Poker Hand Rankings
There are ten different hands for the high poker hand rankings which are all detailed below. If you memorize these hands and remember their order it will help you determine how good your hand is whilst playing poker.
These High Hand Rankings are used in the majority of poker variants such as Texas Holdem, Omaha etc. If you are looking for the hand rankings used in the the low pots in variants such as Omaha Hi Low, Stud Hi Low and Razz then you can look at the Low Poker Hands.
1. Royal Flush
A Royal Flush is the highest poker hand possible. To get a royal flush you need an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten all of the same suit. All royal flushes are equal regardless of the suit.
2. Straight Flush
A straight flush is where there are 5 cards running in numerical order all of the same suit. An ace can count as low so 5-4-3-2-A all of the same suit counts as a straight flush. If there are two straight flushes the hand is awarded to the player holding the highest card.
3. Four of a kind
Four of a kind or otherwise known as quads is where there are four cards all of the same value like four Jacks. The fifth card can be any card and does not affect the hand. In the event of there being two players with Quads, the player with the higher value Quads will win.
4. Full House
A Full House contains three cards all of the same value and two cards of another value. So if a player has three Aces and Two Kings his hand is known as Aces over Kings. If two or more players has a full house the winner will be the player with the higher value three cards and if both players has the same value three matching cards the winner is then decided on who has the highest value two matching cards.
5. Flush
A flush is made when a player has five cards all of the same suit and that run in any numerical order. If more than one player has a flush the winner is decided by the player holding the highest value card. If both players have the same highest card, the second highest is compared and so on.
6. Straight
A straight is made when a player has five cards of any suit running in numerical order. An Ace can be counted as high or low so the highest straight possible is A-K-Q-J-10, known as a Broadway straight and the lowest is 5-4-3-2-A, known as “the Wheel”. If two or more players has a straight, the winner is decided by the player who holds the highest value card. If both highest cards are the same the pot is split between all winning players.
7. Three of a kind
Three of a Kind also known as “trips” or a “set” is made when a player has three cards all of the same value and two other cards of a different value. If two or more players has this hand the player with the highest value three matching cards will win.
8. Two Pair
Two pair is made when a player has two cards of the same value and a different set of two cards also of the same value. If more than one player has two pair the winner is decided by the player who has the highest pair. If both players has the same high pair the winner is then decided on who has the highest second pair. If both players has the same two pair the fifth card is compared and the player holding the highest card wins.
9. One pair
A pair is where only two of the five cards held are of the same value. If more then one player has a pair the player with the highest value pair wins the pot. If both players has the same pair the next highest value card in the hand is compared to determine the winner.
10. High Card
The lowest poker hand you can get is a high card hand. This is where none of the above hands are made. If the highest card in this hand is an Ace, it is known as Ace high, or if it’s a King the hand is known as King high and so on.
