Poker ranking hands

Poker ranking hands – OK, here they come, the best ranking hands of poker – highest ranking hands down to the lowest.

1. Royal Flush

10 J Q K A of the same suit.

Its unbeatable, the absolute best hand possible. If you have this then no one else could possibly have it and you are guaranteed to win. All you have to hope for is that someone else has a good hand so that you demolish them when they call your bet. It could be dealt on the communal board I suppose in which case the pot would be split to all live hands.

2. Straight Flush

Running cards of the same suit.

The second best possible hand. Near unbeatable. You’d be very unlucky to have this and lose. Remember that the highest straight wins so if your cards make up the top end of the straight then you would have the nuts i.e you would be unbeatable.

3. Four of a kind

Just four the same – duh

Four cards the same denomination self explanatory really. You could have one in hand with three on the board, a pair in your hand and a pair on the board or there could be 4 on the board such as above and so if you had a K in this situation you would have the nuts. If nobody has a king either then it would be a split pot. A very good hand and very rare.

4. Full House

A pair and a triple together.

The full house can be confusing because if more than one player has a full house then its the hand that has the highest triplets that will win. For example AA222 is beaten by 33322. If this happens then it sucks big time but normally with a full house you will win. Reach for your chips.

5. Flush

Any five cards of the same suit.

A great hand. This could be made up of both your cards, one of your cards or there could even be a flush on the board. When more than one player has a flush the player with the highest card in hand (of that suit) wins.

6. Triplets
Three cards the same denomination.

A great hand. A kicker can be relevant here because its possible for two players to have the same triplets if there is a pair on the board.

7. Two pair

Two pairs. A good hand.

Kicker applies if more than one player have the same two pair. Of course there could be two pair dealt in the communal cards so in this case the player with the highest card (kicker) wins.

8. A pair

One pair.

Could be made up of your pocket pair, or matching a pair on the board. Kicker applies if more than one player has it.

9. Kicker

Highest Card
No one has got anything so the player with the highest card in hand wins.

10. Split Pot

Finally we have the split pot. Sometimes it’s annoying because you expected to win, other times its a relief because you didn’t lose. There could be a straight on the board in which case all players in the hand split the pot equally. Many other split pot scenarios exist. Remember that communal cards can be kickers too.

This means that if you have king and your opponent only has a jack, this could be irrelevant if there is two pair and an ace on the board because the communal ace completes the 5 cards as the kicker in the hand.

Every hand in texas hold em is made up of 5 cards.

If nobody even has a pair then the player with the highest card in hand  (kicker) will win.

Poker ranking hands- Best Ranking Hands Of Poker