Poker Hand Rankings NEPAPoker.com
The Ranking of Poker Hands, from top to bottom and best hand to worst, is as follows. Keep in mind that winning poker hands is not difficult - you just have to have a hand that is ranked higher than your opponents.
2- Straight Flush
3- Four of a Kind
4- Full House
5- Flush
6- Straight
7- Three of a Kind
8- Two Pair
9- One Pair
10 High Card
ROYAL FULSH (Royal Straight Flush) - This would be the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten all matching suits. (A
, K, Q, J, T)
STRAIGHT FLUSH - Five cards in sequence and all the same suit. (9
, 8, 7, 6, 5)
FOUR OF A KIND - All four of one value. (5
, 5, 5, 5
, Xx)
FULL HOUSE - Three of one value and two of another. You would read it as the trips “full of” the pair; fours full of jacks. (4, 4 , 4 , J , J )
FLUSH - All five cards are the same suit. Winning flush goes by the highest card. Queen high flush; (4, Q , 9 , 8 , J )
STRAIGHT - Five cards in a sequence. Winning straight goes by the highest card in the sequence. Seven high straight (7, 8 , 9 , T , J )
THREE OF A KIND - (Trips, Set) Three of one value. The winning hand is determined by the highest three of a kind value. Trip eights ( 8, 8 , 8 , Xx, Xx)
TWO PAIR - Two combinations of two equal values. The winning hand is first determined by the highest of the pairs and then the second pair. If there is still a tie they use the 5th card (the kicker) as a tie breaker. You read the hand a the higher pair “over” the lower pair. Jacks over threes (6 , 6 , J , J , Xx)
ONE PAIR - Any combination of two cards the same value. The highest pair wins the hand. If there is a tie you use the remaining three high cards to determine the winner. Compare hands one high card at a time starting with the highest card in the hand, until one hand wins. You may not need all three cards. And there can be a tie. A pair of fours (J , J ,, Xx, Xx, Xx)
HIGH CARD - Any hand that has none of the hands listed above. If two players have only high cards then they match cards in order starting with the highest card until one hand is larger then the other. You do not need to compare all five cards in the hand if the first card is higher then the other hands highest card.
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Notes on Low Poker
When playing games in which the lowest hand wins, there are some modifications to the ranking. These may not be universal, so should be discussed in advance when starting a game with new players. As far as I can tell, the most usual rules are:
- straights and flushes do not count as combinations
- aces count as low, below the twos
- a hand is always considered to belong to the highest category into which it fits - for example 7-7-7-5-5 counts as a full house - not (for example) as a pair with three odd cards that happen to be equal.
Notice that because aces are low, a pair of aces is the lowest, and in this context therefore the best pair, beating a pair of deuces.
Variations that I know of include:
- recognising straights and flushes: in this version the best hand is 6-4-3-2-A of mixed suits;
- playing with aces always high: in this version (with straights and flushes also counting) the best low hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of mixed suits.
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