Poker is played with a 52 card deck and the ranking of individual cards is according to their face value, where suits are irrelevant. It is possible in some variants of the game for a wild card to be used as well. In every type of a Poker game, the final hand is always consisted of five cards. Hands are comprised of different combinations between cards and the ranking order of hands from the highest to the lowest is as follows:

• Royal Flush

  10
  J
  Q
  K
  A
   

• Straight Flush

  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
   

• Four of a Kind

  K
  K
  K
  K
  4
   

• Full House

  K
  K
  5
  5
  5
   

• Flush

  3
  5
  6
  9
  Q
   

• Straight

  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
   

• Three of a Kind

  J
  J
  J
  2
  7
   

• Two Pairs

  A
  A
  7
  7
  9
   

• One Pair

  J
  J
  2
  5
  9
   

• High Card

  A
  Q
  10
  3
  2
   

Explanation of the Hands

• Royal Flush

This is the strongest hand in Poker consisted of the five highest cards of the same suit. There could be a tie between two royal flushes.

• Straight Flush

The hand is consisted of five consecutive cards of the same suit. If there are more than one straight flushes during the game, the one with the highest top card wins, or if equal a tie is possible.

• Four of a Kind

The hand is consisted of four cards of the same rank. The fifth card in the hand is irrelevant.

• Full House

The hand is consisted of three cards of the same rank and two of another one. If there are more than one full houses during the game, the one with the highest set of a triple wins, or if equal a tie is possible.

• Flush

The hand is consisted of five cards of the same suit but not consecutive. If there are more than one straight flushes during the game, the one with the highest top card wins; if the top cards are equal the second highest cards are compared and so on. There could be a tie between flushes if all cards are equal.

• Straight

The hand is consisted of five consecutive cards of different suits. If there are more than one straights during the game, the one with the highest top card wins, or if equal a tie is possible.

• Three of a Kind

The hand is consisted of three cards of the same rank. The other two cards are irrelevant.

• Two Pairs

The hand is consisted of two different pairs of cards of the same rank. If there are more than one two-pair hands, the one with higher top pair wins; if pairs are the same the hand with highest fifth card wins, or if equal a tie is possible.

• One Pair

The hand is consisted of two cards from the same rank. If there are more than one one-pair hands during the game, the one with highest cards wins; if pairs are the same hand with highest random card wins, or if equal a tie is possible.

• High Card

The hand is consisted only of random cards. The one with highest card wins, or if equal a tie is possible.

Related Articles:

Online poker

Texas Hold'em poker

Omaha Hold'em poker

Seven Card Stud poker