Poker Hands Ranking Probability

 
5How many Poker Hands are there?

There are 10 different hands ranks in Texas Hold’em – from a Royal Flush to a Straight to a lousy High Card. Here’s a comprehensive list of all Texas Hold’em poker hand rankings:

You can also print and download the Official Texas Hold’em hand ranking as a PDF file.

Chart: Poker Hand Ranking

Poker Hand Ranks and Probabilities. Royal Flush - 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, all of the same suit. Straight Flush - Any five cards in succession, all of the same suit. 8-9-10-Jack-Queen, all of hearts) 4 of a Kind - Four of the same card, ie. The 5th card doesn't matter, and in case of 2 players with 4 of a kind, the higher ranking 4 of a kind wins the pot.

  • A Full House is the third best possible hand in the poker hand ranking system. Only a Straight Flush and 4-of-a-Kind rank above it. This makes it a very strong hand in Hold’em and is rarely beat on the river. That said, there are still many hands that rank under it. The next best hand on the list is called a Flush. The best Flush is the ace.
  • Starting Hands Texas Hold’em Rules Poker Hand Rankings 10 Tips for Winning Odds Calculator Odds for Dummies. Guide to Texas Hold’em Starting Hands Watch Tutorial.
K♥️
J♥️
Royal FlushHighest Straight Flush
7♣️
5♣️
Straight Flush5 suited cards in a row
9
9
Quads4 cards of the same rank
A
Q
Full House3 and 2 cards of the same rank
♠️
♠️
Flush5 suited cards

Poker Ranking Of Hands

5
3
Straight5 cards in a row
J
Trips3 cards of the same rank
Q
8
Two Pair2 cards of the same rank twice
2
Pair2 cards of the same rank
High CardHighest cards

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Download the poker hand ranking charts image or PDF:

  • Official Poker Hand Rankings Image
  • Print: Poker Hand Rankings PDF

Official Poker Hand Rankings

  • Royal flush: A straight from a ten to an ace with all five cards in the same suit.
  • Straight Flush: Any straight with all five cards in the same suit.
  • Four of a Kind or Poker or Quads: Any four cards of the same rank. If two players share the same four of a kind (on the board), the larger fifth card (the “kicker”) decides who wins the pot.
  • Full House or Boat: Three cards of the same rank along with two cards of the same rank. In short: trips and a pair.
  • Flush: All five cards of the same suit (not necessarily consecutive). The highest card determines the rank of the flush.
  • Straight: Five consecutive cards (not necessarily the same suit). Aces can count as either high or low cards, but not as both at once. Meaning, a straight cannot go “around the corner”.
  • Trips: Three cards of the same value. If two players have the same trips the highest kicker decides who wins the pot.
  • Two Pair: Any two cards of the same rank together with two other cards of the same rank.
  • One Pair: Any two cards of the same rank.
  • High Card: Any hand that is none of the above hands.

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Poker Hand Rankings Explained

  • If two players have a Straight or Straight Flush, the higher Straight or Straight Flush wins.
  • If two players have a quads, the player with the highest quad wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins.
  • If two players have a flush, the player with the highest card in the flush wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, then the third highest, and so on. The suit of the flush does not matter.
  • If two players have a full house, the player with the higher trips wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins.
  • If two players have two pairs, the player with the bigger pair wins. If they are identical, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are also identical, the player with the highest kicker wins.
  • If two players have a pair, the player with the higher pair wins. If they are identical, the highest kicker wins, then the second highest, then the third highest.
  • If two players have a high card, the highest card wins. If they are identical, the second highest card decides, etc.

How many Poker Hands are there?

There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations.

Poker Hand Odds for 5-Card-Poker

The poker hand ranking charts are based on the probability for each distinct hand rank. More unlikely combinations are ranked higher. Those are the probabilities and odds for all 5-card poker hands:

Poker Hand Odds for Texas Hold’em

If you’re playing Texas Hold’em, you have 7 cards to chose your hand from. There are 133,784,560 to deal 7 random cards. This changes the odds and probabilities for all poker hands a bit. Those are the probabilities and odds for all Texas Hold’em Poker hands:

Poker rankings pdf

Technically it’s more likely that you’re dealt at least a pair in Texas Hold’em than holding only high card. But “High Card” still remains the lowest rank.

FAQ: Poker Hand Rankings

Does 2 pairs beat a straight?

When playing Texas Hold’em (or any other popular poker variant) 2 pairs are always ranked below a straight.

Does 3 Aces beat a straight?

3 Aces are just trips (or three of a kind) in poker. When playing regular Texas Hold’em a straight is ranked above trips. There are however rule variations where trips can bet a straight, namely Short Deck Hold’em, a poker variant where all cards below 5 are removed.

Does 5 of a kind beat a royal flush?

In regular poker variants there are is no 5-of-kind rank. When playing with wildcards (joker) 5 of a kind are possible. In this case 5 of a kind are the highest possible poker hand and beat a royal flush.

Does a full house beat 3 aces?

Every full house always beats trips, no matter the rank of the trips. Even trip aces are always ranked below every possible full house.

Does Royal Straight beat flush?

A Royal Flush is the best possible poker hand and of course always beats any other flush.

Does straight beat a full house?

Every common poker variant, including Texas Hold’em, ranks a Full House above a straight. So no, a Straight never beats a Full House in Poker.

What beats a royal flush?

In all regular modern poker variations (including Texas Hold’em and Omaha) a Royal Flush is always the highest possible hand rank. A higher rank is only possible when playing with a Joker. In this case 5 of a kind (4 Aces plus Joker) beats a Royal Flush.

What can beat a flush in poker?

A Flush is a very strong hand in poker. The only hands that beat a Flush are Full House, Quads, Straight Flush, and Royal Flush.

How rare is a royal flush?

A Royal Flush is extremely rare. When playing Texas Hold’em you’ll only get one every 31,000 hands. And that assumes you never fold. The hand is so rare that most poker players can remember all Royal Flushes they have been dealt in their life time.

What are the odds of hitting a straight flush?

Straight Flushes are almost as rare as Royal Flushes. When playing Texas Hold’em you will hit a Straight Flush roughly every 3,600 hands (assuming you never fold any hand that can make a Straight Flush).

Can you have 3 pairs in poker?

There is no “3 pair” hand rank in poker. When playing Texas Hold’em it’s technically possible to have three pairs, but since a poker hand only consists of 5 cards only the 2 highest pairs are in play. For example, if you hold Q-J and the board reads Q-J-6-A-A you only have two pair: Aces and Queens.

Does Royal Flush have to be spades?

A Royal Flush can be any of the 4 suits, spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs. It’s just that usually a Royal Flush is depicted in spades or hearts. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter which suit, a Royal Flush is always the best Texas Hold’em Poker Hand.

How many kickers can you have in poker?

A poker hand can consist of up to 5 kickers. A player with no pair only has kickers. A player with one pair has 3 kickers, a player with trips has 2 kickers, and a player with 2 pair or quads has 1 kicker.

Is Ace a 1 in poker?

When building a straight an Ace can be used as a virtual “1” in poker. Meaning, A-2-3-4-5 is a straight. There are also lowball poker variations where the Ace counts as the lowest card.

Is an Ace 2 3 4 5 a straight?

Yes, the ace can count as the lowest card in a straight and function as a “1” when combined with 2-3-4-5.

Is JQKA 2 a straight?

A straight cannot go “around the corner”, the Ace can only be either the highest or the lowest card, not a card in the middle. So no, J-Q-K-A-2 is no straight in poker.

Is Queen King Ace 2 3 a straight?

A straight cannot go “around the corner”, the Ace can only be either the highest or the lowest card, not a card in the middle. So no, Q-K-A-2-3 is no straight in poker.

Is there a kicker on a straight?

For a straight you need to use all 5 cards. There are no cards left for a kicker. The rank of the straight is determined by the highest card. E.g. an ace-high straight beats a queen-high straight.

What is a flush in poker?

A flush in poker is hand which consists of 5 cards of the same suit. The same color (red or black) is not enough. It has to 5 spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.

What is the highest royal flush in poker?

There are no distinctions between the 4 possible Royal Flushes in poker. A Royal Flush in spades is as good as a Royal Flush in hearts, diamonds, or clubs.

What is the highest suit in Texas Hold’em poker?

Only in very rare occasions (for example when dealing for the button) the suits are ranked in poker. In this case the ranking is: 1. spades, 2. hearts, 3. diamonds, 4. clubs. Suits are otherwise generally not ranked in poker. A Flush in spades is as good as a flush in any other suit, only the ranks of the cards matter.

What is the lowest pair in a game of poker?

In poker the lowest possible pair is a pair of Deuces (twos).

How do you win bad beat jackpots in poker?

To win a bad beat jackpot in poker you need to lose with a very strong hand, usually a strong Full House (Aces Full). It’s also necessary that both, the winning hand losing player, user both of their hole cards. E.g. losing with quads on the board does not count.

What are the odds of hitting a bad beat jackpot in poker?

The odds of hitting a bad beat jackpot in poker depend on the rules for the jackpot. If you have to lose with Aces Full or better your odds of hitting the bad beat jackpot are 1:58,948. If you have to lose with quads or better your odds are 1:624,609 (assuming a 10 player table where nobody ever folds).

What is a bad beat in poker?

If you lose with a very strong hand against an even stronger hand this is called a “bad beat”. It is also a bad beat if you lose an all-in while being far ahead and you opponent wins by catching some miracle cards.

How many 5 stud poker hands are there?

5 Card Stud is one of the oldest poker variants where each player is dealt 5 cards. There are exactly 2,598,960 different 5 stud poker hands possible.

How many poker hands are there?

There are only 10 distinct poker hand ranks, but if you randomly deal 5 cards from a deck of 52 cards there are exactly 2,598,960 possible card combinations. If you’re playing Texas Hold’em, you have 7 cards to chose your hand from. There are 133,784,560 to deal 7 random cards.

What happens if two hands tie in poker?

It’s possible (and not too uncommon) for two players to have the same hand in poker. In this case the pot is split and both players receive half the pot.

What happens if two people have a royal flush?

When playing Texas Hold’em it’s almost impossible for two players to have a Royal Flush. For that to happen the 5 community cards need to form a Royal Flush. In that case all players in the hand win and split the pot.

What happens if two poker hands are the same?

If two players have the same hand, the pot is split and both players win half of it. This can happen for example if both players have the same cards (e.g. Ace-King) and nobody makes a Flush.

How do you hit a royal flush on video poker?

In Video Poker you can win the jackpot when you hit a Royal Flush. To maximize your chances you should always keep all suited cards 10 or above (if you have at least 2) and discard the rest. You will see a Royal Flush roughly once every 40,000 spins.

What are the odds of hitting a royal flush on a video poker machine?

The odds of hitting a royal flush directly are only 1 in 649,739. But since you can draw one time your odds increase. If you play perfectly your odds of hitting a royal flush are roughly 1 in 40,000.

Relevant Resources

Poker Rankings Pdf

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Hands

This article will look at the entire hierarchy of poker hands, from the highest to lowest. Each hand will be accompanied by a probability outlook, advice on betting strategy if you are holding this hand, and how it compares to the rest of the possible hands you may be betting against.

These rules apply to a number of different types of games that can be found at online poker sites. However, some of them also apply to various casino poker games like Caribbean Stud Poker and Five Card Poker. This is also true of many video poker titles.

List of Poker Hands

The following hands apply to Texas Hold’em. There are nine differentiating categories that are the first consideration when it comes to ranking poker hands against one another. The superiority of hands is then further determined within the category that it sits by the individual card ranking – this is from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. Overall dealing poker cards from a 52-card deck has 2,598,960 distinct hands, but since cards are not ranked by a difference in the suit, there are just 7,462 discrete hand ranks.

Royal Flush: Once in a Lifetime Hand

Poker hand rankings chartRanking

The Royal Flush is an ace-high straight flush, for example, Ace-King-Queen-Jack-10 all of the hearts (or any of the other three suits), it is the highest possible hand a player can hold in poker. There are clearly four possible combinations of this hand, one for each of the four suits; Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades. Landing this hand requires a lot of composure as it is easy to let the excitement of the moment flicker across your face, alerting opponents that you’re holding something strong. Assuming that you don’t hold the Royal Flush out the Flop, it’s advisable to make your first bet small to keep as many parties interested as possible – and then gradually increasing to a maximum amount on the Turn and River.

Probability of a Royal Flush = 1 in 649,739

Straight Flush

The Straight Flush hand is similar in essence to the Royal Flush but the high card doesn’t matter. You’ll need 5 consecutive cards all of the same suits to land this hand. There are 36 combinations of straight flush to be made, and that’s 9 from each suit. Betting on this hand is again a question of concealing the poker face – you’re almost certainly holding the strongest hand at the table, so extracting the most amount of bets from the opposition before going big on the River is the game plan here.

Probability of a Straight Flush = 1 in 3,217

Four of a Kind

When it comes to Four of a Kind it holds a certain unique place in all the poker hand ranked list. Consisting of four of the same card in each of the four suits it can present itself in many different ways. This powerful combination of cards clearly becomes more valuable if the player is holding a pocket pair and able to match it with two on the table, in this scenario it would be impossible for another player to trump your hand unless they have managed to build a Royal or Straight Flush. Again, bet big if you’re lucky enough to land this combination.

Probability of a Four of a Kind = 1 in 594

Poker Hand Rankings Printable Chart

Full House

The Full House is a very strong hand that has won its holders a considerable amount of cash in the past. It consists of a pair and a three of a kind in the same hand. Clearly the minimum requirement here is that a pair is dealt on the table by the dealer. From this, a player could possibly construct a full house if they can build out a three of a kind and match one other card. A Full House is first ranked by the three matching cards and then the pair, in a case where two players have matching three of a kind the pair is then used to determine the winner.

Probability of a Full House = 1 in 39

Flush

A Flush is a mid-strength hand that can be used to win the holder a considerable pot if they play their wagering strategy correctly. The cards needed to form a Flush are simply 5 of the same suit. The higher the face value of the highest card in the Flush is used to determine who wins if two players are holding this hand. If two or more players are both holding the highest card in the Flush, the second card is then consulted, and so on.

Probability of a Flush = 1 in 33

Straight

To land the Straight, a player must form a sequence of 5 consecutive cards by face value, for example, 7-8-9-10-Jack. A powerful hand that will most likely give the holder a lot of confidence to bet big depending on what else has been laid down. The top-ranking Straight also known as “The Broadway” consists of the top ranking cards in the deck in a row, the same as a Royal Flush but without matching suit. The lowest ranking Straight is known in the business as “the Wheel”, holding this should invoke a cautious betting strategy as there is a chance an opponent is holding a higher Straight.

Probability of a Straight = 1 in 22

Three of a Kind

Poker Hand Rankings Pdf

The Three of a Kind is a hand in the bottom half of the poker hand rankings, but it is not without merit. It can be an incredibly powerful hand in the right circumstances. If the Three of a Kind is assembled from a pocket pair and one community card, it is known as a “set”. However, if the Three of a Kind is assembled from a pair of community cards and one hole card, it is known as “trips”. Betting on a set and trips are very different things, and players are advised caution if betting on trips as their position can be easily be trumped by a player with strong hole cards, possibly holding a Full-House.

Probability of a Three of a Kind = 1 in 21

Two Pair

The Two Pair is statistically the most frequent winning hand on average across all poker hands. It is strong enough to win in many cases and comes around often enough to make it occur more than any other winning hands presented on this list. If you’re holding a Two Pair that doesn’t mean you should bet the house though, there are plenty of other stronger combinations out there as we have shown. Tread with caution and always adopt a smart approach to betting strategy when engaging in live poker sessions.

Probability of a Two Pair = 1 in 4.25

One Pair

One Pair accounts for almost half of all poker hands and is by that number the most common of all poker hands to be dealt. To achieve One Pair is fairly easy, simply match two cards together either with the community cards or by holding one hole card matching a community card. This hand is not very strong at all, and therefore should not be bet on too heavily. Approximately 40% of players are able to achieve at least One Pair on any given hand.

Poker Hands Ranking And Probability

Probability of a One Pair = 1 in 2.28

High Card

The High Card is the weakest of all the possible combinations of poker hands. It is determined by the highest card out of the 5. The odds of getting a High Card as your best hand are actually lower than the One Pair and Two Pair, this is because it is more likely you will match something rather than missing with everything with the seven cards available. The only bets you should be making with these are desperate bluffs, and even then it is better to fold early if this one is looking likely. Make sure to educate yourself properly before playing for real money, read our guide to best poker training courses to improve your knowledge.

Probability of a High Card = 1 in 5.74