The ten poker hands, best first
- 1
Royal flush
A, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit. Chance by the river: 0.0032%, or 1 in 30,940.
- 2
Straight flush
Five in a row, all the same suit. Chance by the river: 0.028%, or 1 in 3,591.
- 3
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank. Chance by the river: 0.17%, or 1 in 595.
- 4
Full house
Three of a kind with a pair. Chance by the river: 2.6%, or 1 in 39.
- 5
Flush
Any five cards of the same suit. Chance by the river: 3.0%, or 1 in 33.
- 6
Straight
Five in a row, any suits. Chance by the river: 4.6%, or 1 in 22.
- 7
Three of a kind
Three cards of the same rank. Chance by the river: 4.8%, or 1 in 21.
- 8
Two pair
Two different pairs. Chance by the river: 23.5%, or 1 in 4.3.
- 9
One pair
Two cards of the same rank. Chance by the river: 43.8%, or 1 in 2.3.
- 10
High card
No hand: your highest card plays. Chance by the river: 17.4%, or 1 in 5.7.
Dimmed cards are kickers: they are part of the five but do not make the hand.
How ties are broken
First the kind of hand decides: any flush beats any straight. When two players have the same kind of hand, compare the cards in this order:
- Pairs, three and four of a kind: the higher rank wins, so a pair of kings beats a pair of queens. If the ranks are the same, the kickers decide, highest first.
- Two pair: compare the top pair, then the second pair, then the kicker.
- Full house: the three of a kind decides first; kings full of twos beats queens full of aces.
- Flush and high card: compare the highest card, then the next, down to the fifth.
- Straight and straight flush: the highest card decides. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest straight, with five as its high card.
An example with kickers
The board is A♦ 9♣ 6♥ 4♠ 2♣. One player holds A♣ K♥, the other A♥ Q♠. Both have a pair of aces, so the next cards decide: the king beats the queen.
The board counts too
The five community cards belong to everyone, so a strong-looking hand may be shared. Say you hold A♥ 2♦ and the board is K♣ K♦ 8♥ 8♠ 3♣. Your hand is two pair, kings and eights, with your ace as the kicker, but both pairs are on the board. A player holding Q♣ Q♥ uses their queens instead of the eights: kings and queens, which wins.
How often you make each hand
These are the chances that your seven cards (your two and the five on the board) make each hand by the river, counted over all 133,784,560 seven-card combinations.
| Hand | Combinations | Chance | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 4,324 | 0.0032% | 1 in 30,940 |
| Straight flush | 37,260 | 0.028% | 1 in 3,591 |
| Four of a kind | 224,848 | 0.17% | 1 in 595 |
| Full house | 3,473,184 | 2.6% | 1 in 39 |
| Flush | 4,047,644 | 3.0% | 1 in 33 |
| Straight | 6,180,020 | 4.6% | 1 in 22 |
| Three of a kind | 6,461,620 | 4.8% | 1 in 21 |
| Two pair | 31,433,400 | 23.5% | 1 in 4.3 |
| One pair | 58,627,800 | 43.8% | 1 in 2.3 |
| High card | 23,294,460 | 17.4% | 1 in 5.7 |
With seven cards, two pair (23.5%) comes up more often than no pair at all (17.4%), yet it still ranks higher. The order of the hands comes from how hard each one is to make with five cards, the way poker was first played.
Common questions
- Does a flush beat a straight?
- Yes. A flush (five cards of one suit) beats a straight (five in a row). A full house beats both.
- Does a full house beat a flush?
- Yes. A full house ranks above a flush, and only four of a kind, a straight flush and a royal flush beat it.
- Is an ace high or low?
- Both, in a straight: A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest straight and 5-4-3-2-A the lowest. A straight cannot wrap round, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. Everywhere else the ace is the highest card.
- Which suit is the best?
- None. In Texas Hold'em all four suits are equal, so two hands that differ only by suit split the pot.
- What happens when two players have the same hand?
- The kickers decide, card by card. If all five cards are equal in rank, the players split the pot.
- Do I have to use both of my cards?
- No. Your hand is the best five of your two cards and the five on the board, so you may use two, one or none of your own.
Think you have it? Try the poker quiz: half of it is reading boards like these.
