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Poker Hand Rankings: Every Hand from Royal Flush to High Card

All ten poker hands in order, with the maths behind the ranking, seven-card odds, kicker and tie-break rules, and how lowball games differ.

By the Gambling Hero editorial team · October 25, 2026 Industry

Poker hand rankings order the ten five-card hands from royal flush, the highest, down to high card, the lowest. A rarer hand beats a more common one, and the same order applies in Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Seven-Card Stud.

In short

There are ten poker hands. From highest to lowest: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. The order follows the maths: of 2,598,960 possible five-card hands, only 4 are royal flushes and 1,302,540 are high-card hands. Suits never rank in a pot decision, so identical hands split the pot. Ties are broken by card ranks, then kickers.

What are the ten poker hands in order?

The ten poker hands, from highest to lowest, are royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. Each poker hand contains exactly five cards, even when more cards are available.

Rank	Hand	What it is	Example	Five-card combinations
1	Royal flush	A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit	A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠	4
2	Straight flush	Five in sequence, one suit	9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥	36
3	Four of a kind	Four cards of one rank	Q Q Q Q 4	624
4	Full house	Three of a kind plus a pair	J J J 6 6	3,744
5	Flush	Five of one suit, not in sequence	K♦ 10♦ 8♦ 4♦ 2♦	5,108
6	Straight	Five in sequence, mixed suits	8 7 6 5 4	10,200
7	Three of a kind	Three cards of one rank	7 7 7 K 2	54,912
8	Two pair	Two different pairs	A A 9 9 3	123,552
9	One pair	Two cards of one rank	10 10 A 8 5	1,098,240
10	High card	None of the above	A J 9 6 3	1,302,540

Combination counts: Wizard of Odds, five-card table (2,598,960 hands in total). The royal flush is the highest straight flush; The straight flush count of 36 excludes the 4 royals. Every game on our poker games page uses this order.

Why does a rarer poker hand beat a more common one?

A rarer poker hand beats a more common one because the ranking is built on probability. A flush appears in 5,108 of 2,598,960 five-card hands (0.197%), a straight in 10,200 (0.392%), so the flush, being half as frequent, ranks higher.

A full house (3,744 combinations, 0.144%) beats a flush. Four of a kind (624 combinations, 0.024%) beats a full house. Any step can be checked by counting. Four of a kind: 13 possible ranks for the four cards × 48 possible fifth cards = 624.

How are ties between two hands of the same rank broken?

Ties between two poker hands of the same rank are broken by comparing card ranks, never suits. Robert’s Rules of Poker states that suits do not break a tie for a pot. If all five cards match in rank, the pot is split.

The 3-step tie-break settles almost every showdown:

Compare the hand type. A flush beats any straight, whatever the card values.
Compare the cards that make the hand. In a full house, the three of a kind counts first: J-J-J-2-2 beats 10-10-10-A-A. In two pair, the higher pair counts first, then the lower pair.
Compare the kickers. The leftover cards decide in order from highest to lowest. A-A-K-7-3 beats A-A-Q-J-10 because the king beats the queen.

Hand A	Hand B	Winner	Why
8-7-6-5-4	A-2-3-4-5	A	An eight-high straight beats a five-high straight
Q♥ 10♥ 7♥ 5♥ 3♥	Q♠ 10♠ 7♠ 5♠ 3♠	Split	Same ranks; suits do not count

Only five cards play. In Texas Hold’em, a sixth or seventh card never breaks a tie, so players often split when the board holds the strongest five cards. The full hand flow is in How to Play Poker: Rules, Betting Rounds and Hand Values.

How do the odds of each hand change with seven cards?

With seven cards, as in Texas Hold’em and Seven-Card Stud, every strong hand becomes more common. Wizard of Odds counts 133,784,560 seven-card sets: two pair rises to 23.5%, and high card falls to 17.4%, below one pair.

Hand	Five cards	Seven cards
Royal flush	0.00015%	0.0032%
Straight flush	0.0014%	0.028%
Four of a kind	0.024%	0.17%
Full house	0.14%	2.60%
Flush	0.20%	3.03%
Straight	0.39%	4.62%
Three of a kind	2.11%	4.83%
Two pair	4.75%	23.50%
One pair	42.26%	43.82%
High card	50.12%	17.41%

Online poker deals with a random number generator (RNG), so a fair site gives the same frequencies. One detail surprises many players. With seven cards, three of a kind (4.83%) is only slightly more common than a straight (4.62%). The ranking still uses the five-card order, so a straight beats three of a kind in every game.

Which hand-ranking mistakes do beginners make most often?

The hand-ranking mistakes beginners make most often involve straights, flushes and the board. Common errors are counting a wrap-around straight, missing the five-high straight with an ace, assuming four suited cards are a flush, and forgetting that only five cards play.

The ace plays high or low. A-2-3-4-5 is a straight (the lowest one). A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest.
No wrap-around. Q-K-A-2-3 is not a straight. It is ace high.
A flush needs five cards. Four hearts plus a spade is a high-card hand.
Omaha is different. Four hearts on the board plus one heart in hand is not a flush in Omaha, because exactly two hole cards must play. See Omaha Poker Rules: How Pot-Limit Omaha Differs from Hold’em.

Editor’s insight

The seven-card table explains a common beginner error. With five cards, a pair or better appears in 49.9% of deals, so a pair feels strong. With seven cards, 82.6% of final hands contain at least a pair (100% − 17.41%), and 38.8% contain two pair or better (100% − 43.82% − 17.41%). At a full Hold’em table, several players often reach the river with a pair or more. That makes the kicker, and the second pair, decide many showdowns.

Do hand rankings change in lowball or hi-lo games?

Hand rankings change in lowball and hi-lo games, where the lowest hand wins all or half of the pot. Robert’s Rules of Poker defines three common low systems: ace-to-five, deuce-to-seven and the eight-or-better qualifier used in hi-lo games.

System	Used in	Lowest (winning) hand	Straights and flushes
Ace-to-five	Razz, ace-to-five lowball	5-4-3-2-A	Do not count
Deuce-to-seven	2-7 lowball	7-5-4-3-2, not all one suit	Count against you; ace is high only
Eight-or-better	Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud Hi-Lo	5-4-3-2-A; no card above 8	Do not count for low

In a hi-lo game, the high half still uses the standard ranking. Without a qualifying low, the high hand wins the whole pot.

Important

Knowing the hand rankings does not give anyone an edge in real-money poker. The card room takes a fee from pots, and short-term results swing widely. Set a deposit limit before you play (see our deposit limits guide) and use the tools on our responsible gambling page if you need help.

Our take

Poker hand rankings are pure maths, and in our view that makes them the easiest part of poker to remember. Fewer combinations means a higher rank, with no exceptions in standard poker. The part worth practising is the tie-break, because at a Hold’em table most showdowns are between pairs and two pairs, not between flushes and full houses. Practise it until it is automatic. Online software reads hands for you; at a live table, the cards speak, so always turn your hand face up at showdown.

Key takeaways

There are 10 hand ranks and 2,598,960 possible five-card hands.
Only 4 five-card hands are royal flushes; 1,302,540 are high card.
A flush (5,108 combinations) beats a straight (10,200 combinations).
With seven cards, two pair occurs 23.5% of the time and high card 17.4%.
Suits never break a tie for the pot; identical ranks split it.

FAQ

Does a straight beat three of a kind?

Yes. There are 10,200 five-card straights and 54,912 three-of-a-kind hands, so the straight is rarer and ranks higher.

Is A-2-3-4-5 a straight?

Yes. A-2-3-4-5, the wheel, is the lowest straight. The ace plays low here, but K-A-2 never connects.

Which suit is the highest in poker?

No suit is higher for winning a pot. Robert’s Rules of Poker uses a suit order only for side tasks such as awarding an odd chip, not for deciding hands.

What happens if two players have the same hand?

The pot is split equally. Suits do not matter and no sixth card is used.