Beginner's Guide to Poker Hand Ranks

You may be wondering, why discuss the Poker Hand Rankings? It’s a good question. The reason is quite simple.

Here is a quick reference guide for you to print out and use as a reference, just in case you ever need to check back to verify what you already know! We’ll start with the lowest possible winning hands and go up from there.

• HIGH CARD ACE

For example, A-9-5-3-2 In case of a tie, then the next highest card would be determined as the winning card.

• ONE PAIR

Highest pair wins, in the event of a tie then the highest card wins Example 97332

• TWO PAIR

Two Pair Example Q-Q-4-4-2

• THREE OF A KIND

Three cards of the same numerical or face card rank Example: KKK94

• STRAIGHT

Five cards in sequence Example: 7-8-9-10-J

• FLUSH Five Cards of the same suit, Example: 5-6-7-8-9 all of Hearts

• FULL HOUSE Two Cards of one rank and three cards of another Example: Q-Q-J-J-J

• FOUR OF A KIND Four of the same exact cards Example 5-5-5-5-2

• STRAIGHT FLUSH 5 Cards in the same suit in numerical order Example: 2-3-4-5-6 of Clubs

• ROYAL FLUSH The most beautiful poker hand you will find! Same suit A-K-Q-J-10

Hopefully these few tips will help you the next time you sit down at a Poker table and find that some of the hand rankings aren’t fresh on your mind like you had hoped! This is handy to keep somewhere close to your computer as a “cheat sheet” if you are new to the game and still want to have a little more confidence in your play. Try using it for a while, and then you can put it away when you don’t need it as a crutch anymore!

Do keep in mind; because each poker game is different, sometimes it helps to keep a cheat sheet around for hand rankings when you are playing numerous online games, especially if you have the tendency to jump in and out of different games. The most common mistake you find new players making in Texas Hold’em is the three of a kind and straight , if you don’t know that a straight beats a three of a kind, you’ll remember it after it beats you a few times!