Poker
Texas hold em card rankings
Texas hold'em card rankings are the standard order used to compare five-card poker hands, from high card up to royal flush, with higher categories always beating lower ones.
Key points
- Hands are compared first by category; any higher category beats any lower category.1
- If both hands are in the same category, the ranks of the cards in the five-card hand decide the winner.1
- The ranking applies to Texas hold'em and standard high poker where the best five-card hand wins.2
Hand categories from highest to lowest
| Category | Example |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ |
| Straight flush | 9♣ 8♣ 7♣ 6♣ 5♣ |
| Four of a kind | 7♥ 7♦ 7♣ 7♠ 2♣ |
| Full house | J♠ J♦ J♣ 4♥ 4♠ |
| Flush | A♣ 10♣ 7♣ 6♣ 2♣ |
| Straight | 9♠ 8♥ 7♦ 6♣ 5♠ |
| Three of a kind | Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ 8♣ 4♠ |
| Two pair | K♠ K♥ 9♦ 9♣ 3♠ |
| One pair | 10♠ 10♥ 8♦ 6♣ 2♠ |
| High card | A♠ 10♦ 7♣ 5♥ 2♠ |
Where this term is used
Not the same as
- Texas Hold'em card values — refers to the rank of individual cards (A through 2), not the full hand-ranking hierarchy
- Texas holdem rules — refers to the rules of play and betting, not the specific hierarchy for comparing hands
Related terms
Poker
Texas hold em dealing rules
Covers the rules for dealing cards in Texas hold'em, including the button and blinds.
Poker
Poker hold em rules
Explains the general rules and betting structure of Texas hold'em.
Poker
Texas Hold'em hands
Lists the possible starting hands in Texas hold'em and their relative strength.
Poker
Poker hand rankings
Describes the standard hand rankings used in most poker variants.
Poker
5 card poker hands
Details the possible five-card poker hands and their rankings.
Poker
5 card poker rules
Covers the rules for five-card draw and five-card stud poker.
Sources
- List of poker hands - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Provides the full list of hand categories and the ranking rules.
- Texas hold 'em - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Confirms that the ranking applies to Texas hold'em specifically.
- Regeln von Kartenspielen: Rangfolge der Pokerblätter pagat.com Supplies the count of 7,462 distinct hand ranks.
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.