The rankings, strongest first
A royal flush is the highest straight flush; it is often listed separately as the first of ten familiar hand names. All other straight flushes rank immediately below it.
Royal flush
An ace-high straight flush. This is the highest possible hand.
Straight flush
Five consecutive ranks in one suit. Compare the highest card.
Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank. Compare the four-card rank, then the remaining kicker.
Full house
Three of one rank and two of another. Compare the three-card rank first, then the pair.
Flush
Five cards of one suit, not in sequence. Compare all five ranks from highest to lowest.
Straight
Five consecutive ranks in any suits. Compare the highest card.
Three of a kind
Three cards of one rank. Compare that rank, then each of the two kickers.
Two pair
Compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the fifth card.
One pair
Compare the pair, then the three remaining cards in descending order.
High card
When no other hand is made, compare all five cards from highest to lowest.
Choose exactly five cards
You may use both hole cards, one hole card or the entire board. A sixth or seventh card never breaks a tie. If both players’ best five-card hands are identical, they tie for that pot.
Example: the board is . Every remaining player can use the board’s ace-high straight. Unless someone can make a higher-ranked hand with their hole cards, they share the pot. Merely holding an extra ace does not improve that straight.
Kickers decide equal pairs
On a board of , beats . Both players have a pair of kings; the ace kicker is higher than the queen.
With a flush, compare the highest card first, then the next card if needed, through all five cards. With two pair, compare the higher pair first. A king-and-two two-pair hand beats queens and jacks because kings are the higher top pair.
An ace can be high or low in a straight
is a five-high straight, often called the wheel. It loses to a six-high straight. is ace-high and is the highest straight.
Sequences cannot wrap around: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. Aces are otherwise high when comparing pairs, full houses and kickers.
Suits do not break ties
Spades are not higher than hearts, diamonds or clubs in Texas Hold’em hand comparisons. Equal best-five ranks tie and split the pot they are eligible to win. A player who contributed less in an all-in may be eligible for the main pot but not a side pot; different pots can therefore have different winners.
Odd chips cannot always be divided equally and are handled by the table’s deterministic payout rules. Do not infer an additional winning card from a one-chip difference.
Common mistakes
- A flush beats a straight, and a full house beats a flush.
- Three pair is not a separate hand: use the two highest pairs and the best fifth card.
- If two players each have a full house, compare the three-of-a-kind rank before the pair.
- A hand can improve or be overtaken as the turn and river appear. The winner is decided from the final eligible cards, not from who was ahead on the flop.