Poker Hand Rankings | All 10 Hands & Card Strength Explained

Knowing the "hands" (card combinations) is the first step to playing poker.

Have you ever been in a game and wondered, "Do I even have a hand right now?" or "Wait, is a Flush stronger than a Straight?" After reading this article, you'll never have to guess again.

What You'll Learn

• All 10 poker hands and their rankings
• Card number strength from Ace to 2
• Card examples for each hand (with diagrams)
• How ties between the same hand type are broken
• What a "kicker" is
• Practice problems to test yourself

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🃏 What Are Hand Rankings?

A poker "hand" is a specific combination pattern made from 5 cards.

As we learned in the previous article, in Texas Hold'em you pick the best 5 cards from your 2 hole cards plus 5 community cards (7 total). The "hand" those 5 cards make determines who wins.

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📊 Hand Rankings (All 10)

Listed from strongest to weakest. The lower the number, the stronger the hand.

Rank	Hand	Description	Probability
1	Royal Flush	10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit	0.00015%
2	Straight Flush	5 consecutive cards of the same suit	0.00139%
3	Four of a Kind	4 cards of the same rank	0.024%
4	Full House	Three of a Kind + One Pair	0.14%
5	Flush	5 cards of the same suit	0.20%
6	Straight	5 consecutive cards (any suits)	0.39%
7	Three of a Kind	3 cards of the same rank	2.11%
8	Two Pair	2 different pairs	4.75%
9	One Pair	2 cards of the same rank	42.26%
10	High Card	No hand at all	50.12%

Now let's look at each hand in detail, starting from the weakest.

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🃏 A Closer Look at All 10 Hands

High Card (Nothing)

When your 5 cards don't form any combination at all. It's the weakest "hand," but it actually occurs about 50% of the time.

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One Pair

Two cards of the same rank. With about a 42% chance of making it, this is the most common hand you'll see.

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Two Pair

Two different pairs. One step stronger than One Pair.

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Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank. Also commonly called "trips" or "a set."

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Straight

Five cards in sequential rank. Suits don't matter.

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Flush

All 5 cards are the same suit. The ranks don't matter.

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Full House

A combination of Three of a Kind + One Pair. It's named after the three-of-a-kind portion (e.g., "Sevens full of Kings").

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Four of a Kind

Four cards of the same rank. Also known as "quads."

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Straight Flush

Five cards in sequence, all of the same suit. It meets both Straight and Flush requirements simultaneously.

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Royal Flush

10-J-Q-K-A all of the same suit. The strongest hand in poker — a once-in-a-lifetime dream hand. Most players may never see one in their entire career.

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🃏 Suits Have No Ranking

The four suits — Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, and Clubs — are called suits.

In poker, suits have no inherent ranking. The A♠ is exactly as strong as the A♥.

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🔢 Card Number Rankings (Ace to 2)

While suits don't matter, card numbers (ranks) have a clear strength order. Knowing which numbers are strong is essential to understanding who wins.

Rank	Card	Name
1 (Strongest)	A	Ace — the strongest card
2	K	King — face card
3	Q	Queen — face card
4	J	Jack — face card
5	10	Ten
6	9	Nine
7	8	Eight
8	7	Seven
9	6	Six
10	5	Five
11	4	Four
12	3	Three
13 (Weakest)	2	Deuce — the weakest card

10, J, Q, K, and A are called "Broadway cards" and are considered the most valuable cards in poker. Among them, J, Q, and K are also known as "face cards."

Card number strength is a key factor in determining who wins when players have the same hand. Let's see how it works in the next section.

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🎯 When the Same Hand Clashes

When two players have the same type of hand, the winner is determined by the rank of the cards forming the hand. As we saw above, card strength goes from A (strongest) to 2 (weakest).

Let's look at a concrete example.

Both have One Pair, but K > 7, so Player A wins.

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🔑 What Is a Kicker?

So what happens when both players have the same hand with the same rank? That's where the kicker comes in.

A kicker is the strongest card not used in the hand itself.

Both have a pair of Kings — same hand, same rank. Now it's kicker time! Player A's kicker is A, Player B's kicker is Q. Since A > Q, Player A wins.

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📝 Practice Problems

Let's put your knowledge to the test with two quick problems.

Problem 1: Who Wins?

Both players have made a pair using the Q on the board. Who takes the pot?

👆 Click to reveal the answer

Player A wins! Both have a pair of Queens — same hand, same rank. Time for the kicker! A's kicker is J, B's kicker is 8 (the 8♦ from the board). Since J > 8, Player A takes it.

The 5 cards used (Player A):

Q♠

Q♣

J♥

8♦

5♠

Pair of Qs (Kicker J) 👑

Since players share the board cards, ending up with the same hand type is very common. Remember that kickers can be the deciding factor!

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Problem 2: What Hand Do You Have?

This one's a bit trickier. Can you identify the hand?

👆 Click to reveal the answer

Full House! Your 9♠ 9♥ combined with the 9♦ on the board makes Three of a Kind (9s), and the K♣ K♥ on the board gives you a pair of Kings.

The 5 cards used:

9♠

9♥

9♦

K♣

K♥

Nines Full of Kings (999KK)

Remember: When there's a pair on the board (KK), and you have three of a kind, you've got a Full House!

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Summary

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🚀 Next Step

Now that you know the hands, it's time to learn how an actual game plays out. From the deal to the showdown, you'll experience the flow of a single hand step by step!

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