Poker hands: rankings and what beats what

Before you can win a single pot, you need to know the poker hands cold — which one beats which, and why. This is the complete poker hand rankings list, from royal flush down to high card, with an example for each and the tie-breaker rules nobody explains.

Poker hand rankings, strongest to weakest

In almost every game you play (Texas Hold’em included), the best five-card hand wins. Here are all ten poker hand rankings, best to worst:

1. Royal flush — A-K-Q-J-10, all one suit
2. Straight flush — five in a row, all one suit
3. Four of a kind — four cards of the same rank
4. Full house — three of a kind plus a pair
5. Flush — five cards of the same suit
6. Straight — five in a row, any suits
7. Three of a kind — three cards of the same rank
8. Two pair — two different pairs
9. One pair — two cards of the same rank
10. High card — none of the above

That order never changes. Memorize it and you already know what beats what at the table. If you’re brand new, start with our how to play poker guide first.

The top of the chart: flushes and straights

Royal flush — the unbeatable nuts. A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠. It’s just the highest possible straight flush, so it’s rare enough that most players go years without one.

Straight flush — five consecutive cards of the same suit, like 7♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ J♥. Between two straight flushes, the higher top card wins.

Four of a kind (“quads”) — all four of one rank, like Q♣ Q♦ Q♥ Q♠ plus any fifth card. Higher quads win; the fifth card (the kicker) only matters in shared-card games.

Full house (“boat”) — three of a kind plus a pair, like K♣ K♦ K♥ 4♠ 4♣. You compare the trips first: kings full of fours beats queens full of aces.

The middle: flush, straight, trips

This is where beginners get tripped up, so read carefully.

• Flush — five cards of the same suit, not in sequence, like A♦ J♦ 8♦ 5♦ 2♦. Compare the highest card, then the next, and so on.
• Straight — five cards in sequence of any suits, like 5♣ 6♦ 7♠ 8♥ 9♣. The ace plays high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3-4-5, “the wheel”), but never wraps (Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight).
• Three of a kind (“trips” / “a set”) — three of one rank plus two unrelated cards, like 9♠ 9♦ 9♣ K♥ 2♠.

The bottom: two pair, one pair, high card

• Two pair — like J♥ J♠ 4♦ 4♣ A♠. Compare the higher pair first, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
• One pair — like 10♦ 10♣ K♠ 7♥ 3♦. Higher pair wins; if tied, the highest kicker decides.
• High card — no pair, no nothing. A-Q-9-6-3 beats A-Q-9-6-2. It’s literally the highest card, then the next.

Kickers and tie-breakers

When two players have the same ranked hand, the kicker breaks the tie — the highest side cards that aren’t part of the main combination.

Example: you both have a pair of aces. You hold A-A-K-8-4, they hold A-A-Q-9-5. Your king kicker beats their queen. If even the kickers match all the way down, the pot is split (a “chop”). Suits never break ties in standard poker — a flush in spades doesn’t beat a flush in hearts.

The classic confusions, settled

These three trip up almost everyone:

• Flush beats straight. A flush is rarer than a straight, so it wins. Always.
• Full house beats flush. A boat outranks any flush, even an ace-high one.
• Straight beats three of a kind. A run of five beats three of a kind every time.

Quick rule of thumb: the harder a hand is to make, the higher it ranks. That’s the whole logic behind the poker hand rankings.

Quick what-beats-what recap

From strongest to weakest, one more time:

Royal flush → Straight flush → Four of a kind → Full house → Flush → Straight → Three of a kind → Two pair → One pair → High card.

Keep this handy with our poker cheat sheet, then learn which hands to actually play from each seat in starting hands and position. Knowing the rankings is step one; knowing when a hand is good enough is where real edge lives.

Learn the ten rankings once, and you’ll never freeze at showdown again.