest card wins.

THREE OF A KIND

Three cards of the same rank
EXAMPLE:
8♦, 8♥, 8♠, J♥, a♦
(The other two cards are irrelevant.)
TIES: The higher-ranking three of a kind wins.
(Ex.: Three 5s beat three 4s.)

TWO PAIR

Two different pairs plus an extra card
EXAMPLE:
Q♥, Q♠, 10♥, 10♠, 4♦
TIES: Whoever has the highest-ranking pair wins. (If those cards are the same, the highest-ranking second pair takes it. If still tied, the higher extra card wins.)

ONE PAIR

Two cards of the same rank plus three extra cards
EXAMPLE:
A♦, A♠, 7♣, 6♣, 3♦
TIES: Whoever has a pair with a higher rank wins. (If the pairs are the same rank, the highest extra card wins.)

NO PAIR OR HIGH CARD

Any hand that is not at least a pair.
TIES: Whoever has the highest card wins. If the hands are still tied, the second-highest card wins, and so on.

THE STATUS OF THE ACE

In all games, unless the dealer declares otherwise, aces are either high or low, but can never go “around the corner” to make a straight (K-A-2-3-4). Obviously, for most hands, you will want the Aces to be high. However, aces can also be used for low straights (A-2-3-4-5) and as the lowest card in Hi-low games.