In conventional high-hand poker, the rankings from strongest to weakest are royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and high card. At showdown, compare each player’s best five-card hand—not every card they hold. This guide covers standard high-hand rankings; lowball and Short Deck can use different rules.
The poker hands, strongest to weakest
The chart below gives the conventional high-hand order used in games such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud, and Five Card Draw, subject to each game’s rules for constructing a hand. The category is compared before the individual cards: for example, a flush beats a straight even if the straight’s highest card is higher than a card in the flush. PokerStars’ hand-ranking guide and Delaware’s Texas Hold’em statute set out the conventional order.
| Rank | Hand | What it means and how ties are compared |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A-K-Q-J-10, all one suit. It is the highest possible straight flush. |
| 2 | Straight flush | Five consecutive ranks, all one suit. Compare the highest card; A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight flush. |
| 3 | Four of a kind | Four cards of the same rank and one unmatched card (the kicker). Compare the four matching cards, then the kicker. |
| 4 | Full house | Three cards of one rank and a pair. Compare the three-of-a-kind rank first, then the pair. |
| 5 | Flush | Five cards of one suit that are not consecutive. Compare the ranks from highest to lowest. |
| 6 | Straight | Five consecutive ranks in more than one suit. Compare the highest card. |
| 7 | Three of a kind | Three cards of the same rank. Compare the three matching cards, then the remaining cards in descending order. |
| 8 | Two pair | Two different pairs and one kicker. Compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the kicker. |
| 9 | One pair | Two cards of the same rank. Compare the pair, then each unmatched card in descending order. |
| 10 | High card | A hand with no pair, straight, or flush. Compare the five ranks from highest to lowest. |
How to compare hands at showdown
Use the best five-card hand
A poker hand is evaluated as five cards. In Texas Hold’em, each player makes the strongest five-card combination available from their hole cards and the community cards; the remaining cards do not form extra tie-breakers. Delaware law defines a Texas Hold’em showdown hand as five cards. Other formats can have different card-use rules: for example, do not automatically apply Hold’em’s construction rule to Omaha.
Compare category, then defining cards, then kickers
First compare the hand category using the chart. If both hands have the same category, compare the ranks that define it. Only then compare kickers where relevant. With two pair, for instance, compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the fifth card. With a full house, compare the trips before the pair, so a higher pair cannot overcome lower three of a kind.
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Suits do not break ties
In standard poker, suits have no ranking power in a showdown. If the players’ best five-card hands have identical ranks, neither wins because of a higher suit.
Equal hands can split the pot
If no card in either best five-card hand outranks its counterpart, the hands tie and the pot is commonly split. A shared board in Hold’em can supply the best five cards to both players. Delaware’s statute says ties are resolved according to house rules, so the applicable game rules determine the precise payout procedure.
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Ace-high and ace-low straights
An ace can be high or low when completing a straight: A-K-Q-J-10 is ace-high, while 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest straight, often called the wheel. The ace cannot wrap around, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. In a tie between straights, compare their highest cards; the ace-low wheel is below a 2-3-4-5-6 straight.
Rules that change the ranking
- Lowball: The goal is to make a low hand, and the qualifying rules depend on the specific lowball game. Do not use the high-hand chart to decide the winner.
- Short Deck: The category order can differ; in some Short Deck rules, a flush ranks above a full house.
- Other variants and house rules: Confirm both the category order and how cards may be used before applying the chart. The conventional order is a guide to common high-hand games, not a universal rule for every poker format.
How rare is a royal flush?
The World Poker Federation gives the number of possible five-card deals from a standard deck as 2,598,960 and the number of royal flushes as four, yielding odds of 1 in 649,740 for a five-card deal. Those figures concern a five-card hand, not the probability of making a royal flush in a particular multi-card game or by showdown. World Poker Federation’s ranking and odds page is the source for these figures; its publication date is not confirmed.
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