Ranking of Poker Hands

Winning at poker truly rests on your five-card hand. With potential wins and losses so high, poker is a game in which it pays to know when you have a good or bad starting hand, an unbeatable or weak hand, a winning or losing hand, a hopeful or beat hand. Strategy comes well into play when you are caught on a situation that presents opportunities to turn a so-so hand into a formidable one, or which forces you to give up a hand, fold, and try again. On this page, learn the poker hand rankings, arranged from highest to lowest. Note that the hand rankings in 2 Card and 3 Card Manila are not the same as these. Play your hand right and you might just rake the entire pot.

Five of a Kind
Any five cards of the same denomination, like five Aces. It is the highest possible hand, and possible only in games using wild cards. If two or more hands have Five of a Kind, the hand with the higher-value cards wins. For example, five Aces beats five kings, which beats five queens, and so forth.

Royal Flush
The five highest cards, 10 J Q K A, all of the same suit. It is actually an Ace-High Straight Flush, and is the highest natural hand. There is no hierarchy of suits in Royal Flushes; two players with a Royal Flush result in a tie.

Straight Flush
Any five consecutive cards of the same suit, like 8 9 10 J Q. It is the best natural hand. Like in a regular straight, the Ace can either be high (A K Q J 10) or low (A 2 3 4 5). The Ace can not be used in a wraparound; K A 2 3 4 is not a straight.

Four of a Kind
Any four cards of the same denomination, like four Aces. If more than one hand has Four of a Kind, the hand with the higher ranking cards wins. Rarely, if a game using several wild cards produces two Four of a Kind's having the same suit, the High Card rules are followed.

Full House
A three of a kind and a pair, such as K K K 5 5. When there are two Full Houses, the tie is broken first by the three of a kind, and then by the pair; in a game with wild cards, the three of a kind may not determine the winner. For example, K K K A A beats K K K J J.

Flush
Any five cards of the same suit, like A 10 7 5 2, all of Diamonds. When Flushes result in a tie, the High Card rules are applied.

Straight
Any five consecutive cards regardless of suit, like 6 7 8 9 10 in any combination of the four suits. The Ace can be high (A K Q J 10) or low (A 2 3 4 5). The Ace may not be used in a wraparound; K A 2 3 4 is not a straight. When two Straights tie, the highest Straight wins. For example, 9 10 J Q K beats A 2 3 4 5. If two Straights are of the same value, the pot is split.

Three of a Kind
Any three cards of the same denomination, like three Aces. Note that the remaining two cards should not be a pair; if it is, the hand is a Full House, not a Three of a Kind. The higher ranking cards win, like A A A 2 3 beats J J J 7 3. If a game with wild cards produces two Three of a Kind's having the same value, the High Card rules apply.

Two Pair
Any pair of cards of the same denomination, plus another pair of cards of another denomination, like two Aces and two 8's. The hand with the highest ranking pair wins a tie. If two hands have the same high pair, the second pair wins. If both pairs tie, the high card wins.

Pair
Any two cards of the same denomination, like two 10's. The highest ranking pair wins. The high card breaks a tie.

High Card
When a hand is unable to produce any combination as above, not even a pair, then the game comes down to the player with the highest ranking single card. If two high cards tie, the next high card determines the pot; if the next cards still tie, the third high card breaks the tie, and so forth. When the two high hands have the same type of hand, like if both are Flushes or Straights and so on, the High Card rules apply.

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