Poker Hand Rankings: All 10 Hands in Order

Poker hand rankings decide who wins every showdown, so they are the first thing any new player should learn. This guide lists all ten poker hands ranked in order from the royal flush down to high card, with a full ranking chart, simple examples and the tie-break rules that settle close hands. The order is the same in nearly every version of poker you will meet at a friendly home game, from Texas hold'em to five card draw, so once you know it you can sit down at any kitchen table game with chips or matchsticks and follow along.

Quick rules

• A poker hand is always exactly five cards, even in games where you hold or share more.
• There are ten hand types. From best to worst: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.
• Cards rank ace (high), king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The ace can also be low in the straight A-2-3-4-5.
• A higher hand type always beats a lower one, whatever the card ranks inside it.
• When two hands are the same type, compare the most important cards first, then the kickers (spare cards).
• Suits never break ties in standard poker. Truly identical hands share the chips.

What you need

• A standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed (unless you play jokers wild).
• Chips, counters, buttons or matchsticks for keeping score in a friendly game.
• A printed or saved copy of the ranking chart below for beginners to keep beside them.

Setup: how a poker hand is made

1. In draw and stud games you build your hand from cards dealt only to you. In community card games such as hold'em you combine your private cards with the shared cards on the table.
2. Whatever the game, you choose the best five cards available to you. Extra cards do not count, and a hand of six cards in a row is still just a straight.
3. Decide before the first deal whether any cards are wild. The standard game has no wild cards, and this chart assumes none.

How to play the showdown

Step 1: reveal the hands

1. At the end of a hand, every player still in turns their cards face up.
2. Each player announces the best five-card hand they can make, but the cards speak for themselves. If a player misreads their own hand, the true hand still counts.

Step 2: compare hand types

1. Find the highest hand type on the table using the chart. A flush beats any straight, and a full house beats any flush.
2. If only one player holds that type, they win the hand.

Step 3: break ties

1. If two or more players have the same type, use the tie-break rules below.
2. If the hands are still exactly equal after all five cards are compared, split the chips evenly.

Poker hand rankings chart

Here are the poker hands ranked in order, best first. The counts show how many ways each hand can be dealt in five cards from a 52-card deck (2,598,960 possible hands in all), which is why rarer hands rank higher.

A royal flush is simply the highest possible straight flush. Some charts count it separately and some fold it into straight flush, which is why you may see the list given as nine or ten hands.

How to win: tie-break rules

• Straight flush and straight: the hand with the higher top card wins. 9-8-7-6-5 beats 8-7-6-5-4. The lowest straight is A-2-3-4-5, where the ace counts as a 1. The ace cannot sit in the middle, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
• Four of a kind: higher four wins. If the four are shared (possible with community cards), the fifth card decides.
• Full house: compare the three of a kind first. 7-7-7-2-2 beats 6-6-6-A-A. Only if the threes match do you compare the pairs.
• Flush: compare the highest card, then the next highest, and so on through all five cards. A-J-9-6-3 beats A-J-8-7-4.
• Three of a kind: higher three wins, then the higher kicker, then the second kicker.
• Two pair: compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the fifth card. K-K-3-3-8 beats Q-Q-J-J-A.
• One pair: higher pair wins, then compare the three kickers one at a time from the top.
• High card: compare the top cards, then the next, down to the fifth card.
• Suits: spades are not better than hearts in standard rules. If every card matches in rank, the hands tie.

Variations

• Wild cards: many home games play jokers or deuces wild. A wild card can stand for any card, which makes a new top hand possible: five of a kind (for example four kings and a wild card), which ranks above a royal flush. Agree whether a natural hand beats an equal hand made with wild cards.
• Low and high-low games: some games award chips to the lowest hand. Under the most common low rule, straights and flushes are ignored and A-2-3-4-5 is the best low hand.
• Short deck: when the 2s through 5s are removed, flushes become harder to make, so a flush beats a full house. Rules for whether three of a kind beats a straight differ, so check before you play.
• Three card hands: games played with only three cards use a different order, where a straight outranks a flush. The same is true in teen patti.

Tips and strategy

• Memorize the order in pairs: "royal, straight flush, four, full house" for the top four, then "flush, straight, three, two pair, pair, high card".
• Remember that rarer means stronger. Flushes are rarer than straights, so the flush wins.
• In community card games, read the table first. If four hearts are showing, any player with one heart has a flush.
• A single pair is a strong hand in five card draw but often weak in seven card games, where players see more cards.
• Keep a printed chart on the table for the first few sessions. New players relax faster when they can check it.

Common mistakes

• Counting six or seven cards. Only your best five ever count.
• Thinking a straight beats a flush. It does not.
• Wrapping straights around the ace, such as K-A-2-3-4.
• Using suits to break ties. In standard poker equal hands split.
• Forgetting kickers. Two players with a pair of aces are not tied until all the side cards are compared.

Ready to put the chart to use? Learn the full poker rules, keep the totals on our scoreboard, or browse more card games for adults for your next game night.