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Poker Hand Rankings

Poker hand rankings from royal flush to high card, with example hands, the odds of making each one in Hold'em and five-card poker, a printable chart and a hand checker.

Poker hands, best to worst

  1. 1
    Royal flushA, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit.
    A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
    0.00323%1 in 30,940
  2. 2
    Straight flushFive in a row, all the same suit.
    9♥8♥7♥6♥5♥
    0.028%1 in 3,591
  3. 3
    Four of a kindFour cards of the same rank. Also called quads.
    Q♣Q♦Q♥Q♠7♦
    0.168%1 in 595
  4. 4
    Full houseThree of one rank plus a pair. Kings full of fours.
    K♥K♦K♣4♠4♥
    2.6%1 in 39
  5. 5
    FlushAny five of the same suit, not in a row.
    A♦J♦8♦6♦3♦
    3.0%1 in 33
  6. 6
    StraightFive in a row, mixed suits. A-2-3-4-5 counts, so does 10-J-Q-K-A.
    10♣9♦8♠7♥6♣
    4.6%1 in 22
  7. 7
    Three of a kindThree cards of the same rank. Trips or a set.
    7♠7♥7♦K♣2♠
    4.8%1 in 21
  8. 8
    Two pairTwo different pairs. Highest pair is compared first.
    J♥J♠5♣5♦A♥
    23.5%1 in 4.3
  9. 9
    One pairTwo cards of the same rank.
    10♠10♣A♥8♦4♣
    43.8%1 in 2.3
  10. 10
    High cardNothing made. Your highest card plays.
    A♣Q♥9♠6♦3♣
    17.4%1 in 5.7

Hold'em: chance that your best five cards from two hole cards plus a full five-card board make this hand. Pairs and two pair come from the board too.

What hand do I have?

Tap five to seven cards: your two hole cards and the board.

Poker hand rankings settle the two arguments you hear at every home game. Does a flush beat a straight? Yes. Does a full house beat a flush? Also yes. Our chart is above, best hand at the top, with real cards and the odds of making each one.

It’s free to print, and there’s a hand checker under the chart. Tap in your hole cards and the board, and it names your best five-card hand. Handy when someone turns over 9-8 on a board of 7-6-5-K-2 and isn’t sure what they’ve got. (A straight. Nine high.)

Poker hand rankings, top to bottom

  1. Royal flush. A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit. The best hand there is.
  2. Straight flush. Any five in a row, same suit. 9-8-7-6-5 of hearts.
  3. Four of a kind. Four queens, plus any fifth card.
  4. Full house. Three of a kind and a pair. K-K-K-4-4 is “kings full of fours”.
  5. Flush. Five of one suit, any order.
  6. Straight. Five in a row, mixed suits.
  7. Three of a kind. Trips, or a set if you hold a pocket pair.
  8. Two pair. Jacks and fives, say.
  9. One pair.
  10. High card. Nothing. Your best card plays.

The order comes from how rare each hand is in a five-card deal. That’s why a flush beats a straight: there are 5,108 ways to be dealt a flush and 10,200 ways to be dealt a straight.

Ties, kickers and the stuff people argue about

When two players have the same type of hand, compare the cards that make it, highest first. Q-Q-7-7-A beats Q-Q-6-6-K because sevens beat sixes. If the pairs are identical, the fifth card (the kicker) decides it. If all five cards match in rank, the pot is split.

  • Suits never rank. A spade flush doesn’t beat a heart flush. Compare the cards, top down.
  • Aces play high or low in a straight. A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel) is the lowest straight. Q-K-A-2-3 isn’t a straight at all.
  • Only five cards count. In Hold’em you use your best five from seven, and that can mean both, one or none of your hole cards.
  • Playing the board. If the board is a straight and nobody can beat it, everyone left splits the pot.

How often you’ll actually make these

The chart shows two sets of odds. The five-card numbers are what you’d be dealt straight off the deck. The Hold’em numbers are for your best hand after all five community cards, and they look very different. In five-card poker a royal flush is 1 in 649,740. In Hold’em it’s about 1 in 30,940, because you get seven cards to work with.

The odd one: by the river you’ll have two pair more often (23.5%) than nothing at all (17.4%). The board does a lot of the work, and it does it for everyone. That’s why a pair on a paired board is usually worth less than it feels.

Flush or better turns up about 1 time in 17 by the river. A full house or better, roughly 1 in 36.

The chart tells you what beats what. It won’t tell you whether to call. For that, the poker odds calculator shows your equity against other hands, and the pot odds calculator tells you whether the price is right.

Frequently asked questions

What is the order of poker hands?

Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. A flush is rarer, so it ranks higher. A full house beats both.

Which suit is highest in poker?

None. In standard poker suits are equal, so two flushes are compared by their highest cards.

Is A-2-3-4-5 a straight?

Yes, it's the lowest straight, often called the wheel. The ace counts low here. A straight can't wrap around, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.

What happens if two players have the same hand?

Compare the cards that make the hand, then the kickers. If all five cards are the same ranks, the pot is split.

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