Play Poker - Hand Rankings

Poker hands are always five cards. For example, even though each player in a seven-card stud game has seven cards, only the best five of those cards play. Poker has no six- or seven-card hands. Thus, the seven-card stud hand As Ad Qs Qd 6h 5d 3c beats Ks Kd 9h 9s 7s 7d 2s, even though the second hand contains three pairs while the first has two pairs. Similarly, if a hold'em board was 9s 9h 7d Js 7c, the pot would be split between two players holding 6s 6d and 5c 5h, even though the player with the two sixes was ahead until the river card. At the end, both players hold the two pair hand 9s 9h 7d 7c, with a jack kicker. Neither player can produce a higher kicker from his hand; neither player's pocket pair can result in a higher five-card hand than what is on the board.

High Hands

These are the winning high hands in high only and high-low split games, from highest to lowest. Any hand in one category in the list beats any hand in any category below it. For example, any straight flush beats any four of a kind; any flush beats any straight.

royal flush:

Five cards in sequence with all five cards of the same suit. The highest straight flush, having an ace as its high card, has a special name, royal flush.

Any lesser straight flush does not have a unique name. In a showdown among players holding straight flushes, the hand with the highest top card wins. 10d 9d 8d 7d 6d beats 9s 8s 7s 6s 5s.

four of a kind:

Four cards of the same rank. Also known as quads.

In a showdown among players holding four of a kind, the hand with the highest rank wins. Kd Kc Kh Ks 5d beats Jc Jh Jd Js Ad. If multiple hands each contain the same four of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest side card wins. Kd Kc Kh Ks Ah beats Kd Kc Kh Ks Qd.

full house:

Three cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank.
In a showdown among players holding full houses, the hand with the highest three of a kind wins. 7h 7s 7d 3h 3s beats 6s 6c 6h Ad Ah. If multiple hands each contain the same full house (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest pair wins. Kd Kh Ks As Ac beats Kd Kh Ks Qh Qd.

flush:

Five cards of the same suit.

In a showdown among players holding flushes, the hand topped with the highest one or more cards wins. When the top card is tied, the next card is compared; when the top two cards are tied, the third card is compared; and so on. Ah 8h 7h 6h 5h beats Ks Qs Js 9s 8s, and Jd 10d 9d 8d 4d beats Jc 10c 9c 7c 6c.

straight:

Five consecutive cards. An ace can be high or low.

In a showdown among players holding straights, the hand with the highest top card wins. Ts 9d 8d 7c 6c beats 8s 7h 6h 5c 4c.

three of a kind:

Three cards of the same rank. Also known as trips or, especially in flop games, a set.

n a showdown among players holding three of a kind, the hand with the highest rank wins. Jh Jc Js 3d 2c beats 10s 10c 10h Ah Kc. If multiple hands each contain the same three of a kind (which could occur in a community card game), the hand with the highest side cards wins. Jh Jc Js Ah Kc beats Jh Jc Jd Ah Qd.

two pair:

Two cards of one rank plus two cards of another rank.

In a showdown among players holding two pair, the hand with the highest pair wins. As Ac 2h 2s 3d beats Kd Kc Qh Qs Jd. In a showdown among players holding the same top pair, the hand with the highest second pair wins. 10s 10c 8s 8c 4d beats 10h 10d 7s 7h Ad. In a showdown among players holding the same two pairs, the hand with the highest side card (also known as kicker) wins. Jh Jd 9h 9d 4h beats Js Jc 9c 9s 3s.

one pair:

Two cards of the same rank.

In a showdown among players holding one pair, the hand with the highest pair wins. Ah Ad 5d 4h 3c beats Kh Kd Ac Qd Js. In a showdown among players holding the same pair, the hand with the highest one or more side cards wins. Js Jh 9d 8s 4d beats Jc Jd 9h 8c 3s.

no pair:

None of the above.

If no hand has a pair or better at the showdown, the hand topped by the highest one or more cards wins. When the top card is tied, the next card is compared; when the top two cards are tied, the third card is compared; and so on. Ac 9s 5d 4c 2h beats Kd Qs Jd 10c 8h, and Jh 10c 9h 7c 4d beats Jc 10h 9s 7s 2d.

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Low Hands

High-low split games generally have a qualifier for low. That is, to be eligible to win the low half of a pot, a hand must consist of five distinct cards, none higher than an eight. If any of these five cards are paired, that is not a low hand. Straights and flushes, however, can be disregarded. The best low hand would be A-2-3-4-5, or a "wheel". The suits don't matter. Of the five cards you use to make a low hand, it is the highest of these that determines your hand. So 7-4-3-2-1 would be a 7-low, and 6-5-4-3-2 would be a 6-low. If both you and your opponent have the same high card, you look to the next highest card. in the 7-4-3-2-1 example, your hand is a 7-4. That would beat a 7-5-3-2-1. The lowest hand wins. If you're still having trouble working it out, take the five lowest unpaired cards, and see who has the highest hand. That person loses. For purposes of low games, aces are always low.

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Wheel:

(Remember that straights and flushes don't count against a low hand.)

6-4

6-5-3-2-A

6-5-4-2-A

6-5-4-3-A

6-5-4-3-2

7-4-3-2-A

7-5-3-2-A

And

There are 56 hands from a wheel to the worst hand that qualifies for low, 8-7-6-5-4 of any suit combination.

What Beats What

Any 6-high hand beats any 7- or 8-high hand.

Any 7-high hand beats any 8-high hand.

7-5-3-2-A beats 7-6-3-2-A

8-7-3-2-A beats 8-7-4-2-A

8-7-6-5-3 beats 8-7-6-5-4

… and so on.

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Low Hands - Razz

In low-only games, such as Razz, there is no 8 qualifier. If a player cannot make a five card hand with five cards of different ranks, the normal high hand rankings are used, but the lowest-ranked hand wins. For example, if the one player has 5c 5d 6c 6s 9h Qd Qs, his best low would be 5-5-6-9-Q, for a pair of 5's for low. If another player has 2d 3d 3c Td Th Kh Ks, her best low hand would be 2-3-3-T-K, for a pair of 3's for low. The pair of 3's would be a better low than the pair of 5's, since that hand ranks lower as a high hand. Aces are considered low, so a pair of aces would beat a pair of 2's for low. It is possible for a player's best low to be two pair, three of a kind, or even a full house. In those cases, the high hand rankings are still used in reverse, so one pair beats two pair, two pair beats three of a kind, and three of a kind beats a full house. Within each ranking, the hands are ordered as they are with high hands, except that the lower hand wins. For example, 5c 5d 5s 7d 7c would be a better low than 6c 6d 6h 2d 2s. Again, aces are considered low, so Ac Ad As Kc Kd would beat 2d 2h 2s Qd Qh.

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