Poker Hands Ranking: All 10 Hands in Order With Odds
5 min read
The poker hands ranking is the same in nearly every form of the game, from Texas Hold’em to Casino Hold’em and video poker. One principle explains the whole list: the rarer the hand, the higher it ranks. The table below shows all ten hands with an example and the probability of being dealt each one in five random cards.
Poker hands ranking: the full list
| Rank | Hand | Example | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ | 0.000154% |
| 2 | Straight flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ | 0.00139% |
| 3 | Four of a kind | Q♣ Q♦ Q♥ Q♠ 4♦ | 0.0240% |
| 4 | Full house | 8♠ 8♥ 8♦ K♣ K♠ | 0.1441% |
| 5 | Flush | A♦ J♦ 8♦ 6♦ 2♦ | 0.1965% |
| 6 | Straight | 10♣ 9♦ 8♥ 7♠ 6♣ | 0.3925% |
| 7 | Three of a kind | 7♠ 7♥ 7♦ K♣ 3♠ | 2.1128% |
| 8 | Two pair | J♥ J♣ 5♠ 5♦ A♣ | 4.7539% |
| 9 | One pair | 10♠ 10♦ A♥ 8♣ 4♠ | 42.2569% |
| 10 | High card | A♣ J♦ 8♠ 6♥ 3♦ | 50.1177% |
These figures apply to exactly five cards from a 52-card deck. There are 2,598,960 possible five-card hands and only four of them are a royal flush, which works out at 1 in 649,740.
What the numbers tell you
Two rows stand out. Half the time, five cards give you nothing at all, and another 42% of the time you hold a single pair. Everything from two pair upwards adds up to less than 8%.
In Texas Hold’em the percentages shift because you pick the best five from seven cards. There you end up with only a high card about 17% of the time. The order stays the same, though: even with seven cards, a flush is rarer than a straight.
Same hand, who wins? Kickers and tie-breakers
When two players hold the same type of hand, the rank of the cards in it decides first. After that comes the side card, known as the kicker.
- One pair and three of a kind: the higher pair or set wins. If those match, compare side cards in order. On a board of A-9-7-4-2, ace-king beats ace-queen because the king is the higher kicker.
- Two pair: the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the fifth card. Kings and threes beat queens and jacks.
- Straight: the top card decides. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest straight and 10-J-Q-K-A the highest. Wrapping around is not allowed, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
- Flush: highest card wins, then the second highest, and so on down.
- Full house: the three matching cards decide. 8-8-8-2-2 beats 7-7-7-A-A.
If all five cards are equal in value, the pot is split. Suits carry no rank. And only five cards ever count: a sixth card never breaks a tie.
Common confusions
A flush beats a straight. There are 5,108 possible flushes against 10,200 straights. The flush turns up about half as often, so it is worth more.
A full house beats a flush. At 3,744 combinations it is rarer still.
Three of a kind beats two pair. Beginners often count “four useful cards” and assume two pair is stronger. Three of a kind is more than twice as rare.
A royal flush is simply the best straight flush. Strictly speaking it is the top of rank 2 and gets its own line by convention.
The ace plays high or low, never both at once.
How to memorise the order
The bottom half is intuitive: nothing, one pair, two pair, three of a kind. For the top half, remember “straight, flush, full house, quads”. Above those sit only the two hands that combine a straight with a flush.
Repetition works faster than rote learning. Video poker names and pays every hand the moment it lands, which makes the free Jacks or Better demo a convenient trainer with no clock running. To see how hands fit into the betting rounds, read the poker rules guide.
FAQ
What is the best hand in poker? The royal flush: ace, king, queen, jack and ten of the same suit. In five cards it comes up once in 649,740 deals on average.
Does a flush beat a straight? Yes. Five cards of one suit are rarer than five cards in sequence.
What is a kicker? A side card that is not part of the combination but settles ties. With a pair of aces plus king, nine, four, the king is your first kicker.
Is the ranking the same in every poker variant? In almost all of them. Texas Hold’em, Omaha, seven-card stud, Casino Hold’em and video poker share the same list. The exceptions are lowball games, where the weakest hand wins, and short-deck variants. Demos for practising are in the table games section.