There is a common poker hands ranking system at the heart of all forms of poker. It ranks the relative 🧾 strengths of all the different poker hands so players can understand and determine which is the best.
All the popular forms 🧾 of poker such as Texas Hold’em or Omaha and poker-based casino games like three-card poker use these rankings, so it 🧾 is essential to know exactly what each of them means.
The poker hand rankings are listed below, from high to low, 🧾 and we have also produced a useful poker hand rankings chart that you can save to your phone and desktop, 🧾 which can be used as a poker hand rankings cheat sheet.
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Poker-hand rankings: from strongest to weakest
1. Royal flush
The royal flush is the best 🧾 hand available in poker. It features five consecutive cards, all of the same suit, in order of value from 10 🧾 through to ace.
2. Straight flush
Any five cards of successive values in the same suit that’s not a royal flush is 🧾 a straight flush. A royal flush or a straight flush with cards of higher ranking are the only hands that 🧾 can beat a straight flush.
3. Four of a Kind
Four of the same card in the four suits. The five-card hand 🧾 is completed by the highest card among the others on the table or in your hand.
4. Full house
Three of the 🧾 same value card in three different suits plus a different pair of the same rank card in two different suits 🧾 in one hand. If more than just one player has a full house the player with the highest value three 🧾 of a kind will win the hand.
5. Flush
Five cards of the same suit in no particular order. If more than 🧾 one player has a flush, the hand with the highest valued card will win.
6. Straight
Five cards of consecutive numerical value 🧾 composed of more than one suit. An ace can normally rank as low (below a 2) or high (above a 🧾 king) but not at the same time in one hand.
7. Three of a kind
A poker hand containing three cards of 🧾 the same rank in three different suits. The two highest available cards besides the three of a kind complete the 🧾 hand.
8. Two pair
Two different sets of two cards of matching rank. The highest-ranked left available card completes the hand.
9. Pair
A 🧾 pair of cards of the same rank in different suits. The remainder of the hand is formed from the three 🧾 highest-ranked cards available.
10. High card
The lowest-ranked hand available. The highest card in the hand is your ‘best hand’. In this 🧾 case it's the king of clubs.
Poker hand-rankings cheat sheet: Download here (pdf)
Our poker hands ranking cheat sheet is a great 🧾 aid to help you commit the poker hand rankings to memory and will serve you well whether you are playing 🧾 online poker or physical poker in the meantime.
Poker hand rankings: ‘Hi’ games, ‘Lo’ games and ‘Hi-Lo’ games
It is vital that 🧾 you note that not all poker games decide the winning hand according to the highest ranked on the poker hand 🧾 rankings. There are three typical ways that the poker hand rankings determine the best poker hand.
Hi or high-hand poker
The most 🧾 simple way the ranks are used is in ‘Hi’ or High hand games where the best poker hand is decided 🧾 according to the hand which ranks highest on the poker hand rankings detailed above.
Commonly played examples include: Texas Holdem, Seven-Card 🧾 Stud
Lo, low-hand or lowball poker
Lowball poker hand rankings work in the exact opposite way to High hand games. The usual 🧾 poker hand rankings are reversed so the lowest ranking hand is the best possible hand. Variations often centre around whether 🧾 the Ace is high or low and whether straights and flushes are counted.
Commonly played examples include: Razz
Hi-lo or high-low split 🧾 poker
The third and final use of the poker hand rankings is high-low split games. This is where the pot is 🧾 split evenly between the players with the highest ranking poker hand and lowest ranking poker hand.
Commonly played examples include: Omaha 🧾 Hi-Lo
Learn how to play popular types of poker and the rules specific to each game
Want to know the rules specific 🧾 to popular types of poker? Check out the links below.
