Poker
Poker hand rankings
Poker hand rankings is the system that orders five-card hands from strongest to weakest, so players can decide who wins at showdown.
- Number of categories
- 10
- Highest category
- Straight flush
- Lowest category
- High card
- Cards per hand
- 5
Key points
- Hands are compared first by category; any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category.12
- Within the same category, the ranks of the relevant cards decide the winner; suits do not rank in standard poker.12
- In games with more than five cards available, only the best five-card combination is used.1
- The ranking order is related to the probability of each hand occurring, but rankings and probabilities are distinct concepts.34
- The same ranking system applies in games like Chinese poker and pai gow poker, with variant-specific exceptions.56
Standard poker hand rankings (highest to lowest)
| Category | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | Five cards in sequence, all same suit | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ |
| Four of a kind | Four cards of the same rank | K♠ K♥ K♦ K♣ 7♥ |
| Full house | Three of a kind and a pair | J♠ J♥ J♦ 4♣ 4♠ |
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence | A♠ 10♠ 7♠ 5♠ 3♠ |
| Straight | Five cards in sequence, not all same suit | 9♠ 8♥ 7♦ 6♣ 5♠ |
| Three of a kind | Three cards of the same rank | Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ 8♣ 2♠ |
| Two pair | Two different pairs | A♠ A♥ 8♦ 8♣ 3♠ |
| One pair | Two cards of the same rank | 10♠ 10♥ 7♦ 5♣ 2♠ |
| High card | No pair, no sequence, no flush | A♠ 10♥ 7♦ 5♣ 2♠ |
How hand rankings work
At showdown, the player with the highest-ranking hand wins. If two hands fall in the same category, the ranks of the relevant cards are compared. For example, a pair of aces beats a pair of kings. If the pairs are equal, the next highest card (the kicker) decides the winner. Suits are never used to break ties in standard poker.12
In games like Texas hold'em or Omaha, where players have more than five cards available, only the best five-card combination counts. The unused cards do not affect the ranking.1
The same ranking system is used in Chinese poker and pai gow poker, though each variant has its own exceptions for how hands are formed or compared.56
Where this term is used
Not the same as
- Omaha poker hand rankings — uses the same categories but with Omaha-specific hand-formation rules
- Poker hand rankings preflop — a measure of starting-hand strength before community cards, not the final five-card showdown ranking
- Poker hand rankings probability — the frequency of each hand, not the order in which they compare
Related terms
Sources
- Ranking of Poker Hands pagat.com Provides the standard ranking order and rules for comparing hands.
- List of poker hands en.wikipedia.org Lists the 10 hand categories and explains tie-breaking.
- Wikipedia:Today's featured list/April 4, 2014 - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Notes the relationship between ranking order and hand probabilities.
- Invented Draw Poker Variants pagat.com Distinguishes rankings from probabilities in the context of draw poker variants.
- Chinese poker en.wikipedia.org Confirms the ranking system applies to Chinese poker with exceptions.
- Pai gow poker - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Confirms the ranking system applies to pai gow poker with exceptions.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.