Poker Hand Rankings Chart
| Hand | Example | Description |
| 1. Royal Flush | A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥ | A straight flush of the highest value, containing an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10, all of the same suit |
| 2. Straight Flush | 9â™ 8â™ 7â™ 6â™ 5â™ | A sequence of five cards of the same suit |
| 3. Four of a Kind | Q♣Q♦Q♠Q♥10♣ | Four cards of the same rank |
| 4. Full House | K♠K♦K♥8♥8♣ | Three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank |
| 5. Flush | A♥K♥10♥8♥3♥ | Any five cards of the same suit, not in sequence |
| 6. Straight | 9♠8♦7♣6♥5♥ | A sequence of five cards in different suits |
| Three of a Kind | J♥J♦J♠8♣7♣ | Three cards of the same rank |
| 7. Two Pair | 10♠10♦9♠9♥Q♥ | Two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank |
| 8. Pair | A♥A♠8♣5♥3♦ | Two cards of the same rank |
| 9. High Card | A♥Kâ™ 9♦7♣4♥ | Any hand that doesn’t fit the above categories, with the highest card determining the winner if two hands have the same rank. |
Tie-breakers and Kickers
In poker, a tiebreaker or a kicker is used to determine the winner when two or more players have the same hand rank. The tiebreaker or kicker is the card that does not belong to the hand rank but is used to break the tie.
For example, let’s say two players have a pair of kings. The tiebreaker or kicker is the highest card that each player has, which is not a king. If both players have the same kicker, then the pot is split equally between them.
Here are some common tiebreakers and kickers in poker:
- High Card – When no player has a pair or better, the player with the highest card wins. For example, if one player has a king and the other player has a queen, the player with the king wins.
- Pair – If two or more players have a pair, the player with the highest pair wins. If two players have the same pair, the player with the highest kicker wins.
- Two Pair – If two or more players have two pairs, the player with the highest pair wins. If two players have the same two pairs, the player with the highest kicker wins.
- Three of a Kind – If two or more players have three of a kind, the player with the highest three-of-a-kind wins. If two players have the same three-of-a-kind, the player with the highest kicker wins.
Which Poker Starting Hands Should You Play?
What starting hands you play depends on a variety of factors, including:
- Position at the table: You play more hands on the button than you would if you are first to act under the gun (UTG). The position is incredibly important in poker, which just means you are last to act after the flop. Poker is a game of information, so if a player has to act first they have to provide you with more information.Â
- Stack size: How many chips you have compared blinds, or compared to the rest of the table.
- Types of players you’re against: You might be against a bunch of crazy, loose, and aggressive players, so you would want to play fewer starting hands. If you’re up against tight and passive players you might want to play more hands. This can also change as the game is going along. So you might need to change your strategy throughout the game.Â
- Amount of players at the table: If there are fewer players that start the hand, you will want to open up your hand range and play more hands compared to when you’re at a 10-person table where you will want to tighten up your range and play fewer hands.Â
Best No-Limit Texas Hold’em Starting Hands
Here is a chart of the best Texas Hold’em starting hands:
| Rank | Hand | Nickname | Description |
| 1 | Pocket Aces | Pocket Rockets, Bullets | The strongest starting hand in Texas Hold’em before the flop. Two aces as your hole cards. |
| 2 | Pocket Kings | Cowboys | The second-strongest starting hand. Two kings as your hole cards. Always a pleasant sight. |
| 3 | Pocket Queens | Ladies | The third-strongest starting hand. Two queens as your hole cards. |
| 4 | Ace-King Suited | Big Slick | Ace and king of the same suit. The strongest of suited connector hands. |
| 5 | Pocket Jacks | Hooks | A strong preflop holding. Two jacks as your hole cards. |
| 6 | Pocket Tens | Dimes | One of the stronger starting hands. Two tens as your hole cards. |
| 7 | Ace-King Offsuit | Big Slick | Ace and king of different suits. Can be played slightly less aggressively than ace-king suited. |
| 8 | Ace-Queen Suited | Little Slick | One of the strongest starting hands. Ace and queen of the same suit. |
| 9 | Pocket Nines | Wayne Gretzky | One of the better preflop starting hands. Two nines as your hole cards. |
| 10 | Ace-Jack Suited | Blackjack | A premium starting hand. Ace and jack of the same suit. |
| 11 | King-Queen Suited | Royal Couple | King and queen of the same suit. A strong starting hand that can flop a flush or straight draw. |
| 12 | Ace-Ten Suited | Johnny Moss | Ace and ten of the same suit. A strong starting hand that can flop a flush draw or pair of aces. |
| 13 | King-Jack Suited | Kojak | King and jack of the same suit. A solid starting hand that can flop a straight or flush draw. |
| 14 | Ace-Queen Offsuit | Big Chick | Ace and queen of different suits. A strong starting hand, but not as strong as ace-queen suited. |
| 15 | Pocket Eights | Snowmen | A decent starting hand. Two eights as your hole cards. |
| 16 | Ace-Nine Suited | Rounders | Ace and nine of the same suit. A decent starting hand that can flop a flush draw or pair of aces. |
| 17 | King-Ten Suited | Katie | King and ten of the same suit. A playable starting hand that can flop a straight or flush draw. |
| 18 | Queen-Jack Suited | Maverick | Queen and jack of the same suit. A playable starting hand that can flop a straight or flush draw. |
| 19 | Ace-Eight Suited | Dead Man’s Hand | Ace and eight of the same suit. A decent starting hand that can flop a flush draw or pair of aces. |
| 20 | Pocket Sevens | Hockey Sticks | A marginal starting hand. Two sevens as your hole cards. But still, a top 20 starting hand in texas hold’em. |
Poker Hand Rankings FAQ
Is three pairs a poker hand?
No, three pair is not poker hand. There are times when you will have 3 pairs but that doesn’t matter. Only your two highest pair count. For example, you might have 8s9d on a board of 3d3c8d9h. Technically you have 3 pairs but just the 9’s and 8’s count as a two-pair hand.Â
How many poker hands are there?
There are 169 possible combinations of poker starting hands.
What’s the best hand in poker?
The best hand in poker is the Royal Flush. This is the 10, J, Q, K, and A all of the same suit. It’s the highest straight flush possible.Â
The best-starting hand in Texas hold ’em preflop is AA pocket Aces.Â
What are the odds of getting a royal flush?
Making a five-card royal flush in a deck of 52 cards is super rare. The chance of getting a royal flush is only 0.000154%, which means that you have to play a lot of pokers to see one. The odds against making a royal flush are 649,739-to-1.
A straight flush is the second strongest hand in poker. The chance of getting a straight flush is 0.00139%, with the odds against at 72,192.3-to-1.
The odds of getting a royal flush in Texas Hold’em are different from other types of poker. That’s because, in Texas Hold’em, you have seven cards to choose from to make the best possible five-card hand. Even though it’s easier to make a royal flush in Texas Hold’em, it’s still very rare. Your odds of getting a royal flush in Texas Hold’em are 0.0032%, with the odds against at 30,939-to-1.
What is a straight flush?
In poker, a straight flush is a hand that contains five cards in sequence, all of the same suits. For example, 5-6-7-8-9 of hearts would be a straight flush. A straight flush ranks higher than a regular flush, which is a hand that contains any five cards of the same suit in no particular order and is the highest-ranking hand in poker. The highest straight flush is called a Royal Flush, but it is still a straight flush.Â
What beats what in poker?
The poker hand rankings are as follows. One pair beats no pair. Two pairs beats one pair. Three of a kind beats two pairs. A straight beat three of a kind. A flush beats a straight. A full house beats a flush. Four-of-a-kind beats a full house. A straight flush beats four of a kind. A royal flush beats a straight flush.
Does a flush beat a full house?
No, a full house beats a flush in poker. A full house is a hand that consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. In comparison, a flush is a hand that has five cards of the same suit, regardless of their ranks. The ranking of poker hands is based on the probability of getting them, with more difficult hands outranking easier ones. Therefore, a full house is a stronger hand than a flush, and it would win in a showdown between these two hands.
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes, in standard poker rankings, a flush has a higher value than a straight, no matter how strong the straight is. The chance of making a straight in Texas Hold’em is around 21-to-1, making it a more frequent hand than a flush, which has odds of 32-to-1 against.
Does a straight beat a full house?
No, a full house beats a straight in standard poker rankings. A full house is a combination of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, while a straight is a sequence of five cards in consecutive order, regardless of their suit.
Does three of a kind beat two pairs?
Yes, three-of-a-kind beats two pairs in standard poker rankings. Three of a kind is a combination of three cards of the same rank, while two pair is a combination of two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank.
Does three-of-a-kind beat a straight?
No, in standard poker rankings, a straight beats three of a kind. A straight is a sequence of five cards in consecutive order, regardless of their suit, while three of a kind is a combination of three cards of the same rank.
Does a flush beat three of a kind?
Yes, in standard poker rankings, a flush beats three of a kind. A flush is a combination of five cards of the same suit, regardless of their rank, while three of a kind is a combination of three cards of the same rank.
The odds of getting a flush in Texas Hold’em are approximately 1 in 32 or 3.03%. The odds of getting three of a kind in Texas Hold’em are 20-to-1.
Does a straight beat two pairs?
Yes, a straight beats two pairs in standard poker hand rankings. In poker, a straight is a hand that contains five cards in sequential order, regardless of their suit, such as 7-8-9-10-J. Two pair is a hand that contains two pairs of cards with the same rank, such as 2-2 and 7-7. If two players have a straight and two pairs respectively, the player with the straight will win the hand.
Does four-of-a-kind beat a full house?
Yes, four-of-a-kind beats a full house in standard poker rankings. A full house consists of three of a kind and a pair, while four of a kind is a hand with four cards of the same rank. Four-of-a-kind is a more rare hand to get.Â
Does three-of-a-kind beat a flush?
No, three-of-a-kind does not beat a flush in standard poker rankings. A flush is a higher-ranked hand than three of a kind. In poker hand rankings, a flush is the fifth highest hand, while three of a kind is the seventh highest hand.
Does a full house beat a straight in poker?
Yes, a full house beats a straight in poker. According to standard poker hand rankings, a full house is ranked higher than a straight. A full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair, while a straight is a sequence of five cards in numerical order.
Does a straight flush beat four of a kind?
Yes, a straight flush beats four of a kind in standard poker rankings. A straight flush is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, all of the same suit. Four of a kind, on the other hand, is a hand that contains four cards of the same rank, plus one other card.
