Poker hand rankings: what beats what
The one chart every poker player must know cold. Ten hands, ranked from unbeatable to barely-a-hand, with the odds of hitting each in Texas Hold’em.
TL;DR
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. Rarer always beats more common. When two players hold the same type of hand, higher cards win.
The rankings, top to bottom
| # | Hand | Example | What it is | Odds* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal flush | A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥ | A-K-Q-J-10, all one suit. The nuts. Unbeatable. | 1 in 30,940 |
| 2 | Straight flush | 9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠ | Five consecutive cards of the same suit. | 1 in 3,590 |
| 3 | Four of a kind | Q♠Q♥Q♦Q♣4♠ | All four cards of one rank (“quads”). | 1 in 595 |
| 4 | Full house | J♣J♦J♠8♥8♣ | Three of a kind plus a pair (“jacks full of eights”). | 1 in 37.5 |
| 5 | Flush | A♦10♦8♦6♦3♦ | Any five cards of the same suit. | 1 in 32.1 |
| 6 | Straight | 8♣7♥6♠5♦4♣ | Five consecutive cards, mixed suits. Ace plays high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (5-4-3-2-A). | 1 in 20.6 |
| 7 | Three of a kind | 7♠7♥7♣K♦2♠ | Three cards of one rank (“trips” or a “set”). | 1 in 19.7 |
| 8 | Two pair | A♥A♣9♠9♦5♣ | Two different pairs plus a fifth card. | 1 in 3.26 |
| 9 | One pair | 10♠10♥A♦6♣2♠ | Two cards of one rank. Wins a surprising number of pots. | 1 in 1.28 |
| 10 | High card | A♦J♠8♥5♣3♠ | None of the above — your best single card plays (“ace high”). | everything else |
*Approximate odds of making the hand by the river in Texas Hold’em using your best five of seven cards.
How ties are broken: kickers explained
When two players hold the same type of hand, compare the cards that make the hand, then the leftover cards — the kickers:
- Pair vs pair: higher pair wins. Same pair? Highest kicker wins — A-A-K-7-2 beats A-A-Q-J-9 because K > Q.
- Flush vs flush: compare the highest card, then the next, and so on. An ace-high flush beats a king-high flush.
- Straight vs straight: the straight ending on the higher card wins.
- Full house vs full house: the higher three-of-a-kind wins (kings full beats queens full).
- Exactly equal five-card hands split the pot. Suits never break ties in Hold’em.
Three beginner traps
- “My two pair beats their two pair.” Only if your top pair is higher. Aces and threes beats kings and queens.
- “I have a pair in my hand, so I’m ahead.” The board is shared — always read your best five of seven, and imagine what five-card hands the board could give your opponent.
- “A flush beats a full house, right?” No — memorize the order above until it’s reflex. Rarer beats commoner, every time.
Rankings memorized? Prove it
Nothing burns the chart into memory like dragging a pot with the winning hand.
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