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.
You can find all the best new customer poker offers 🛡 on our poker
bonus sign up offers page.
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.
