Poker Hands Rankings

Poker is one of the most popular card games in the world. It is easy to find tournaments held throughout the year, with professional and amateur poker players competing. Fans of poker can watch tournaments on television or via live streams to see the best players on the planet.

You don’t have to be a professional poker player to get the most out of the game. Poker is a card game that caters to players of all abilities. You can play in tournaments, online, or in traditional casinos. Regardless of how you play the game of poker, you need to know how the hands rank.

Poker hand rankings are just one of the areas players must learn and understand to have long-term success. Poker hand rankings tell players the strength of the different card hands they can play. The rankings aid your in-game decision making.

All types of poker have hands rankings. The rankings simply tell players how strong each poker hand is. You can then understand which hand is best to play. If you want to improve as a poker player, it is essential that you learn the different poker hands and how they rank.

In this article, we will look at the different poker hands and their rankings from strongest to weakest. You can always come back to study the rankings system on how each works.

Royal Flush

The royal flush is the best hand you can have in poker. It is the strongest of all possible hands a player can hold. The royal flush features five consecutive cards of the same suit. The cards are in the order of 10 to ace. The royal flush cannot be beaten by any other hands. Two players can have a royal flush if the five royal flush cards are not on the board.

You should always look out for a royal flush during a poker game, because it can never be beaten by any other hands. Some royal flushes are more valuable than others, however. It is best to create a royal flush with two hold-cards. This disguises the hand and can create a big payoff.

The royal flush consists of the A-K-Q-J-10. The cards must all be from the same suit. The royal flush can be your key to winning more since royal flush beats all other poker hands.

Straight Flush

A straight flush consists of five consecutive cards in the same suit. Of course, the royal flush is the best of the possible straight flushes. For the straight flush, the suits are irrelevant. The denomination and hand rank are the most important factors in a straight flush.

A straight flush may look like this: 9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠

A straight flush’s rank is set by the highest straight card rather than the suit. The highest straight card determines the winner if two players have a straight flush. For example, a nine-high straight flush beats an 8-high straight flush regardless of the suit. A 52-card deck has 40 possible straight flush combinations.

Four-of-a-Kind

A four-of-a-kind hand is exactly what it sounds like. You need to have four cards of the same rank to have four-of-a-kind. For example, if you have four aces in a hand, you have four-of-a-kind.

The four cards do not need to be of the same suit. Rather, the rankings are the important factor in a four-of-a-kind hand. If two players have four-of-a-kind, then the player with the higher rankings will win the hand.

There are 624 four-of-a-kind hand combination possibilities in a 52-card deck. There are also 156 ranks for four-of-a-kind. Since the ranking is made up of four cards, the fifth card can help you win a hand of poker. If two players have the same four-of-a-kind hand, then the fifth card’s ranking will determine the winner.

For example, if player A has 5♥5♠5♦5♣10♦ and player B has 5♥5♠5♦5♣7♦, player A would win thanks to their 10 of diamonds card. The four-of-a-kind hand is the second-best possible hand in poker. It is so strong in Texas Hold ‘em that it is rarely beaten by other hands.

Full House

A full house consists of three cards of the same ranking combined with two cards of the same ranking. The full house is made up of a three-of-a-kind and two-of-a-kind hand.

The best possible full house a player can have is the aces full of kings hand. This hand consists of three aces and two kings. Remember that the full house doesn’t worry about the suit. Instead, it is determined by the rankings of the cards. In addition, the three-of-a-kind cards are considered the first cards, and the two-of-a-kind are the kicker.

There are 3,744 potential full house hands in a 52-card deck. There are 156 distinct rankings for a full house.

In a 52-card deck, there are 3,744 possible Full House hand combinations and 156 distinct ranks of Full Boats. Players will say “aces full” or “kings full” based on the three cards in the hand. A player with “aces full” will defeat “kings full”. Kings will beat queens, and so on down the rankings.

In the following example, a hand of K♥K♠K♣5♣5♥ would beat Q♥Q♠Q♣A♣A♥ despite the second hand holding two aces. Why? Because the kings rank higher than the queens.

Flush

A flush consists of five cards all from the same suit. The rankings do not matter in a flush, as players are more concerned with the suit. The ace high flush is the best possible flush available.

The ace high flush is A♠J♠10♠3♠2♠

There are 5,108 potential flush hand combinations in a 52-card deck. There are 1,277 distance ranks for flushes. Flushes are ranked by the highest card followed by the rank of the second-highest card, and so forth.

If two or more players has a flush during a hand of poker, the winner of the hand is determined by the person with the highest straight card. A king-high flush will defeat a queen-high flush. A queen-high flush will defeat a Jack-high flush, and so on.

If two or more players have the same rankings for their first cards, the winner will be determined by the ranking of the second cards. If the rankings of the second cards are the same, then it will be determined by the third card, and so forth. The flush is rarely beaten in a poker hand despite it being fifth on our list of poker hands.

Straight

The straight consists of five consecutive cards. The rankings of the cards are sequential, making it a straight from numerical sequence from highest to lowest. In basic terms, a straight is five cards in a row. This should make it easy to identify when holding it.

The best possible straight hand is the A-K-Q-J-10 and is also known as the “Broadway”. There are different straight combinations, including the A-2-3-4-5, known as the “Bicycle” or “Wheel”.

The suit is not important when considering a straight. Straights are not ranked equally, however. The hand ranking is most important in a straight, and the suit less so.

There are 10,200 potential straight combinations in a pack of 52 cards. There are also 10 distinct rankings of straights. The straight hands are all ranked by the highest card. The best straight hands are determined by the highest card rather than the suit. A straight hand is considered very strong, although it ranks lower on our list of possible poker hands.

Three-of-a-Kind

A three-of-a-kind hand is made up of three cards of the same rank. You should immediately realise that a three-of-a-kind hand has three of the same cards in it. The hand is not concerned with the suit, rather the most important factor is the denomination of the cards.

A three-of-a-kind hand can feature sets or trips. A set occurs when a player has a pair, like 9♦9♣, along with another 9♥ on the table. Trips occur when a pair is on the table. For example, 10♥10♦5♠, and a player has another 10♣ in their starting hand. Hand denomination is the most important part of a three-of-a-kind. Players are not worried about the suit.

The kickers are the determining factor in which three-of-a-kind hand wins, if multiple players hold a three-of-a-kind hand. Three hands are below the three-of-a-kind. This makes the three-of-a-kind a strong hand for players.

Two Pair

The two pairs are one of the weaker hands of poker. Only two hands are weaker in the rankings than the two pair. Despite being down the poker hands rankings, the two pair is one of the most common winning hands in Texas Hold ‘em.

The name of the poker hand should help you understand it. The hand consists of two cards of the same denomination. The suit of the cards does not matter, as you are only concerned with the rankings of them.

If two players have a two pair then the player with the higher ranking would win the hand. Kickers factor into the outcome of a hand when players have two pairs. There are 123,552 potential two pair combinations in a 52-card deck. There are also 858 distinct ranks of two pair hands.

One Pair

A pair is a hand consisting of two cards of the same denomination. For example, you may have a one pair of kings (king-king) or nines (nine-nine). The one pair is a single pair of cards with the same ranking. The suit does not matter when it comes to a one pair.

The best cards for a one pair hand is aces (ace-ace). Kings is the second-best one pair hand (king-king). Queens is the third-best one pair hand (queen-queen), and so on down the card denominations. Kickers play a factor in the hands and can determine which player wins.

There are 1,098,240 potential one pair hand combinations in a pack of 52 cards. There are also 2,860 distinct ranks in terms of one pair hands. The one pair hands are ranked by the first pair followed by the second highest-ranked pair.

High Card

The worst possible hand in the poker hands ranking system is the high card. There is no pair in the hand, making it a poor hand to hold. A high card hand is concerned with the denomination rather than the card suit. The very best high-card hand is the aces high. This hand is followed by the king-high hand, and so forth.

There are 1,302,540 potential high card hand combinations in a 52-card pack. There are also 1,277 distinct ranks for high card hands.

Poker Hand Rankings FAQ

Q. How do you remember poker hands in order?

A. The order of poker hand rankings from highest to lowest is: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair andHigh Card. Some people use mnemonic devices to remember the rankings of poker hands. Some players use the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3 to mean, high card, one pair, two pair, and three of a kind.

Q. What is the strongest royal flush?

A. A royal flush is an unbeatable hand. It consists of an ace, king, queen, jack, and a 10 suit. The royal flush is the best possible straight flush available.

Q. What are the best starting hands in poker?

A. The best starting hands in poker are the pocket pairs, with the pocket aces on top. These are followed by pocket kings and queens. The pocket pairs of ace-ace, king-king, queen-queen are the best hands for playing in the preflop betting rounds.

Q. What are the worst starting hands in poker?

A. The 2-7 offsuit is the worst hand in poker to start a game. The reason this is a bad hand is due to there being few options available for you.

Q. What are the best 5 card poker hands?

A. The best five card poker hands are the royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, and flush.

Q. What hand wins the most in poker?

A. Two pairs are the most common winning hand in poker and it comes up more often than other winning hands.