Standard Ranking of Poker Hands

The ranking of poker hands generally assumes that no matter how many cards each player receives, the best 5 are chosen to make the hand.

Click Here for a note on deviations from the standard rankings.

Rank of Hands

Straight Flush
4 of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
3 of a Kind
2 Pair
Pair
High-Card

Explanation of Rankings

Hand rankings are determined by mathematical probability. 

When discussing cards in emails or chats, it is common to see the numeric value of the card in uppercase, followed by the suit value in lowercase.  For example Js is the Jack of Spades, Th is a Ten of Hearts, 4d is a Four of Diamonds.

    Spade  Heart  Club  Diamond

Straight Flush

A hand that is both a straight and a flush.  All 5 cards must be in numerical order, and must be of the same suit. 

For example: J   T   9   8   7

An Ace-High straight flush is the highest possible poker hand, and is called a Royal Flush.

4 of a Kind

4 cards of equal numerical value.  Also called "Quads".

For example: 3   3   3   3  J

Full House

A hand that contains 3 of a kind, and 1 Pair.  Also called a "Boat", or "Full Boat".  In the example, the hand has 3 Nines.  This would be called "Nines Full of Jacks".

For example: J   J   9   9   9

Flush

A hand that has all 5 cards of the same suit, but not in numerical order.

For example: J   T   6   4   2

Straight

A hand that has all 5 cards in numerical order, but not of the same suit.

For example: J   T   9   8   7

3 of a Kind

A hand that has 3 cards of the same numerical value, plus two other cards of any value.

For example: 2   2   2   J   9

Two Pair

A hand that has two different pairs of cards.

For example: 8   8   4   4   7

Pair

A hand that has 2 cards of the same numerical value. 

For example: A   A   9   3   7

High Card

If no player has a single pair or better, the pot will go to the player with the highest valued card in his/her hand.  An ACE has the highest value, and the 2 has the lowest value.

For example:

Hand 1:  5   8   9   K   4
Hand 2:  8   2   9   Q   T

Hand 1 wins because of each players highest card, the King beats the Queen.

Hands of Equal Value

Oftentimes it is necessary to use a "Kicker" card to break ties.  A kicker is the next highest card in a players hand. 

For example:

Hand 1: 5   5   J   9   3
Hand 2: 5   5   A   8   Q

Both players have a pair of Fives, but hand number 2 wins because his/her next highest card is an Ace.

In cases where two players have truly identical 5 card hands, the pot is divided between them.  This is most often seen in Hold'Em when community cards make up the hand.  The "6th" card is never used to break ties.

Deviations from the Standard

There are games out there that deviate from the standard rules. 

The most common deviation from the rule is when a wild card is in play.  This can be a joker, or another card specified by the dealer/establishment.  In wild card games, 5 of a Kind is the highest possible hand, followed by the standard rankings above.

For example, 5  5  5  5 + Wild Card

There can also be deviations where a certain hand is declared to "beat all other hands".  You will probably never see these in commercial establishments.  If you want to play "Three 8's beat any other hand", then good luck to you!