Poker Hands are ranked as shown, from high to low:
- Five of a Kind (with a wild card)
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pair
- Pair
- High Card
Poker hand descriptions
Five of a kind – A five of a kind is the highest possible hand. It is only possible when using wild cards, however. If more than one player has five of a kind, the hand with the higher card wins (Five Aces beats five Kings, which beat five Queens, and so on).
Straight flush – Five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 98765 of hearts. They are ranked by the top card, and therefore AKQJT is the best straight flush, also called a royal flush. The ace can play low to make 5432A, the lowest possible straight flush.
Four of a kind – Four of a kind is simply four cards of the same rank. If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the higher-rank four of a kind wins. If, in some bizarre game with many wild cards, there are two four of a kinds with the same rank, then the one with the high card outside the four of the kind wins. General Rule: When hands tie on the rank of a pair, three of a kind, etc., the cards outside break ties, as in the rules for High Card.
Full house – A full house is a three of a kind and a pair, such as Q-Q-Q-7-7. Ties are broken first by the three of a kind, then pair. So K-K-K-2-2 beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-J-J. (the three of a kinds can only be similar if wild cards are used.)
Flush – A flush is a hand where all of the cards are of the same suit, such as J-8-5-3-2, all of spades. When flushes tie, follow the rules for High Card.
Straight – A straight consists of 5 cards in order, such as 4-5-6-7-8. An ace may either be high (A-K-Q-J-T) or low (5-4-3-2-A). When straights tie, the highest straight wins. If two straights have the same value they split the pot.
Three of a kind – Three cards of any rank, and two cards that are not a pair (otherwise it would be a Full House). Again, highest three of a kind wins. If both are the same rank, then follow rules for High Card.
Two pair – Two different pairs of cards and a 5th card. The highest pair wins ties. If both hands have the same high pair, the second highest pair wins. If both hands have the same pairs, the high card wins.
Pair – One pair with three different cards. High card breaks ties.
High card – Any hand which doesn’t qualify as any one of the above hands. If nobody has a pair or better, then the highest card wins. If multiple people tie for the highest card, they look at the second highest, then the third highest, etc. The High card is also used to break ties when two or more players have the same type of hand (pair, flush, straight, etc.). The high card ranks, from highest to lowest:
- Ace
- King
- Queen
- Jack
- 10
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
- Ace