Texas Hold'em Hand Rankings
Every Texas Hold'em hand is the best five-card combination you can make from your two hole cards and the five community cards. Here are the ten ranked categories, strongest first, with an example of each and the rules that break ties.
| Rank | Hand | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Flush | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ T♠ | A, K, Q, J, 10 all of one suit — the best possible hand. |
| 2 | Straight Flush | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ | Five cards in sequence, all the same suit. |
| 3 | Four of a Kind | Q♠ Q♥ Q♦ Q♣ 7♠ | All four cards of one rank, plus a kicker. Also called "quads." |
| 4 | Full House | J♠ J♥ J♣ 4♦ 4♠ | Three of one rank and two of another ("trips full of a pair"). |
| 5 | Flush | A♦ J♦ 8♦ 5♦ 2♦ | Five cards of one suit, not in sequence. |
| 6 | Straight | 9♠ 8♦ 7♣ 6♥ 5♠ | Five cards in sequence of mixed suits. |
| 7 | Three of a Kind | 8♠ 8♥ 8♦ K♣ 4♠ | Three cards of one rank ("trips" or a "set"). |
| 8 | Two Pair | A♠ A♦ 6♣ 6♥ K♠ | Two cards of one rank and two of another, plus a kicker. |
| 9 | One Pair | T♠ T♥ A♣ 8♦ 3♠ | Two cards of one rank and three unrelated cards. |
| 10 | High Card | A♠ J♦ 9♣ 6♥ 3♠ | No pair or better — the hand is judged by its highest cards. |
How ties are broken
When two players share the same category, the higher-value hand wins, and a kicker — the highest unrelated card — settles otherwise-equal hands:
- Pairs and trips: the higher rank wins first (a pair of Kings beats a pair of Queens). Equal ranks compare kickers in order, so A-A-K-x-x beats A-A-Q-x-x.
- Two pair: compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the kicker.
- Straights and flushes: the highest top card wins. Two flushes are compared card-by-card from the top.
- Full house: the rank of the three-of-a-kind decides it first, then the pair.
The wheel: the Ace can be the low end of a straight, making 5-4-3-2-A (the smallest straight, the "wheel"). It cannot wrap around the top, so Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight.
Notes for Hold'em
- You always make the best five cards out of the seven available. With four hearts on the board and one in your hand, you have a flush, even though only one of your hole cards is used.
- The board can be the best hand. If five community cards make a straight and nobody can beat it, everyone still in the hand splits the pot.
- Suits have no ranking value — two flushes of identical ranks in different suits tie and split the pot.
The calculator's Hand odds panel uses exactly these ten categories, showing how often each player ends up with each one. See the how-to guide for where to find it, or jump to Poker Odds & Probability for the math behind making them.