Poker Hand Rankings — Texas Hold'em from Royal Flush to High Card

The complete Texas Hold'em hand rankings: all ten hands ranked from Royal Flush to High Card, with probability, odds, and how kickers and tiebreakers work.

Knowing which hand beats which is the single most fundamental piece of poker knowledge. In Texas Hold’em, every player uses a combination of their two private hole cards and the five community cards to make the best possible five-card hand. There are 2,598,960 distinct five-card combinations in a standard 52-card deck, and the hand ranking system orders all of them into ten categories. From the rarest and most powerful down to the commonest, here is every hand explained.

Royal Flush

Five cards: A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ (ace through ten, all the same suit)

A Royal Flush is an Ace-high straight flush — the very top of the straight flush category. It is unbeatable. No hand in poker can beat it, and it cannot tie with another Royal Flush (there is exactly one per suit, and two players cannot hold the same cards).

Probability (5-card hand): 0.000154% — approximately 1 in 649,740.

In Texas Hold’em using all seven cards (two hole cards plus five community cards), the probability of making a Royal Flush is higher: roughly 1 in 30,940.

Straight Flush

Example: 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ 4♥

Five consecutive cards of the same suit. The Royal Flush is technically the highest straight flush, but it is usually listed separately. Between two straight flushes, the one with the highest top card wins. An ace can serve as a low card to form A-2-3-4-5 of the same suit (a “steel wheel”), which is the lowest possible straight flush.

Probability (5-card): 0.00139% — approximately 1 in 72,193.

Four of a Kind (Quads)

Example: K♠ K♥ K♦ K♣ 7♠

All four cards of the same rank, plus any fifth card (the kicker). Four kings beats four queens. If two players somehow share four of a kind from the community cards, the fifth card (kicker) determines the winner — the higher kicker wins.

Probability (5-card): 0.0240% — approximately 1 in 4,165.

Full House

Example: J♠ J♥ J♦ 9♣ 9♦

Three cards of one rank and two of another. The hand is described as “jacks full of nines” in the example above. When comparing full houses, the three-of-a-kind portion ranks first: trip aces beats trip kings regardless of the pair. If the trips are equal (only possible with community cards), the pair is compared.

Probability (5-card): 0.1441% — approximately 1 in 694.

Flush

Example: A♦ J♦ 8♦ 5♦ 2♦

Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. The highest card determines rank: an ace-high flush beats a king-high flush. If the highest cards are equal, comparison continues down the remaining cards until a difference is found. A flush using entirely community cards is split between all remaining players.

Probability (5-card): 0.1965% — approximately 1 in 509.

Straight

Example: 9♠ 8♦ 7♣ 6♥ 5♠

Five consecutive cards of mixed suits. The highest card determines rank: a ten-high straight (T-9-8-7-6) beats a nine-high straight. An ace can play high (A-K-Q-J-T, Broadway) or low (A-2-3-4-5, the wheel), but it cannot wrap around — Q-K-A-2-3 is not a valid straight.

Probability (5-card): 0.3925% — approximately 1 in 255.

Three of a Kind

Example: Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ 7♣ 3♠

Three cards of the same rank plus two unrelated cards. When two players hold three of a kind, the higher rank of the trips wins. In Hold’em, if the trips are on the board, both kickers are compared.

A distinction exists between a set (one card in hand, a pair on the board that matches it to form trips) and trips (a pair on the board, one matching card in hand). Both form three of a kind, but a set is generally far stronger because it is more hidden.

Probability (5-card): 2.1128% — approximately 1 in 47.

Two Pair

Example: A♠ A♣ 6♥ 6♦ K♦

Two separate pairs plus a fifth card. When two players both hold two pair, the higher of the top pairs wins (two aces and two twos beats two kings and two queens). If the top pairs are equal, the second pair is compared, then the kicker.

Probability (5-card): 4.7539% — approximately 1 in 21.

One Pair

Example: T♠ T♦ A♣ 7♥ 2♠

Two cards of the same rank plus three unrelated cards. This is the most common winning hand in small games. The pair rank is compared first; if equal, kickers are used in descending order.

Probability (5-card): 42.2569% — approximately 1 in 2.37.

High Card

Example: A♠ J♦ 8♣ 5♥ 2♦

No combination qualifies as any of the above. The hand is described by its highest card. This is the weakest possible hand category. High card beats only another high card with a lower top card.

Probability (5-card): 50.1177% — the majority of five-card combinations are high-card hands.

Kickers and tiebreakers

A kicker is any card in a five-card hand that does not contribute to the primary combination but is used to break ties. In a hand of A♠ A♣ K♦ 7♥ 3♠, the two aces form the pair, and K-7-3 are the kickers. If two players both hold a pair of aces, the kicker comparison begins with the highest remaining card.

Kicker rules:

  • One pair: three kickers compared in descending order.
  • Two pair: one kicker compared.
  • Three of a kind: two kickers compared.
  • Four of a kind: one kicker compared.
  • Full house, straight, flush, straight flush, Royal Flush: kickers have no role — the five-card combination is complete.

If all five cards are identical in rank across two players (possible when community cards dominate), the pot is split.

Reading the board in Texas Hold’em

Because five community cards are shared, evaluating the board is as important as knowing your hole cards. Ask three questions:

  1. What is the best possible hand (the “nuts”) given these community cards? This tells you the ceiling. If you have it, you likely cannot be beaten. If you do not, consider how likely opponents are to hold it.

  2. How many outs do you have? An out is any unseen card that would complete or improve your hand. Knowing your outs lets you calculate rough probability of improving on the next card or the river (see Poker Strategy for pot odds).

  3. Does the board pair, flush, or straight? A paired board makes full houses possible. Three cards of a suit make a flush possible. Four consecutive cards are a straight warning. Adjust your read of opponents’ likely holdings accordingly.

For how these hands are won and lost during a hand, see Texas Hold’em Rules. For how starting hand strength shapes your early decisions, visit Poker Strategy. Comparing two-card starting hand strength is closely related to the concept of blackjack basic strategy in that both reward knowing your equity before committing chips. Play free poker online to practice reading the board.