Hand rankings
Also called Poker hands, Which hand wins.
From best to worst: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card.
A hand is the best five cards a player can make. The order comes from how rare each hand is among five-card hands: a flush, for example, turns up about half as often as a straight.
With seven cards to choose from, as in Texas Hold’em, the frequencies shift. No pair at all (about 17% of seven-card hands) becomes rarer than one pair (44%) or two pair (23%). The order stays the same anyway, by convention.
A royal flush is simply the highest straight flush.
New to poker? Play your first hands, with a coach at every decision. Practice points only.
Try it yourself
Your nine and eight of spades, with these shared cards. What is your best hand?
2 questions, a minute or two. Nothing to finish first.
Learn and practise it
- Lesson: What beats what