Because there is a pair, one of the fours does not count, so it is simply ignored, making a 4,2,A three-card hand.
Poker Hands
Learning how to play poker starts with understanding the poker hand rankings. Find out what beats what right here.
Poker Hand Rankings Chart
Here’s a simple visual guide that shows the traditional ranking system, from best to worst:
Hosting your own poker night? You can download the chart for free, then print it off.
Hand rankings understood and ready to play poker? Download our software to take your seat.
Or keep reading for a full breakdown of hands.
Traditional Poker Hand Ranks
This ranking system is used in the most common forms of poker including Texas Hold’em. Select a hand to jump to the details:
| 1. Royal flush | 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 |
1. Royal Flush
What is a royal flush? The best hand in poker. It’s essentially the highest possible straight flush. Made up of a Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit.
What does a royal flush beat? Everything. It’s the best. They’re also very rare, so savor the moment if you get one.
Who wins if more than one player has a royal flush? All royal flushes are of the same value, so it’ll end in a split pot.
2. Straight Flush
What is a straight flush? Five cards of consecutive rank, all of identical suits.
What does a straight flush beat? Everything. Even the best hand in the game, the royal flush, is a type of straight flush.
Who wins if more than one player has a straight flush? Whoever has the highest sequence. You can count yourself unlucky if your straight flush runs into a higher straight flush.
3. Four of a Kind
What is four of a kind? Four cards of the same rank, and one side card or ‘kicker’.
What does four of a kind beat? It beats everything except a straight flush, so you can feel very confident if you’re holding four of a kind.
Who wins if more than one player has four of a kind? The highest four of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same four of a kind, the highest kicker wins.
4. Full House
What is a full house? Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.
What does a full house beat? It beats almost everything. The only hands that top it are Four of a Kind, a Straight Flush, or the unbeatable Royal Flush.
Who wins if more than one player has a full house? The highest three matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where players have the same three matching cards, the highest value of the two remaining matching cards wins.
5. Flush
What is a flush? Five cards of the same suit.
What does a flush beat? One of the most common questions from beginners at the poker table is, “What’s better – a straight or a flush?” Answer: a flush.
Who wins if more than one player has a flush? The player holding the highest ranked card wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie. If all five cards are the same ranks, the pot is split. The suit itself is never used to break a tie in poker.
6. Straight
What is a straight? Five cards of consecutive rank, regardless of suit.
What does a straight beat? Not a flush. But it’s still a strong hand, and dominates three of a kind and worse.
Who wins if more than one player has a straight? The highest straight wins. It’s worth remembering that an Ace can form part of the highest possible straight (A,K,Q,J,T) and the lowest (5,4,3,2,A), also known as a ‘wheel’.
7. Three of a Kind
What is three of a kind? Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.
What does three of a kind beat? A common showdown is three of a kind versus two pair, and the former takes the pot in that scenario.
Who wins if more than one player has three of a kind? The highest ranking three of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same three of a kind, the highest kicker wins.
8. Two Pair
What is two pair? Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and a kicker.
What does two pair beat? One of the easier rules to remember: two pair beats one pair. It also beats a high card.
Who wins if more than one player has two pair? The highest pair wins. The total numeric value of your two pairs is not relevant. If players have the same highest pair, the highest second pair wins. If both players have two identical pairs, the highest kicker wins.
9. One Pair
What is one pair? Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.
What does one pair beat? One pair only beats high card.
Who wins if more than one player has one pair? The highest pair wins. If players have the same pair, the highest kicker determines the winner. While a pair ranks low on the hand hierarchy, many pots are decided in pair-versus-pair situations, so understanding the strength of your pair in different scenarios is crucial.
10. High Card
What is a high card? Any hand that does not contain any combination listed above.
What does a high card beat? Technically, a high card doesn’t beat anything. But remember, it’s still possible to win the pot – you just might have to do it by bluffing!
Who wins if more than one player has a high card? The highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.
Low Poker Hand Ranks
In some poker variants, the aim of the game is to form the ‘lowest’ poker hand. This will help you win all of the pot, or half the pot, depending on the variant. There are different versions of low ranking systems depending on the game:
Ace To Five Lowball Hand Ranks
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.
Five Low
The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace. Also known as a ‘Wheel’.
Six Low
Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Six.
Seven Low
Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven.
Eight Low
Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.
An eight low is the weakest hand that qualifies for low in Omaha Hi/Lo and Stud Hi/Lo. However, in Razz, there is no such ‘qualifier’ and the lowest hand will always win the pot, even if it is a nine low, queen low, or even a pair!
Deuce To Seven Lowball Hand Ranks
The Deuce to Seven Lowball hand rankings are the exact opposite of the traditional ‘high’ hand rankings. Therefore, the worst possible hand in traditional high poker – seven-five high, with different suits, becomes the best possible hand in Deuce to Seven Lowball (a ‘perfect seven’ low or ‘wheel’).
In practice, an Ace always plays as a high card in Deuce to Seven (so A,5,4,3,2 is an Ace high, not a straight). Straights and flushes count against your hand in Deuce to Seven.
Seven Low
Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a seven. The best possible hand is 7,5,4,3,2, also known as a ‘wheel’ or ‘number one’.
Eight Low
Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being an eight.
Nine Low
Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a nine.
Ten Low
Any five unpaired, unconnected cards of different suits, with the highest card being a ten.
There is no ‘qualifier’ for low in Deuce to Seven lowball games. The above are just examples of hands that may come up in play – the lowest hand will always win the pot in Deuce to Seven, even if it is a pair or worse!
Badugi Hand Ranks
Badugi does not use traditional poker hand rankings and it takes some practice to learn how to correctly read the hands. Badugi hand rankings are somewhat related to the Ace to Five rankings; like in Ace to Five, an Ace always plays as a low card. However, unlike Ace to Five, each card in your hand must be a different suit and a different rank, in order to count.
Badugi hands consist of four cards, instead of the usual five. Because of this it is impossible to make a five-card straight, and having four cards in sequence does not hurt your hand.
Remember, if you have cards of the same suit, only one of them counts, and if you have pairs, only one of them counts.
Badugi
A badugi is any hand which consists of four unpaired cards, each a different suit.
Three-Card Hand
Any hand consisting of three unpaired cards of different suits, but a fourth paired or suited card. The lowest three unpaired cards of different suits play.
Because there are two hearts in this hand, one of them is ignored, making a 3,2,A three-card hand.
Two-Card Hand
Any hand consisting of two unpaired cards of different suits, but two paired or suited cards. The lowest two unpaired cards of different suits play.
Because there are two pairs, one of each pair is discarded, making a 5,A two-card hand.
Because there are three hearts, two of them are discarded, making a 2,A two-card hand.
One-Card Hand
A hand consisting of only one playable card. The lowest card plays.
Since there are four Aces, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just an Ace.
Since there are four cards of the same suit, three of them are discarded, making a one-card hand of just a Three.
Additional Information
A royal flush is the best hand in many variants of poker – ace, king, queen, jack and 10, all of the same suit. This hand cannot be beaten in games that use the traditional high poker rankings.
As shown in the hand ranking explanations above, traditional high poker hands are ranked in the following order:
- Royal flush
- Straight flush
- Four of a kind
- Full house
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a kind
- Two pair
- One pair
- High card
These traditional hand rankings are used in popular poker formats such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw. It’s also used to rank the ‘high’ hands in Hi/Lo variants.
Pocket aces are statistically the best starting hand in Texas Hold’em. They give you the highest chance of winning pre-flop. However, it’s important not to overplay them – while strong, they’re still just a pair. As you can see from the rankings on this page, many other hands can develop into stronger combinations by the river.
The worst starting hand is generally considered to be 7-2 offsuit. These two cards are low, unconnected, and of different suits – making it difficult to form a strong hand. Like any two cards, it’s possible to win with 7-2, it’s just less likely than other starting hands.