Poker Hand Rankings ? What Are They?

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 26th, 2010

With poker being as popular as it is today, it is important for every person to understand poker hand rankings. You can be asked to play poker in social situations at any time, and it is wise to be prepared. That way, you can be in the know and impress your friends and family with your poker skill at the same time. So, let?s get started:

There are 52 cards in a deck and the cards within the deck are ranked. The individual cards rank from high to low, starting with the Ace and continuing King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. There is no ranking between the suits and that means all the Jacks are equal, all the Queens are equal, all the Kings are equal and all the Aces are equal.

When playing poker, a poker hand consists of five cards. The hand ranking is as follows:

Royal Flush: This is the best poker hand you can get. It consists of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all of the same suit. As all the suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.

Straight Flush: This is when all five cards of the same suit are in a sequence. This will include hands such as 7 through Jack of Clubs and Ace through 5 of hearts.

Four of a Kind: This is when the hand consists of four cards of the same rank. That means four Aces, four 10?s, or four Queens. Between two Four of a Kinds, the one consisting of the higher ranked cards wins.

Full House: This consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. In between two hands consisting of Full Houses the hand with the higher ranking cards in the set of three wins.

Flush: A flush is five cards with the same suit. In cases where there are two flushes in a hand of poker, the hand with the highest individual cards wins.

Straight: This is when there are five cards with mixed suits in a sequence. For example, this could be a Queen of Spades, Jack of Diamonds, Ten of Hearts, Nine of Spades and Eight of Clubs.

Three of a Kind: This hand consists of three cards of the same rank, plus two other cards of any kind. When comparing two hands of this ranking, the hand with the three higher ranking cards wins.

Two Pair: This is when a player has two cards of the same ranking and one other card of any kind.

Pair: This is a hand with two cards of equal ranking and three other cards that do not match.

High Card: This is the worst hand you can have and consists of five individual cards that do not make any other hands. The highest card of the hand is used to determine the winner.

A hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category. Hands in the same ranking are decided by the individual cards that comprise the hand. In a game where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining cards do not play a part in the poker ranking.