Poker Hand Rankings: All 10 Hands From Best to Worst, Explained

Poker hand rankings run from the royal flush at the top down to high card at the bottom. There are ten hands in total, and the rarer a hand is, the higher it ranks. If you remember just one thing, remember the order: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.

The rankings are the same in nearly every popular poker variant, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha and five-card draw. In each case your hand is the best five cards you can make. This guide covers every hand with examples, how ties and kickers work, the true odds, and how poker compares to Teen Patti. It's all about learning the game and playing for fun, not for money.

Poker hands from best to worst

Each hand explained

1. Royal flush

The best possible hand: ace, king, queen, jack and ten, all of the same suit. It's really just the highest straight flush, but it's so famous it gets its own name. Two royal flushes can only happen with shared cards, and they tie.

2. Straight flush

Five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 9-8-7-6-5 of hearts. A higher top card wins. The lowest is 5-4-3-2-A.

3. Four of a kind

All four cards of one rank, sometimes called quads. Higher quads beat lower quads. If two players share the same four (possible with community cards), the fifth card, the kicker, decides.

4. Full house

Three of a kind plus a pair, such as three 8s and two kings ("eights full of kings"). The three-of-a-kind part is compared first, so 8-8-8-2-2 beats 7-7-7-A-A.

5. Flush

Any five cards of the same suit that aren't in sequence. Compare the highest card first, then the next, and so on down to the fifth card. Suits are not ranked in standard poker, so identical ranks mean a tie.

6. Straight

Five consecutive ranks in mixed suits. The ace can be high (A-K-Q-J-10, called Broadway) or low (5-4-3-2-A, called the wheel), but it can't wrap around: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. The highest top card wins.

7. Three of a kind

Three cards of one rank plus two unrelated cards. Also called trips or a set, depending on the game. Higher trips win; if equal, compare kickers.

8. Two pair

Two different pairs plus a fifth card. Compare the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the kicker. So K-K-3-3-2 beats Q-Q-J-J-A.

9. One pair

A single pair with three other cards. The higher pair wins; if both players have the same pair, compare the kickers one by one.

10. High card

No pair, no straight, no flush. Compare the highest card, then the next highest, all the way down.

How ties and kickers work

A kicker is a card that isn't part of your main combination but still counts towards your five-card hand. Kickers only matter when two players have the same type of hand of the same rank.

• You hold A-A-K-9-4 and your opponent holds A-A-Q-J-10. Both have a pair of aces, so compare kickers: your king beats their queen. You win.
• If all five cards are of equal rank, it's a genuine tie and the round is split.
• Only five cards ever count. In Texas Hold'em you might have seven cards available, but your sixth and seventh cards never act as tie-breakers.

Poker hand odds

The table below shows how many of the 2,598,960 possible five-card hands from a 52-card deck fall into each category, and the chance of being dealt one in five cards.

These are odds for exactly five dealt cards. In games where you choose your best five from seven, such as Texas Hold'em, the stronger hands come up more often.

Poker vs Teen Patti hand rankings

Teen Patti, the hugely popular South Asian three-card game, uses a similar idea but a different order. With only three cards, the probabilities change, so the rankings change too.

The big surprises for poker players are that three of a kind is Teen Patti's best hand, and that a straight beats a flush. Our full guide to Teen Patti hand rankings covers every hand, and you can learn the full game in how to play Teen Patti.

Tips for remembering the rankings

1. Rarer beats more common. That logic explains the whole list.
2. Flush beats straight. Remember "Flush comes first".
3. Full house beats flush. A full house is a pair and trips together, so it's worth more than either.
4. Count only five cards. Extra cards never break ties.
5. Check for hidden straights and flushes. Beginners often spot pairs but miss five suited cards.

Common mistakes

• Thinking suits break ties. In standard poker, a spade flush and a heart flush of the same ranks tie.
• Wrapping straights. K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight.
• Comparing the pair in a full house first. Always compare the three-of-a-kind part first.
• Mixing up poker and Teen Patti rules. The rankings genuinely differ, so check which game you're playing.

If you're new to card vocabulary like "kicker", "trips" or "suited", our card game terms glossary explains them. For more detail on every hand, see the list of poker hands on Wikipedia.

Play a card game for fun, with no stakes

Poker is a casino game, and we don't encourage gambling with real money. If you enjoy comparing hands and the drama of the reveal, Chatai Teen Patti lets you play Teen Patti purely for fun, with no stakes. It's a different game from poker, but the same instincts for hand strength carry over.

FAQ

What is the best hand in poker?

A royal flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit. It can't be beaten, only tied.

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. A flush beats a straight in standard poker, because flushes are rarer when you're dealt five cards.

Does a full house beat a flush?

Yes. A full house ranks above a flush and below four of a kind.

What is a kicker in poker?

A kicker is a side card that isn't part of your main combination. It breaks ties between players who hold the same pair, two pair, trips or quads.

Is an ace high or low in poker?

Usually high, but in a straight it can also be low, as in 5-4-3-2-A. It can't be both at once, so Q-K-A-2-3 isn't a straight.

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