Texas Hold'em guide
Poker hand rankings
From best to worst: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. In Texas Hold'em you make the best five-card hand from your two hole cards and the five community cards.
What beats what in poker?
The ten hands are listed from strongest to weakest. Any hand higher in the list beats any hand lower in it — even the weakest flush beats the best straight.
- 1
Royal flush
A, K, Q, J and 10, all of the same suit. The best possible hand.
0.0032% of 7-card hands
- 2
Straight flush
Five cards in a row, all of the same suit.
0.0279% of 7-card hands
- 3
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank, plus any fifth card.
0.168% of 7-card hands
- 4
Full house
Three of a kind plus a pair.
2.6% of 7-card hands
- 5
Flush
Any five cards of the same suit that aren't in a row.
3.0% of 7-card hands
- 6
Straight
Five cards in a row in mixed suits. The ace can be high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A).
4.6% of 7-card hands
- 7
Three of a kind
Three cards of the same rank.
4.8% of 7-card hands
- 8
Two pair
Two different pairs.
23.5% of 7-card hands
- 9
One pair
Two cards of the same rank.
43.8% of 7-card hands
- 10
High card
None of the above. The highest card plays.
17.4% of 7-card hands
How rare is each hand?
With seven cards to choose from, you end up with at least one pair about 83% of the time. The table counts every one of the 133,784,560 possible seven-card hands.
| Hand | 5-card combinations | Share of 7-card hands | About 1 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 4 | 0.0032% | 30,940 |
| Straight flush | 36 | 0.0279% | 3,590.6 |
| Four of a kind | 624 | 0.168% | 595 |
| Full house | 3,744 | 2.6% | 38.5 |
| Flush | 5,108 | 3.0% | 33.1 |
| Straight | 10,200 | 4.6% | 21.6 |
| Three of a kind | 54,912 | 4.8% | 20.7 |
| Two pair | 123,552 | 23.5% | 4.3 |
| One pair | 1,098,240 | 43.8% | 2.3 |
| High card | 1,302,540 | 17.4% | 5.7 |
Five-card combinations are out of 2,598,960 possible hands. Seven-card shares count the best five cards of each of the C(52,7) = 133,784,560 hands a Hold'em player can finish with. Source: Wikipedia: Poker probability
How are ties broken?
When two players have the same type of hand, compare the cards that make it first, then the kickers. Suits never break a tie.
- Pairs, three of a kind and four of a kind: the higher rank wins — a pair of kings beats a pair of queens.
- Two pair: compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the fifth card.
- Full house: the three of a kind decides; the pair only matters if the three of a kind is the same.
- Straights: the highest card wins. A-2-3-4-5 (the "wheel") is the lowest straight, and straights don't wrap around — Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
- Flushes and high card: compare the highest card, then the next, down to the fifth.
- Kickers are the unpaired cards that fill out a five-card hand. Only five cards ever play, so a sixth or seventh card never counts.
- If the best five cards are identical, the pot is split.
Which hand wins? Four showdowns
Both players share the same five community cards in each example. The result comes from the same hand evaluator the practice table uses.
Same pair, better kicker
Both players have a pair of kings. Player A's queen outranks Player B's jack, so the kicker decides.
A flush beats a straight
Player B has a nine-high straight, but Player A uses the three hearts on the board to make an ace-high flush.
The lowest straight still beats a set
Player A makes 5-4-3-2-A, the lowest possible straight. It still beats Player B's three kings, because any straight outranks three of a kind.
The board plays
The board is already an ace-high straight. Neither player's hole cards improve it, so both play the board and split the pot.
Which hand-ranking mistakes do beginners make?
- Thinking a straight beats a flush. It doesn't — with five cards there are 10,200 straights but only 5,108 flushes, so the rarer flush ranks higher.
- Counting more than five cards. A hand is always the best five; a sixth high card never helps.
- Missing what the board shows. Four hearts on the board means anyone holding a single heart has a flush.
- Thinking you must use both hole cards. In Hold'em you can use two, one or none of them.
- Expecting suits to break ties. A spade flush and a heart flush with the same ranks split the pot.
Frequently asked questions
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. A flush beats a straight, and a full house beats a flush. With five cards there are 10,200 possible straights but only 5,108 flushes, so the rarer flush ranks higher.
Does three of a kind beat two pair?
Yes. Three of a kind beats two pair, and two pair beats one pair.
Is the ace high or low in poker?
Both, but only in straights: the ace makes the highest straight (10-J-Q-K-A) and the lowest (A-2-3-4-5). In every other hand it is the highest card.
What happens if two players have the same hand?
Compare all five cards in rank order, kickers included. If every card matches, the pot is split equally. Suits never break ties.
What is the best possible hand in Texas Hold'em?
A royal flush: A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit. You finish with one in about 1 of every 30,940 seven-card hands.