Guide

Poker hands ranked from best to worst, with examples

The full poker hand ranking with an example of each hand, the odds of being dealt it, how ties are broken and how Texas Hold'em uses the rankings.

By Eleanor Hartley, editor · Checked on 1 November 2026

Poker hands are ranked in a fixed order that applies across almost every form of the game: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. A hand higher on the list always beats a hand lower down, whatever the individual cards. Every hand is made of exactly five cards, even in games where you hold more.

On this page

1. All poker hands from best to worst
2. How often each 5-card poker hand is dealt
3. Breaking ties between equal hands
4. Poker hands in Texas Hold'em
5. Good starting hands in Hold'em
6. Five-card draw and casino poker

All poker hands from best to worst

A royal flush is simply the highest possible straight flush, but it is listed separately because it is the best hand in the game. In a straight, the ace can count high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A, sometimes called the wheel), but a straight cannot wrap round: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.

How often each 5-card poker hand is dealt

The ranking follows rarity. These are the odds of being dealt each hand in five cards from a standard 52-card deck, out of 2,598,960 possible hands:

In games where you choose your best five from seven cards, such as Hold'em, every made hand becomes more likely, but the order stays the same.

Breaking ties between equal hands

• Same type of hand: compare the ranks that make it. A pair of kings beats a pair of nines; in a full house the three of a kind is compared first.
• Kickers: if the main cards are equal, the highest unused card decides. J-J-A-7-4 beats J-J-K-Q-9 because the ace outranks the king.
• Flushes and high-card hands are compared card by card from the top.
• Suits never rank in standard poker. Two identical hands in different suits split the pot.

Poker hands in Texas Hold'em

Texas Hold'em is the most widely played form of poker. Each player gets two private cards, the hole cards. Five shared community cards are then dealt face up in stages: three on the flop, one on the turn and one on the river, with a betting round before the flop and after each stage. The two players to the left of the dealer button post forced bets, the small and big blinds, to start the action.

At the showdown, each player makes the best five-card hand from any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards; you can use both, one or none of your own cards. If the board itself is the best hand, all remaining players split the pot. Because everyone shares five cards, kickers decide many Texas poker hands: with A-K against A-Q on a board containing an ace, the king kicker wins.

Good starting hands in Hold'em

Before the flop you only have two cards, so "good poker hands" at that stage means strong starting combinations. Pairs of aces, kings and queens, and ace-king, are generally treated as the strongest starting hands; suited cards (both the same suit) and connected cards (such as 9-8) have more ways to make flushes and straights than unsuited, unconnected ones. Position matters as much as the cards: acting last lets you see what others do first. A strong start is a better chance, never a certainty; any hand can be beaten by the river.

Five-card draw and casino poker

In five-card draw, each player gets five private cards and may swap some in one draw before the final betting. In casino poker games played against the dealer, such as Three Card Poker and Caribbean Stud, and in video poker, the same rankings apply, but the paytable sets what each hand wins and the casino holds an edge. Three Card Poker uses its own short ranking, in which a straight beats a flush because it is rarer with three cards. The Three Card Poker and video poker pages explain those games.

For the different ways to play online and the rules that apply to each in Great Britain, see the main online poker guide. Poker for real money is for adults aged 18 and over; the responsible gambling page explains limits and free support.