Royal flush A card player revealing the highest-ranking hand in poker—a royal flush. (more)

Poker Hands Ranked

Find out what beats what in poker.

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Poker can be a fun game between friends or a professional competition. No matter where you’re playing, here’s a handy cheat sheet to help you remember which hands are best and what beats what.

A poker hand comprises five cards. The value of the hand is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency; that is, the more unusual the combination of cards is, the higher the hand ranks. Players may bet that they have the best hand, and other players must either call (i.e., match) the bet or fold. Players may bluff by betting that they have the best hand when in fact they do not, and they may win by bluffing if players holding superior hands do not call the bet. The object is to win the pot, which is all bets made by all players in any one deal. The pot may be won either by having the highest-ranking poker hand or by making a bet that no other player calls.

Below are the poker hands, ranked from highest to lowest.

Ace, king, queen, jack, and 10, all in the same suit. Because suits are not ranked, all royal flushes are equal.

Five cards of sequential rank that are all of the same suit. If multiple players have a straight flush, the highest top card wins. For example, 10-9-8-7-6 beats 7-6-5-4-3.

Four cards of the same rank, plus one of another rank. If more than one player has four of a kind (also known as a “quad”), the hand with the highest quad wins. Thus, 4-4-4-4-K beats 2-2-2-2-A. If the quads are of equal rank, the highest remaining card (“kicker”) wins. So 8-8-8-8-10 tops 8-8-8-8-6.

Three cards of the same rank and a pair of another rank. In the case of multiple full houses, the player with the highest rank of the three cards (“triplet”) wins. For example, 8-8-8-K-K beats 6-6-6-A-A. If the triplets are the same, then the highest-ranked pair determines the winner. For instance, 3-3-3-K-K beats 3-3-3-4-4.

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Five cards of the same suit that are not of sequential rank. If multiple players have a flush, the winner is determined by the highest top card. So Q,8,6,3,2 beats 10,9,5,4,2.

Five cards of sequential order that are not of the same suit. If more than one player has a straight, the player with the highest top card wins. For example, Q,J,10,9,8 tops 9,8,7,6,5.

Three cards of the same rank, plus two that are not a pair. If multiple players have three of a kind, the highest triplet wins. So 7,7,7,4,2 beats 4,4,4,A,Q. If the triplets have the same rank, then the highest kicker is the winner. Thus, 9-9-9-7-5 tops 9-9-9-5-2.

Two differently ranked pairs, each consisting of cards of the same rank. The highest-ranked pair determines the winner in the case of multiple players with two pairs. For example, 10-10-6-6-2 beats 5-5-3-3-2. If the two pairs of one player have the same ranks as those of another player, the higher kicker wins.

Two cards of the same rank, plus three cards of unmatched ranks. If more than one player has a pair, then the highest-ranked pair wins. Thus, A-A-10-6-5 beats J-J-8-3-2. If that doesn’t determine the winner, then the highest kicker wins.

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Any other configuration of cards, ranked from highest to lowest.