These rankings are used in standard high-hand Texas Hold'em and many other poker formats.
- Royal flush: A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit.
- Straight flush: five consecutive cards of one suit.
- Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank.
- Full house: three of a kind plus a pair.
- Flush: five cards of one suit, not consecutive.
- Straight: five consecutive ranks, not all one suit.
- Three of a kind: three cards of one rank.
- Two pair: two different pairs.
- One pair: two cards of one rank.
- High card: none of the above; compare highest relevant cards.
Common tie rule
Only the best five-card hand counts. In Hold'em, if the five community cards themselves form the best hand for every remaining player, the pot is split. Suits are not normally used to break ties between otherwise equal poker hands.
The wheel straight
An ace can be low in A-2-3-4-5, which is a five-high straight. It can also be high in 10-J-Q-K-A.
Using hand rankings correctly
Five-card hands decide the winner
Texas Hold’em gives each player seven available cards by the river—two private cards plus five community cards—but the final hand is the best five-card combination. You do not have to use both hole cards. Sometimes the board itself is the best five-card hand and the pot is split.
Kickers matter when the category ties
When two players have the same hand category, the remaining relevant cards can decide the pot. A pair of aces with a king kicker beats a pair of aces with a queen kicker when no stronger five-card combination is available. Learning this prevents common beginner confusion at showdown.
Board-reading is the next skill
Memorizing the ranking order is only the first step. Practice asking what the strongest possible hands are on the current board, which draws completed, and whether your own hole cards actually improve the five-card combination. This connects basic rankings to real postflop decision-making.
Continue with the related guide