Poker hand rankings, from best to worst

All 10 poker hands, ranked

Faded cards in the examples are kickers: they don't make the hand, but they can break a tie.

1. Royal flush

   A, K, Q, J and 10, all of the same suit. The best hand in poker.

   Odds: 0.000154% of 5-card hands · 0.0032% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   A♥︎K♥︎Q♥︎J♥︎10♥︎

2. Straight flush

   Five cards in a row, all of the same suit.

   Odds: 0.00139% of 5-card hands · 0.0279% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   9♠︎8♠︎7♠︎6♠︎5♠︎

3. Four of a kind

   Four cards of the same rank, plus one kicker.

   Odds: 0.0240% of 5-card hands · 0.168% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   Q♣︎Q♦︎Q♥︎Q♠︎7♦︎

4. Full house

   Three of a kind plus a pair.

   Odds: 0.144% of 5-card hands · 2.60% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   K♠︎K♥︎K♦︎4♣︎4♥︎

5. Flush

   Any five cards of the same suit, not in a row.

   Odds: 0.197% of 5-card hands · 3.03% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   A♦︎J♦︎8♦︎6♦︎2♦︎

6. Straight

   Five cards in a row in mixed suits. The ace can be high or low.

   Odds: 0.392% of 5-card hands · 4.62% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   10♠︎9♥︎8♦︎7♣︎6♠︎

7. Three of a kind

   Three cards of the same rank, plus two kickers.

   Odds: 2.11% of 5-card hands · 4.83% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   7♣︎7♦︎7♠︎K♥︎2♣︎

8. Two pair

   Two different pairs, plus a kicker.

   Odds: 4.75% of 5-card hands · 23.5% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   J♥︎J♣︎4♠︎4♦︎A♣︎

9. One pair

   Two cards of the same rank, plus three kickers.

   Odds: 42.3% of 5-card hands · 43.8% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

   10♥︎10♠︎K♦︎8♣︎3♥︎

10. High card

    No pair or better. Your highest card plays, then the next, and so on.

    Odds: 50.1% of 5-card hands · 17.4% in Hold'em (best 5 of 7)

    A♠︎J♦︎8♣︎6♥︎3♠︎

In Local Poker, the app names your hand on screen as the cards come out, like “Pair of Nines” or “Three Jacks”, so you never have to work it out mid-hand.

How often does each hand come up?

Rarer hands rank higher. The first column is the chance that five random cards make the hand. The second is the chance that it's your best hand from seven cards, which is what you get in Texas Hold'em with two hole cards and five on the board.

With seven cards to choose from, you make a pair or better about 83% of the time. That's why a single pair often isn't enough to win a big pot in Hold'em, and why two pair shows up almost a quarter of the time.

Source: “Poker probability” on Wikipedia. The straight flush figures exclude royal flushes, and the flush and straight figures exclude straight flushes.

How are ties broken?

When two players have the same kind of hand, compare the cards that make the hand first, highest to lowest. If those are equal too, compare the kickers, the leftover cards in each player's best five, one at a time. If all five cards match in rank, the pot is split.

• One pair: the higher pair wins. K♥︎ K♣︎ beats Q♠︎ Q♦︎. With the same pair, the highest kicker wins, then the next.
• Two pair: compare the top pair, then the second pair, then the kicker. Kings and fours beats queens and jacks.
• Three of a kind and full house: the three matching cards decide. 8-8-8-2-2 beats 7-7-7-A-A.
• Flush and high card: compare the highest card, then the second highest, and so on down to the fifth.
• Straight: the straight with the higher top card wins. A-2-3-4-5, the “wheel”, is the lowest straight.

An example with a kicker. The board is K♠︎ 9♦︎ 7♣︎ 4♥︎ 2♠︎. You hold K♥︎ Q♣︎ and your friend holds K♦︎ J♠︎. You both have a pair of kings, but your queen kicker beats their jack, so you win.

Only five cards ever count. If your best five match someone else's in rank, a sixth or seventh card doesn't help, and the pot is split.

Quick answers

Does a flush beat a straight?

Yes. A flush beats a straight. Five cards of one suit are harder to make than five in a row: in Texas Hold'em your best hand is a flush about 3.03% of the time and a straight about 4.62% of the time.

Does a full house beat a flush?

Yes. A full house, three of a kind plus a pair, beats any flush.

Does a straight beat three of a kind?

Yes. Any straight beats three of a kind, and three of a kind beats two pair.

Which is better, a straight flush or four of a kind?

A straight flush. The only hands that beat a straight flush are a higher straight flush and a royal flush.

Can an ace be low in a straight?

Yes. A-2-3-4-5 is a straight, the lowest one. The ace can be high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low, but a straight can't wrap around, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.

What is the best starting hand in Texas Hold'em?

Pocket aces, meaning two aces as your hole cards. Against one random hand they win about 85% of the time. The weakest starting hand is usually said to be 7-2 offsuit.

Common mix-ups

• Suits don't rank. Hearts don't beat spades. Two flushes are compared card by card, and identical hands split the pot.
• The board can play. If the five community cards are better than anything you can make with your own cards, your hand is the board, and so is everyone else's who's still in.
• You don't have to use both hole cards. Your hand can use two, one or none of them.
• Only five cards count. Six cards of the same suit are still just a flush, decided by the best five.
• Straights don't wrap around. K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight.
• A pair on the board belongs to everyone. If the board has two nines, every player has at least a pair of nines, and your kickers matter more than usual.
• A set and trips are both three of a kind. A set is a pocket pair plus one on the board; trips is one card in your hand plus a pair on the board. They rank the same.

New to the game? Read how to play Texas Hold'em for the betting rules, then see how to play with friends without internet.

Last updated October 8, 2026. Back to the Local Poker home page.