Reference guide
Texas Hold’em Poker Hand Rankings
Texas Hold’em compares the strongest five-card hand each eligible player can make from up to seven available cards: two hole cards and five community cards.
Hand order: strongest to weakest
- Straight Flush: five consecutive cards of one suit.
- Four of a Kind: four cards of the same rank.
- Full House: three of one rank plus a pair.
- Flush: five cards of one suit.
- Straight: five consecutive ranks.
- Three of a Kind: three cards of one rank.
- Two Pair: two pairs of different ranks.
- One Pair: two cards of one rank.
- High Card: none of the categories above.
A “Royal Flush” is the common name for the highest straight flush: 10, J, Q, K, and A of the same suit. It is not a separate authoritative category.
Use the best five cards
You do not have to use both hole cards. For example, if the board is A, K, Q, J, and 10 in mixed suits, every remaining player has the same ace-high straight from the board unless a stronger five-card hand is available.
When the board plays
If the best five cards are all on the board, hole cards do not break the tie. Eligible players with exactly the same best five split the relevant pot.
Kickers and tie breakers
When players share the same category, the relevant ranks are compared in order. For example, if two players each have one pair of aces, the higher remaining kicker can decide the hand. If every compared value is equal, the hands tie.
Common beginner reminders
- The wheel, A-2-3-4-5, is a valid straight with five high.
- A flush is not automatically stronger than every other hand; the ranking order above decides that.
- Folded players do not win a pot, even if their cards would otherwise have made a strong hand.
Read how a Texas Hold’em hand unfolds or return to the Poker overview.