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Poker hand rankings. The best five win.

A pair is a fine place to start. Knowing when it loses is even better. Use this strongest-to-weakest chart, then try ten untimed practice hands.

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Try the hand-ranking trainer

Ten hands, one question each. Pick the name and get an explanation immediately. Your score lasts only for this visit; it doesn’t add game XP or go on a leaderboard.

Poker hands, strongest to weakest

These are standard high-hand rankings for Texas Hold’em. A royal flush is the highest possible straight flush, rather than a separate comparison category (PokerStars hand-ranking rules).

  1. Royal flush

    The highest straight flush: ten through ace in one suit.

  2. Straight flush

    Five consecutive ranks in one suit. Compare the top card.

  3. Four of a kind

    Four queens. Compare the four matching cards first, then the kicker.

  4. Full house

    Three eights and two kings. Compare the three matching cards before the pair.

  5. Flush

    Five hearts, not consecutive. Compare all five ranks from highest to lowest.

  6. Straight

    Five consecutive ranks. Compare the top card, not the suits.

  7. Three of a kind

    Three sevens. Compare the three matching cards, then the two kickers in order.

  8. Two pair

    Jacks and fours. Compare the higher pair, lower pair, then kicker.

  9. One pair

    Two aces. Compare the pair, then the three kickers in order.

  10. High card

    No pair, straight, or flush. Compare all five ranks from highest to lowest.

When categories differ, the higher category wins regardless of individual card ranks. Three twos beat two pairs of aces and kings (PokerStars hand-ranking rules).

You only get five places

In Hold’em you choose the best five cards from your two private cards and the five community cards. You may use both private cards, one, or neither; you do not get a sixth card to break a tie (PokerStars Texas Hold’em rules).

A shared straight is still shared

Board: 5♠ 6♥ 7♣ 8♦ K♥. You hold 9♠ A♥; the other player holds 9♥ Q♣. Both best hands are 5-6-7-8-9. Your ace does not play.

Try the shared-straight puzzle

Kickers, flushes, and split pots

A kicker is a side card inside your best five. If two players share a pair, compare the highest kicker, then the next, until the hands differ; identical best-five ranks tie (PokerStars hand-ranking rules).

  • Two pair: compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the fifth card.
  • Full house: compare the three matching cards first. Kings full of sevens beat sevens full of kings.
  • Flush: compare the highest card, then each remaining card in descending order. Suits have no ranking.

Those comparisons follow the PokerStars hand-ranking rules. Try the kicker puzzle, then the full-house puzzle before your next practice hand.

Put the chart to work

Read the illustrated Hold’em walkthrough if the betting rounds are new. When you’re ready, the practice table lets you make decisions against five computer opponents with play chips only.