The chart
Best hand first. The number under each hand shows how many of the 2,598,960 possible five-card hands make it, which is why the rare ones sit at the top.
- 1
Royal flush
A, K, Q, J and 10 of one suit. It is simply the highest straight flush.
4 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
AKQJ10 - 2
Straight flush
Five cards in a row, all the same suit.
36 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
98765 - 3
Four of a kind
Four cards of one rank, plus any fifth card.
624 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
QQQQ7 - 4
Full house
Three of one rank and a pair of another.
3,744 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
888KK - 5
Flush
Any five cards of one suit that are not in a row.
5,108 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
AJ862 - 6
Straight
Five cards in a row in mixed suits. An ace can be high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A).
10,200 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
109876 - 7
Three of a kind
Three cards of one rank and two unrelated cards.
54,912 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
777K2 - 8
Two pair
Two different pairs and one more card.
123,552 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
JJ44A - 9
One pair
Two cards of one rank and three unrelated cards.
1,098,240 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
1010A83 - 10
High card
Nothing above. The hand is named after its highest card, here “ace high”.
1,302,540 of 2,598,960 five-card hands
AQ963
How ties are broken
If two players have the same kind of hand, compare the cards that make it, from the most important down. Only five cards ever count.
- Straight or straight flush: the higher top card wins. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest straight, because the ace plays low there.
- Four of a kind: the higher four wins; if the four are shared on the board, the fifth card decides.
- Full house: compare the three of a kind first, then the pair. 8-8-8-K-K beats 7-7-7-A-A.
- Flush and high card: compare the highest card, then the next, down to the fifth.
- Three of a kind, two pair, one pair: compare the matched cards first, then the leftover cards. Those leftover cards are called kickers.
Three examples from the table
A kicker decides it. The board is K♠ K♦ 9♣ 6♥ 2♠. You hold A♣ 7♦ and a friend holds Q♥ J♥. You both have a pair of kings. Your best five are K-K-A-9-7, theirs are K-K-Q-J-9. Your ace beats their queen, so you take the pot.
The board plays. The board is 10♠ 10♦ 10♣ 5♥ 5♠, already a full house. You hold A♠ K♦ and your friend holds Q♣ J♣. Neither hand improves on tens full of fives, and a full house has no kicker, so the pot is split. If one of you held a pair higher than fives, say Q♣ Q♥, that player would make tens full of queens and win.
The sixth card does not count. The board is A♠ A♦ K♣ Q♥ J♠. You hold 9♦ 2♣ and your friend holds 4♦ 3♥. Both best hands are A-A-K-Q-J, taken entirely from the board. Your 9 is a sixth card and plays no part, so you split.
Questions people ask
- Does a flush beat a straight? Yes. A flush is rarer, so it ranks higher.
- Does a full house beat a flush? Yes, and four of a kind beats both.
- Does three of a kind beat two pair? Yes.
- Can the ace be low? Only in 5-4-3-2-A. Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight; straights do not wrap around.
- Do suits matter? Not in Texas Hold’em. Equal hands split the pot.
- Do I have to use my hole cards? No. Any five of the seven cards count: both hole cards, one, or none.
- What about three pairs? You can only use five cards, so it plays as your two best pairs plus the best remaining card.
Practise with the chart beside you
In a Poker Club room, the Hands tab shows this same order and marks the hand you are holding right now. When a hand reaches showdown, the result shows each player’s best five cards, so you can see exactly why someone won. Everyone plays with free play chips, and you can add simple computer opponents to practise on your own.