Poker Hands

Poker Hands from Soup To Nuts

Learning the basic poker hands is one of the first steps players should take when beginning the game of poker. By taking the time to understand how to make the best possible poker hands and poker probabilities, you'll be able to enjoy any poker game variant much more quickly. This guide to poker hand rankings explains each of the poker hands in detail, letting you understand why they are positioned where they are in the poker hand rankings.

Study the material on this page and you'll know your winning poker hands from soup to nuts!

Five Card Poker Hand Values for High

Royal Flush:

The ultimate in winning poker hands, a Royal Flush is an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of the same suit. This is the best poker hand you can have in high. Poker probabilities state that the odds of getting this in 5-card poker are 1 in 649,740.

In the event of a tie, two or more Royal Flushes split the pot.

Straight Flush:

A straight flush is five cards in sequence, of the same suit. There are 36 different ways a player can get a straight flush poker hand, with poker probabilities stating that the odds of getting one in 5 cards is 1 in 72,193.33

In the event of a tie, the highest rank at the top of the sequence wins.

Four of a Kind:

Four of a Kind is four cards of the same rank, and one side card. Poker probabilities say that the odds for this are 1 in 4,165, as there are 624 different ways to achieve this poker hand in 5-card poker games.

In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins.

In community card games such as Texas Hold Em where players have the same four poker hands of a kind, the highest fifth side card ("kicker") wins.

Full House:

A Full House is three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank. The poker probabilities for this hand feature odds of 1 in 694.16.

In the event of a tie, the hand with the highest three matching cards wins the pot. In community card games where players have the same three matching cards, the highest value of the two matching cards wins.

Flush:

This poker hand features five cards of the same suit and there are 5,108 different ways that players can get this hand, with poker probabilities stating the odds for making this being 1 in 508.80. In the event of a tie: The player holding the highest ranked card in the poker hands wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie.

Straight:

A straight features five cards in sequence. There are over 10,000 ways in which a player can create this hand, making the poker probabilities of getting a straight 1 in 254.80.

In the event of a tie, the highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins.

Please note that in this poker hand, the Ace may be used at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card that can act in this manner.

Three of a Kind:

Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards. Poker probabilities peg the odds for making this poker hand 1 in 47.32, and you can make this 54,912 different ways.

In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind wins. In community card games where players have the same three of a kind in their poker hands, the highest side card, and if necessary, the second-highest side card wins.

Two Pair:

Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and one side card. One of the most common poker hands, there are 123,552 ways to make this, with the odds of having two pairs in your hand being 1 in 21.

In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both players have identical pairs in their poker hands, highest side card wins.

One Pair:

A single pair features two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards.

In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used to break the tie.

High Card:

In the event of a tie: Highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.

Five Card Poker Hand Values for Low Poker Hands

It is important to note that suits and sequences are irrelevant for low poker hands. A flush or straight does not "break" a low poker hand. Aces are the lowest card when considering a low poker hand.

Five High or Wheel:

The Five, Four, Three, Deuce and Ace. In the event of a tie: All Five-high poker hands split the pot.

Six High:

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. Thus 6, 4, 3, 2, A defeats 6, 5, 4, 2, A. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Seven High:

Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being a Seven. In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

Eight High:

Any five unpaired cards with the highest card being an Eight.

In the event of a tie: The lower second-highest ranking card wins the pot. If necessary, the third-highest, fourth-highest and fifth-highest cards in the hand can be used to break the tie.

An Eight High is the weakest poker hand that qualifies for low in games where the pot is split between the best high and low hands.