Hand Rank > FAQ : Quiz
Texas Hold’em hand rankings. The rank of hands remains the same no matter which type of poker game you play. In a nutshell, a poker hand consists of five cards. Poker hands fall into one of several categories, such as flush, straight, or two pair. The player with the highest ranking hand is the winner. Starting Hand Rankings in Texas Holdem. I could write about poker hand rankings all day, but for now, let me just address starting hands in Texas holdem. Your starting hand in a game of Texas holdem consists of the two cards you get face down at the beginning of the game. These are the two cards you get to look at before deciding whether to. An illustrated guide to poker hand rankings. Two pairs of cards of the same number or rank, such as 2-7-7-9-9. The higher pair is used to determine the winner if more than one player has two pair, so that nines and twos would beat eights and sevens.
Learning the rank of hands in Texas Hold'em is just as important as learning the rules themselves. Be sure to know what beats what, so you won't be surprised the next time that flush beats your straight. Check out the hand rank FAQ to help answer questions you might have about the ranking of hands in Texas Hold'em.
The hands are in order from top to bottom, decreasing in value as you move down.
Rank of hands.
#1 Royal flush.
An ace-high straight flush. It's just a straight flush really, but it's made with the 5 highest value cards.
A royal flush is the absolute best possible hand in the game of Texas Hold'em. You will rarely (if ever) see this hand.
#2 Straight flush.
5 cards of the same suit in sequential order. This is essentially the best hand in the game, only coming second to it's bigger brother; the royal flush.
#3 Four of a kind.
Four cards of the same value. Virtually a guaranteed winner.
Unfortunately you rarely really win as much money with it as you would like, as it's unlikely that other players in the pot will make a hand that they're happy to call lots of bets and raises with. Still, better than nothing!
#4 Full house.
Three of one and two of another. Or you could think of it as 3-of-a-kind + 2-pair. Also known as a 'boat'.
This is the most common out of the 'big hands' you will see in Texas Hold'em. You can win a nice chunk of money if another player ends up making a weaker hand like a flush or a straight.
If you think your opponent has a weaker full house than you, take advantage of Zeebo's theorem.
#5 Flush
Five cards of the same suit.
As long as there are no pairs on the board (e.g. 448JK or 27TAA), this will be the strongest type of hand anyone can make.
Beginner players love to chase flushes, and it usually results in losing money. Make sure you learn about pot odds before you chase your next flush.
Tip: If you're playing online, use the four colour deck feature. This turns the club cards green () and the diamonds blue (). So less chance of mistaking 4 diamonds and 1 heart as a flush.
#6 Straight.
Five cards in sequence.
This hand is beaten by a flush, so don't make the rookie mistake of over-valuing the straight when there are a number of cards of the same suit on the board. It is actually harder to make a flush than a straight.
#7 Three of a kind.
3 cards of the same value.
A 'set' is when you have 3 of a kind whilst holding a pocket pair. A set tends to be one of the most profitable hands in Texas Hold'em. It's handy to know the difference between sets and trips.
#8 Two pair.
Two pairs of course.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that this hand is stronger than 3 of a kind. It's actually easier to pick up two-pair than it is to get 3 of a kind.
#9 Pair.
Two cards of the same value. Almost like 'two of a kind' really.
A very common hand that can actually win a fair number of pots for you. Just be careful not to go overboard with this hand. The higher the pair the better.
#10 High card.
Just the highest value card.
If two players have the same value high card, you look at the next highest card (and so on) to find the winner.
This is not really much of a hand, but occasionally the winner of the hand will be decided on who holds the card of highest value. Don't expect to win any big pots with this one. It's usually there to determine the winner as a last resort.
Go back to the interesting Texas Hold'em articles.
A standard pack of 52 cards is used. The ace is the high card, but it can also be used as the low card depending on your hand.
Despite the many different types of Poker Game Variants, the ranking of Poker hands is always consistant. While online poker games are almost always played with a 52 card deck, the Joker is sometimes used for Draw style games and is never used when playing ‘flop games’ like Texas Hold’em. All poker hand rankings are made from the best five cards available, and suits are not ranked.
Hand Rankings
Below you see the hands you can get in poker. Number 1 is the best possible hand and number 11 the weakest.
1. 5 of A Kind
When using a joker or wildcards then “Five of a Kind” is the best hand in online poker. However, as already mentioned that a 5 of a kind is not available in flop games such as Texas Holdem. Cards are ranked with Ace as the highest card, and then face cards down to the two, or Deuce. Because of this a hand of five aces, with four aces and a joker, is the best possible hand in online poker.
2. Royal Flush
In online poker where the joker is not in play, then the best possible hand is the “Straight Flush.” This is five cards of the same suit in consecutive order and the same suit. (the Ace of clubs, King of clubs, Queen, Jack and Ten of clubs for example. (In Spades, Diamonds, Hearts or Clubs)
3. Straight Flush
A Straight Flush is all five cards in the same suit. For example, the Jack of clubs, 10 of clubs, 9, 8 and 7 of clubs for example. (In Spades, Diamonds, Hearts or Clubs)
4. Four of a Kind
After the Straight Flush is a “Four of a Kind,” which are four cards of the same number or value, with any card as a fifth. The higher ranking the four cards the better the hand, for example, four nines beat out four eights in online poker and so on.
5. Full House
A “Full House” in online poker is three cards of the same rank combined with another pair from a different rank, (three Queens and two fours, or three fives and two Aces). Three cards of one number or face value and two cards of another number or face value. If more then one player has a full house, the full house with the highest ranking three of a kind wins.
6. Flush
After a Full House comes the “Flush,” with five cards of the same suit is the best hand in online poker. The cards are not in consecutive order, and different hands are ranked in order of the highest card down. A Flush that starts with an Ace and then skips down to a 7,6,4,3 still beats a Queen, 10,8,6,3. If two flushes have the same cards then the pot is split.
7. Straight
A straight is five cards in sequence. Cards Can be in any suit and an ace can be used as high or low. As an example, a hand with 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of any suit constitutes a straight hand. Where there are two straights in the same game by two separate players, the player with the highest card wins.
8. Three of a kind
Three cards of the same number or face value with two additional cards. These two separate cards are called a kicker. Where two players in a game both have a 3-of-A-Kind, the player with the highest card rank wins. For example, three Kings beats three Jacks. If cards are of the same rank for example both players have 3 Jacks, then the highest kicker is used to determine the winning hand, then the second kicker if necessary. A 3-of-A-Kind is also referred to as a set or trips, however, in Texas Holdem, the 3-of-A-kind is only a set only when the player has pocket pairs with the 3rd card to make up the 3-of-A-Kind on the board.
9. Two Pair
Texas Holdem Card Rankings Pdf
A Pair is a two cards of the same number with another two cards consisting of another number, with one final card called the kicker. If two players have a two pair, the hand with the highest pair wins. Where both players have the same ranking cards for pairs, the kicker card determines the winning hand.
10. One Pair
Two cards of the same number or value. The player with the highest number valued pair wins, where two players both have a Pair. Where both players have the same ranked card as a pair, the highest kicker card (3 remaining cards of different rank) determines the winning hand.
11. High card
Texas Holdem Poker Card Rankings
The hand with the highest cards wins. The Ace being the highest card with two the lowest. Where both cards have the same number ranked high card, the next high card is used to determine the winning hand.
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