The best hand has five cards
Even with seven cards available on the river, only five make your hand. In Hold’em you can use zero, one or two hole cards. The other cards do not make your hand stronger or break ties.
You can also play poker for free and follow your current hand. The table identifies pairs, three of a kind and other hands, and keeps these rankings available while you play.
If you can see three pairs, remember there is no three-pair category. Choose the two highest pairs and the best fifth card, or a stronger category if available.
Compare the category first
Three twos beat two pair, aces and kings. A full house beats an ace-high flush. Identify the category before deciding the winner from the highest visible card.
A royal flush is the highest straight flush, from ten through ace. Guides often list it separately, but it is the top hand in that category.
If the categories match, compare the ranks
- Pair, three of a kind and four of a kind: start with the repeated rank. Then compare the kickers as needed.
- Two pair: higher pair, lower pair, then the fifth card.
- Full house: compare the three of a kind first and the pair second. Three kings and two twos beat three queens and two aces.
- Straight and straight flush: compare the top card. In A-2-3-4-5, the top card is the five.
- Flush and high card: compare each rank from highest to lowest until one differs.
If two players show a pair of kings and the same top kicker, compare the other kickers if needed. The tie may take more than three cards to resolve.
Which hands use kickers?
One pair has three kickers, two pair has one, three of a kind has two, and four of a kind has one. Kickers complete the five cards and sit outside the repeated group.
Straights, flushes, full houses, straight flushes and royal flushes use all five cards in the combination. There is no extra kicker. Comparing the second or third card in a flush means comparing the flush itself.
When is the pot split?
A tie occurs when the best five cards have the same category and ranks. Suits have no strength order for breaking ties.
If the board makes an ace-high straight and nobody can make a higher category, low hole cards do not change the hand. A sixth card cannot break the tie.
Compare each pot separately among eligible players. A shorter stack may win the main pot without contesting a side pot. Table rules govern odd chips.
Which poker games use these rankings?
This guide uses traditional Texas Hold’em high-hand rankings. Traditional Omaha uses the same categories but requires exactly two hole cards and three community cards.
Lowball, Razz, Hi/Lo and some Short Deck rules use different criteria. Do not apply a variant’s special rule to standard Hold’em.