Best to worst
Poker hand rankings
These ten hands are the backbone of every poker game. The rarer the hand, the stronger it is. Odds shown are for being dealt the hand in five cards.
🖨 Printable chart / PDF →- 1A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
Royal Flush
1 in 649,740A-K-Q-J-10 all in one suit. It's the best hand in poker, and any of the four suits is equally good — spades is not worth more than hearts. Because suits are never ranked, two royal flushes tie and split the pot.
What beats it → - 29♥8♥7♥6♥5♥
Straight Flush
1 in 72,193Five cards in a row, all the same suit — like 9-8-7-6-5 of hearts. The higher top card wins; the ace can play low for 5-4-3-2-A (the 'wheel'), which is the lowest straight flush.
What beats it → - 3Q♠Q♥Q♦Q♣K♠
Four of a Kind
1 in 4,165All four cards of one rank, plus a fifth 'kicker' card — also called quads. Higher quads win; if two players share the same quads, the higher kicker takes it.
What beats it → - 4J♠J♥J♦9♣9♠
Full House
1 in 694Three of a kind plus a pair — for example three jacks and two nines ('jacks full of nines'). The three-of-a-kind is compared first, then the pair.
What beats it → - 5A♦J♦8♦5♦2♦
Flush
1 in 508Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. The highest card wins; if that ties, compare the next card down, and so on. The suit itself never decides it.
What beats it → - 69♠8♥7♠6♦5♣
Straight
1 in 255Five cards in a row of mixed suits. The ace plays high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low (5-4-3-2-A) but never wraps around; the higher top card wins.
What beats it → - 78♠8♥8♦K♣4♠
Three of a Kind
1 in 47Three cards of the same rank — also called trips or a set. Higher trips win, and the two remaining kickers break any tie.
What beats it → - 8A♠A♥7♦7♣K♠
Two Pair
1 in 21Two cards of one rank and two of another, plus a kicker. Compare the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
What beats it → - 910♠10♥A♦7♣3♠
One Pair
1 in 2.4One pair plus three kickers. The higher pair wins; if the pairs match, the highest kicker decides, then the next.
What beats it → - 10A♠J♥9♦5♣3♠
High Card
1 in 2No pair or better — your highest card plays, then the next one down the line. Suits don't count.
What beats it →
How ties are broken. When two players hold the same type of hand, the higher-ranked cards win. If those are equal, the next-highest unmatched card — the kicker — decides, and so on down to the fifth card.
Suits are never ranked. No suit beats another in poker. Suits only matter for making a flush — they can never break a tie, so genuinely identical five-card hands split the pot evenly.
Common questions
- What is the best hand in poker?
- The royal flush — A-K-Q-J-10 all in one suit. It is the strongest hand and cannot be beaten; all four suits are equal, so two royal flushes split the pot.
- Does a flush beat a straight?
- Yes. A flush (five cards of the same suit) beats a straight (five cards in sequence) because it is rarer. From strongest down: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, then straight.
- Does a full house beat a flush?
- Yes. A full house — three of a kind plus a pair — beats a flush. Only four of a kind, a straight flush or a royal flush beat a full house.
- How are tied poker hands broken?
- By the higher-ranked cards. If those are equal, the next-highest unmatched card — the kicker — decides, down to the fifth card. Suits never break a tie, so genuinely identical hands split the pot.