In this lesson you’re going to learn the first and most important step about how to play poker by learning the all important poker hand rankings.

1. Poker Starting Hands Ranking
2. Poker World Rankings
3. Poker Hand Rankings Test
4. Poker Hand Ranking Pdf
5. Poker Hand Ranking Printable

Standard Poker Hand Ranking. There are 52 cards in the pack, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.In standard poker - that is to say in the formal casino and tournament game played internationally and the home game as normally played in North America - there is no ranking between the suits for the purpose of comparing. To be eligible to claim 2 7 poker hand rankings the New 2 7 poker hand rankings Player Welcome Bonuses, players must deposit a minimum of $10 in one instance, for each bonus. New 2 7 poker hand rankings Player Welcome Bonuses will only be offered on your first four (4) deposits, unless otherwise stated.

• A standard poker hand consists of five cards.
• Each poker hand is ranked in a set order.
• The higher the rank, the less chance statistically you have of getting it.
• The higher the rank of your hand the better, because two pairs always beats one pair, and a flush always beats a straight.
• When two or more players have a hand of the same rank, then there are more ways to determine the best hand.

Hopefully all these points will make perfect sense by the end of this lesson.

Poker Hands (from Best to Worst)

Be sure to pay close attention and memorize the poker hand rankings. Let’s start with the best possible hand in poker….

Royal Flush

A Royal flush consists of five cards of the same suit, in sequence from 10 through to Ace. Remember that all suits are equal in poker. If two or more players hold a royal flush (highly unlikely) then the pot is split, i.e. the players share the winnings.

Straight Flush

Five cards of the same suit, in sequence. This example shows a Jack high straight flush. If two or more players hold a straight flush then it is the highest that wins. For example, a Queen high straight flush beats a Jack high straight flush. You will notice that this is very similar to a Royal flush, and that’s because a Royal flush is in fact an ace high straight flush – but it’s given its very own ranking.

Four of a Kind

This hand contains four cards of the same rank/value. This example shows four 8’s, plus a 5 (remember that all poker hands must have five cards). If two or more players have four of a kind, then the highest value wins (e.g. four 9’s beats four 8’s). If two or more players share the same four of a kind, which can happen when using community cards (more on that later) then the winner is decided by the fifth card. So a player with four 8’s and a 6 would beat a player with four 8’s and a 5.

Full House

A full house contains three cards of the same rank, plus a pair. In our example you can see three 10’s and a pair of 7’s. The value of the three matching cards determines the strength of a full house. So three Jack’s with a pair of 7’s would beat our example hand. If players share the same three cards, which is possible when using community cards, the strength of the pair is then taken into account. So, three 10’s and a pair of 8’s would beat our example hand.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit in any order. Our example shows a Queen high flush. If two or more players have a flush then the player with the highest ranked card wins. If the players share the same high card then it’s determined by the value of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th card respectively.

Straight

This hand contains five unsuited cards in sequence. Our example shows a King high straight. In the event of a tie, the best straight is determined by the highest ranked card. A straight consisting of 8, 9, 10, J, Q, would lose to our example hand. But a straight consisting of 10, J, Q, K, A, would win. Also note that an Ace can be used as the low card for a straight of A, 2, 3, 4, 5. This would lose to a straight of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated cards. Our example shows three 4’s. Three 5’s would beat our example hand, three 6’s would beat three 5’s, and so on. If players share the same three cards, then the value of the highest unrelated card would count and if necessary, the value of the second unrelated card. So, three 4’s with Jack, 8, would beat our example hand. As would three 4’s and 10, 9 (because 9 is higher than 8).

Two Pair

Two cards of matching rank, with another two cards of another rank, plus an additional card. In the event of a tie, the highest pair wins. If players share the same highest pair, then the value of the next pair wins. For example, a pair of Aces, and a pair of 6’s would beat our example hand, as would a pair of Kings and a pair of 7’s. If two or more players share the same two pair, then the value of the fifth card counts. So, a pair of Kings, a pair of 6’s, with a 4, would beat our example hand.

One Pair

A paired hand contains two cards of matching rank, plus three additional cards. The value of the pair determines who wins in the event of a tie. For example a pair of 10’s beats our example hand. If players share the same pair then the best hand is determined by the value of the highest additional card. If this is the same then it goes to the second card, and if necessary the third. So, a pair of 9’s with an Ace, 2, and 10, would beat our example hand. As would a pair of 9’s, King, 10, and a 3.

High Card

If a hand doesn’t fall into any of the above categories, then it is judged on the value of the highest ranked card among the five. In this example we have a hand which is Queen high. If players share the same highest card, then it goes to the value of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and even 5th card if necessary. A hand of Queen, 10, 9, 5, 4, would beat our example hand.

Community Cards

As you already know, a poker hand consists of five cards. In many variations of poker, players receive or can choose from more than five cards. For example, in Texas Hold’em each player is dealt two private cards, but can also use the five community cards that are available for all the players to use. This makes a total of seven cards, but each player must choose their best five cards to make their best possible hand. Here’s an example:

In the above example, the best five cards among total of seven (two private cards and five community cards) would be combined to make a flush.

Conclusion

If you don’t fully understand the poker hand rankings then please read through the list again. It’s vital that you know which hand beats which. Of course, how good a poker hand is, is very dependent on which type of poker game you are playing and other factors such as the number of other players you are playing against. You will learn the true strength of a poker hand as you gain experience of playing the game.

We have created a printable poker hand rankings chart that you can use as a source of reference. Hopefully we’ve explained the poker hand rankings to you well enough whereby you don’t need this chart, but it still might be handy for some. The chart will load as a PDF (link opens in a new window) and you’ll need to have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer to be able to view it.

Make sure that you memorize the poker hand rankings before moving onto the next lesson.

By Tim Ryerson

Tim is from London, England and has been playing poker since the late 1990’s. He is the ‘Editor-in-Chief’ at Pokerology.com and is responsible for all the content on the website.

Learning poker hand rankings gives you an edge when playing.

If you understand how poker hand rankings gives an advantage when competing at a high stakes game should not be a problem.

Some of the basics include:

• Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Draw, and Omaha follow the old school high poker rankings.
• Stud Hi/Lo and Omaha Hi/Lo and Razz follow the Ace to Five low hand rankings.
• 2-7 Single Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw follow Kansas City or Deuce to Seven lowball rankings.

Poker Starting Hands Ranking

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Royal Flush

Basically, when you get five cards of the same suit in sequence, this forms the straight flush.

When there is a tie, the player with the highest rank from the sequence takes home the pot.

The royal flush is the best possible straight flush you can achieve. This contains the king, queen, ace including the jack and ten of a suit.

It is the most important and unbeatable hand you can get.

poker hand rankings: Four of a Kind

This contains a kicker or side plus four cards with similar rank.

If there is a tie, the player with a highest four of a kind takes the pot.

For community card games, if people have similar four of a kind then the player with the highest kicker or fifth side card takes the winnings.

poker hand rankings: Full House

The full house contains three cards with the same rank plus two cards of a matching but different rank.

If there is a tie, the player holding the highest three matching cards wins.

In the case of community card games, if there are players holding three matching cards then the player holding two matching cards with the highest value takes the pot.

poker hand rankings: Flush

You need to have five cards under the same suit to create a flush.

If there is a tie then the player with the highest ranked card takes the pot. In other cases, the second-highest then the third, fourth and the fifth will be used to finish the game.

If the players hold similar ranks then they split the pot. The suit cannot be used to decide who wins in case of a tie.

Straight

You get a straight hand if you have five cards in sequence.

If there is a tie, the player holding the highest ranking card from the rest of the sequence takes the pot.

Remember that the ace may be at the bottom or at the top of the sequence. It is also the only card allowed to act in this instance.

The highest straight is A,K,Q,J,T called the Ace high. The lowest straight is 5,4,3,2,A called the Five high.

Poker World Rankings

Three of a Kind

You can achieve three of a kind by getting three cards under the same rank plus two unrelated cards.

If there is a tie, the player holding the highest ranking three will take the pot.

For community card games, if there are people holding similar hands then the player with the highest or second-highest side card becomes the winner.

Two Pair

Create two pairs using two cards with the corresponding rank.

Include one side card plus two other cards with different but corresponding rank. If there is a tie then the player holding the highest pair takes the pot.

For games with players holding similar highest pair then the highest second pair decides the winner. If players hold same pairs then their highest side card give them the advantage.

One Pair

You form one pair if you have three unrelated side cards plus two cards of the corresponding rank.

If there is a tie then the player holding the highest pair takes the pot. And If there are people with the same pair, their highest side card decides if they win or not.

If they are similar then the second or the third-highest side card will decide who takes the pot.

poker hand rankings: High Card

Poker Hand Rankings Test

You form the high card with any hand not mentioned or categorized in the previous ranks.

If there is a tie, the player holding the highest card takes the pot.

If players have the same cards then the second or third or even up to fourth highest smallest card decides who the winner is.

Ace to Five Lowball Hand Ranks

This is a type of ranking method for low hands found in traditional games like Razz, Omaha Stud Hi/Lo, and Hi/Lo.

Remember that suits are not as important under this category.

A straight or flush cannot break Ace to Five low poker hand. You can consider aces as “low card.”

It is also important to remember that the values in five-card low stand begin with the top card.

Then it goes down to every card. For Wheel or Five Low, this features an Ace, Deuce, Three, Four, and Five.

If there is a tie then players with the five-high hands divide the pot.

You can form a six low so long as you get five unpaired cards. The highest card should be six. If there is a tie then the player holding the lower second-highest-ranking card becomes the winner.

This means 6,5,4,2,A loses to 6,4,3,2,A. If possible, the third, fourth or the fifth-highest card decides the winner in the tie.

You can create a seven low with any five unpaired cards.

The highest card should be a seven.

If there is a tie, the player holding the lower second-highest ranking card becomes the winner. If there is still a tie then the third, fourth or fifth highest cards will decide who takes home the pot.

The eight low contains five unpaired cards. The highest card should be an eight. If there is a tie, the lower second-highest ranking card decides the winner.

Poker Hand Ranking Pdf

The same principle is applied if there is still a tie.

Knowing your different poker hand ranks should help you assess which ones give you the best advantage.

It is also easier to decide whether you should continue playing or not if you know what hand you can or cannot create.

Poker Hand Ranking Printable