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.

#1 Royal Flush

The poker hand ranking chart indicates that a Full House is at position #4. That’s still a pretty strong hand to form in a poker game. A Straight Flush and 4 of a Kind are stronger than a Full House, and a Full House is rarely beaten on the river in a game of Texas Hold’em poker. Poker hands from highest to lowest. All four cards of the same rank. Three of a kind with a pair. Any five cards of the same suit, but not in a sequence. Five cards in a sequence, but not of the same suit. Three cards of the same rank. Two different pairs. Two cards of the same rank.

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!

Knowing what beats what in poker or Texas Hold’em is an important early step in learning the game. To help you out, I have provided for you an attractive printable or downloadable “cheat sheet” for both 5 card hand rankings as well as top 24 pre-flop starting hands.

Poker hands ranked from best to worst:

Royal Flush
Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
Three of a Kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card

To make things easier on you, I have included some handy charts that can be used to reference during play or even printed out.

Poker Hand Rankings Chart

Never forget what beats what again. Feel free to save this to your phone/tablet/computer or print the chart out.

Click below to download a high-quality PDF that includes a printable copy of both the showdown and pre-flop hand rankings.

The Top 24 Hold’Em Starting Hand Rankings

To help you out, I have also included the top 24 no-limit hold’em starting hands to give you a further idea of what beats what in poker. I based this list on both raw equities as well as post-flop playability.

I have used over 10 years of experience in both tournaments and cash games to compile this info. You get to benefit from my hard work!

How These Hands Were Determined

I took a look at a few of the pre-flop hand ranking charts out there and, while most appeared to get it right for the most part, there seemed to be something off.

The thing is, everyone always does pretty well on the top 5 or 6 hands. However, after that things get a bit murkier.

So, what really matters when it comes to weighing hand strength? I decided to take a close look at the problem. Using the knowledge I’ve gained over the past few years, I tried to come up with a better way of codifying hand rankings.

Determining the Overall Playability of Each Hand

I decided to go about it from a logical standpoint. When deciding whether to play a hand or not, what are the factors a strong player considers before acting?

So, I decided that there are basically two main factors to consider in determining the strength of a particular pre-flop hand. And, since equity is the tool we use to rank the value of hands I just had to figure out what type of equities matter most and then apply it to each factor.

Once I was able to define which equities to consider, it just took a bit of math.

1. Pre-Flop Equity

The first equity I decided to factor in is a hand’s raw pre-flop equity. I mean, sometimes you need to get all-in before the flop, right?

Of course, some hands will get all-in more frequently than others but for the sake of simplicity, raw equity against a strong range will give us a decent enough metric to come up with a comparative ranking.

2. Post-Flop Equity

Secondly, we need to factor in how a hand d

Poker Hands Full House Ranking