Texas Holdem Best Hands In Order
Every poker player knows that the Royal Flush is the strongest poker hand, but where do all of the other poker winning hands rank? Here is a comprehensive list of poker hands in order from highest to lowest ranking. If you are new to the game of poker, learning the different poker hands is a great first step in learning how to beat your opponents with the cards you are dealt.
Known affectionately as American Airlines, pocket rockets, or simply the bullets, a wired pair of aces is the top starting hand in all of Texas holdem. As you can see, bringing aces to battle against nine random hands gives you nearly a one third chance of winding up the winner. After a Full House comes the “Flush,” with five cards of the same suit is the best hand in online poker. The cards are not in consecutive order, and different hands are ranked in order of the highest card down. A Flush that starts with an Ace and then skips down to a 7,6,4,3 still beats a Queen, 10,8,6,3.
#1 Royal Flush
The strongest poker hand is the royal flush. It consists of Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of the same suit, e.g. diamonds, spades, hearts, or clubs.
#2 Straight Flush
The second strongest hand in poker is the straight flush. It is composed of five consecutive cards of the same suit. If two players have a straight flush, the player with the highest cards wins.
#3 Four-of-a-kind
A four-of-a-kind is four cards of the same rank, e.g. four Aces. If two players have four-of-a-kind, then the one with the highest four-of-a-kind wins. If they have the same (if four-of-a-kind is on the board), then the player with the highest fifth card wins, since a poker hand is always composed of five cards.
#4 Full House
A full house is a combination of a three-of-a-kind and a pair. If two players have a full house, then the one with the highest three-of-a-kind wins. If they have the same one, then the pair counts.
#5 Flush
Five cards of the same suit make a flush. If two players have a flush, then the one with the highest cards wins.
#6 Straight
Five consecutive cards are called a straight. If two players have a straight, the one with the highest cards wins.
#7 Three-of-a-kind
A three-of-a-kind is composed of three cards of the same rank. If two players have the same three-of-a-kind, then the other cards, or both cards, determine the winner, since a poker hand is a always composed of five cards.
#8 Two-pair
Two-pair hands are, of course, composed of two pairs. If two players have two-pair, the rank of the higher pair determines the winner. If they have the same higher pair, then the lower one counts. If that is also the same, then the fifth card counts.
#9 Pair
A pair is composed of two cards of the same rank. Since a poker hand is always composed of five cards, the other three cards are so-called “kickers”. In case two players have the same pair, then the one with the highest kicker wins.
#10 High card
If you don’t even have a pair, then you look at the strength of your cards. If there are two players at showdown who don’t have a pair or better, then the one with the highest cards wins.
Any of the PalaPoker.com games use the standard rank of hands to determine the high hand.
However, at PalaPoker.com we also play “split pot” games, like Omaha Hi-Lo8 and Stud Hi-Lo8, in which the highest hand splits the pot with a qualifying (“8 or better”) low hand; therefore, we must also be familiar with:
Low Poker Hands List:
This method of ranking low hands is used in traditional Hi/Lo games, like Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo, as well as in Razz, the ‘low only’ Stud game.
Note that suits are irrelevant for Ace to Five low. A flush or straight does not ‘break’ an Ace to Five low poker hand. Aces are always a ‘low’ card when considering a low hand.
Please also note that the value of a five-card low hand starts with the top card, and goes down from there.
#1 Five Low, or “Wheel“: The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace.
In the event of a tie: All Five-high hands split the pot.
#2 Six Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Six.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6,4,3,2,A defeats 6,5,4,2,A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
#3 Seven Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third- highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.
#4 Eight Low: Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.
In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie. An Eight Low is the weakest hand that qualifies for low in Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo.
Check back here as you are learning the game of poker for a list that details the poker hands order. Sign up today to start winning real money!
The Order of Hands in Poker
Poker hands basics
There are a total of 10 different hands in standard five-card games of poker like Texas Holdem. Each hand’s strength is determined by how difficult it is for players to come across it. The rarer a hand is, the harder it is to beat.
Why knowing your hands matter
Even though you can, in some cases, bluff your way to victory in poker, getting a strong hand is still the surest, most straightforward way to win a game. Besides, bluffing and pretty much any other strategy you could think of – including knowing when to fold – relies heavily on your understanding of poker hands.
Please note the following card references:
(h) Hearts (d) Diamonds (c) Clubs (s) Spades
Poker hand rankings
Below are all the five-card poker hands at your disposal (arranged from strongest to weakest):
#1 Royal Flush
649,739 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
Made up of five suited cards in sequence with an ace as its highest card, a royal flush is the strongest hand in poker.
Ex: Ac Kc Qc Jc 10c
Royal Flush Tiebreaker Tip: In standard games of poker, the suits cannot be used to break ties so if two or more active players end up with a royal flush, the pot is simply split evenly among them.
#2 Straight Flush
72,192 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
Practically the same as a royal flush, the only thing that sets it apart is that it uses a king or lower as its highest card.
Ex: 6s 5s 4s 3s 2s
Straight Flush Tiebreaker Tip: The highest cards of all tied players are compared first. If they’re the same, then we move on to the second highest. The process continues until a winner is determined. If all the cards are the same, however, the pot is split evenly among all tied players.
#3 Four of a Kind
4,164 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
As the name suggests, this hand consists of four cards of the same value (plus a random fifth card).
Ex: Qd Qh Qs Qc 6s
Four of a Kind Tiebreaker Tip: The only way there can be a tie in this case is when the hand appears on the table. When this happens, the pot is split evenly among all tied players.
#4 Full House
693 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
This hand is made up of a trip (i.e., three cards of the same value) and a pair (i.e., two cards of the same value).
Ex: Jd Jh Js 2s 2c
Full House Tiebreaker Tip: The trips are compared first. If they’re tied, we move on to the pairs. If they’re still tied, then the pot is split evenly among all tied players.
#5 Flush
508 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
This hand consists of five suited cards. The values do not matter.
Ex: Ac 8c 6c 3c 2c
Flush Tiebreaker Tip: Ties are broken in the exact same way as with straight flushes.
#6 Straight
254 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
Texas Holdem Best Hands In Order Traversal
In contrast to a flush, this hand consists of five non-suited cards of consecutive values.
Ex: 10d 9c 8s 7c 6h
Straight Tiebreaker Tip: This hand also uses the same process to break ties as straight flushes.
#7 Three of a Kind
46.3 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
It’s just a trip plus two random cards.
Ex: 7h 7s 7c Qd 4s
Three of a Kind Tiebreaker Tip: The trip gets compared first. If they’re tied, then the fourth (and, if needed, fifth) kicker cards are compared. If they’re still the same, then the pot is split evenly among all tied players.
#8 Two Pair
20 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
As you may have probably guessed, this hand consists of two pairs (plus a fifth kicker card).
Ex: Jd Jh 8d 8c 3s
Two Pair Tiebreaker Tip: The high pairs are checked first. If they are tied, then the low pairs get compared. If they’re still the same, then the kicker cards are used to determine a winner.
#9 One Pair
1.37 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
Texas Holdem Best Starting Hands In Order
The only difference between a two pair hand and this one is that a pair only has, as the name implies, one pair (plus three kicker cards to complete the set).
Ex: 6d 6h Ks 7c 4s
One Pair Tiebreaker Tip: Ties are broken just as you would with two pair hands. The only difference is that there are three kicker cards to work with.
#10 High Card
0.995 to 1 odds (In a 52-card Deck)
The weakest one in the bunch, a high card hand is just a set of five random cards. It’s something you automatically end up with if you cannot build any of the other hands on this list.
Ex: Qd 7c 5s 3h 2h
High Card Tiebreaker Tip:High card ties are broken with the same method used for straight flushes.
Standard order of poker hands
Seems overwhelming? Don’t worry. Most five-card varieties of poker use this exact hand ranking system so you only really have to memorize everything once before you can play.
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