Which hands win
The hand rankings, from high card to a straight flush.
Everyone gets two cards of their own. Five more are dealt face up in the middle for everyone to share. Your hand is the best five cards you can make from those seven. The best five-card hand wins the pot.
In short
- Your hand is your best five cards out of seven: your two plus the five on the board.
- A flush beats a straight, and a full house beats a flush. The table below has the full order.
- Suits never rank. Two equal hands split the pot.
- Always check what the board makes for everyone, not only for you.
The hands, best to worst
| Hand | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | Five in a row, all one suit | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ |
| Four of a kind | Four cards of one rank | Q Q Q Q 4 |
| Full house | Three of a kind plus a pair | K K K 7 7 |
| Flush | Any five of one suit | A♠ J♠ 8♠ 5♠ 2♠ |
| Straight | Five in a row, mixed suits | 10 9 8 7 6 |
| Three of a kind | Three cards of one rank | 7 7 7 K 2 |
| Two pair | Two different pairs | J J 4 4 A |
| One pair | Two cards of one rank | A A 9 6 3 |
| High card | None of the above | A Q 9 6 3 |
The rarer the hand, the higher it ranks. That's why a flush beats a straight: you'll make a straight more often.
An ace can also be low, in 5-4-3-2-A, the smallest straight. A straight can't wrap around: Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
Ties and kickers
When two players have the same kind of hand, the higher cards win. A pair of kings beats a pair of queens. When the pairs match, the next-highest card, the kicker, decides:
If all five cards tie, the pot is split. Suits never break a tie.
Which hand wins: a flush or a straight?
- The flush
- The straight
- They split the pot
Show the answer
The flush. A flush beats a straight. Five cards of one suit are harder to make than five in a row.
Read the whole board
The five shared cards belong to everyone. Before you get excited about your hand, check what the board could make for someone else.
You hold A♥ K♦: two pair, aces and kings. It feels huge. But any player with a single club has a flush, and a flush beats two pair.
On that board, they hold Q♣ 3♦ and you hold A♥ K♦. Who wins?
- They do, with a flush
- You do, with two pair
- It's a split pot
Show the answer
They do, with a flush. The Q♣ plus the four clubs on the board make a flush, which beats your two pair.
Try it
In your next hand, before you look at what anyone does, name the best hand the board makes for you, then the best hand it could make for someone else. Next up: where you sit at the table, and why it changes which hands you should play.