The rules of poker are simple and the way the hands are ranked is very straight forward. In total there are 10 different kinds of hands you can have. These hands are ranked from top to bottom from the Royal Flush to the single high card.

In Texas Hold’em poker, the most popular form of poker, it doesn’t matter where the cards are coming from. You can make a hand from the two cards in your hand with three cards on the table, one card in your hand with four on the table or with all five cards that are on the table. Do note that if you have a hand with all five cards on the table, your opponent will have at least that hand as well and possibly better.

In Pot Limit Omaha the rules are quite different. Make sure to read our guide and watch the video on Pot Limit Omaha for more information.

Basic order of the poker cards

Poker follows the same basic order of cards as most other card games. The highest card is an Ace, followed by King, Queen and Jack. From there it goes down in numbers from 10 until 2. This means that a pair of Aces is higher than a pair of Kings and a three of a kind of Jacks will beat a three of a kind of 7s

Poker Hand Order

Are you nto sure on what beats what in poker, the image above can be of great value to you. The image shows there are ten kind of combinations you can make in Texas Hold’em Poker. No matter which cards you hold in your hand and which the board will show, you will always make one of these ten hands.

Here we will give some additional information regarding the hand order in poker, and what you need to make a certain hand.

We start with the strongest hands you can make in Poker.

The Royal Flush is the best possible combination in Poker. You have to be incredibly lucky to get this hand as it occurs seldomly. There are players who have played for years and never had a royal flush. A royal flush means you will have the A, K, Q, J and 10 all from the same suit. With this hand you are guaranteed to win, unless the royal flush will be on the board, then it will always be a split pot.

Straight flush, the second strongest hand in poker. To get a straight flush you need five cards in a row all from the same suit. If the board for example shows the 5, 6, 7 and 9 of diamonds and you have the 8 of diamonds you will still have a guaranteed win as the others can not have that 8 of diamonds. If the board shows 5, 6, 7, 8 of diamonds and you have the 4 of diamonds you will have to be a bit more careful as the 9 of diamonds would beat you. The higher the straight flush is, the better.

Four of a kind, another hand with which it is very hard to lose! When you have four cards of the same value for example four Queens, you have a four of a kind. If there on a rare occasion are four queens on the board, the highest card for both you and your opponents will complete the hand, having an Ace in this case will give you the win or at least a split pot.

Full House, this is a combination of two weaker hands we will get to in a bit, the three of a kind and a pair. An example of a Full house is 10, 10, 10, 8, 8. If you and your opponent both have a full house the three of a kind is the most important who has the highest here will win the hand, if this is equal the pair will decide, if it is still equal? You guessed it a split pot.

Flush, five cards of the same suit. If you have two hearts in your hand and there are three (or more) more on the board you have a flush. Another strong hand with which you will often win. Always be careful what the board looks like though if you for example have an Ace and Jack of hearts in your hand and the board is K(h), Q(h), 7(h), Q(d), K(d), you do have the flush but if a different player has either a king or a queen he will beat you with a full house. With the flush it is again about the highest cards, your A, J of hearts will for example beat a 5, 4 of hearts in the previous example.

The weaker hands

We continue or hand order with the weaker hands in poker. These hands occur a lot more than the strong hands, but you can still have “the nuts” if you have a straight or even a three of a kind (set). So while they are weaker don’t necessarily see them as weak, always keep an eye on the board and what combinations are possible with this board.

The straight, having a series of five cards that follow each other will give you a straight. For example, 7, 8, 9, 10, J. You can use the Ace as either the highest card or lowest card in the game for a straight. So, you can make a straight from ace to five or from ten to ace.

Three of a kind. Three times the same card without anything extra gives you a three of a kind. If the board is A, A, J, 7, 4 and you have an Ace and a king you have a three of a kind. An other example is when you have two Aces in your hand and there is another ace on the board, you will have a there of kind, however poker players often call this a set.

Two Pair, it is in the name you have two pairs. If you have A, K and the board is A, 7, 5, 5, 2 you have two pairs Aces and fives. The king will complete your hand, this card is called your kicker.

Pair, even easier you have just a pair. If you play 4-5 and the board is A, Q, 10, 9, 5 you have a pair of fives, you will get beaten by a higher pair of course, this is not a hand you want to play for a lot of money.

The high card, with the cards on the board and your cards in your hand you have made absolutely nothing. If you have a king and a queen in your hand and the board is 10, 8, 7, 3, 2 you have a high card K. You will beat for example someone who has K, J as your second card beats the other players second card. Again don’t put in too much money with this hand.

Highest card in straight or flush decides

If you have the same hand as an opponent, for example a straight, it matters what the highest card in the straight is. So, a straight that goes from 10 until an Ace beats a straight that goes from 9 until a King. The same goes for all other hands where the hands are of the same kind.

Your high cards finish the hand

If the poker hand isn’t formed with five cards, for example with four of a kind, the last card is the highest card that is available. This can be a card you have in your hands or a card that’s lying on the table. The same goes for Two Pair and one Pair.

Poker hands cheat sheet to download and keep

If you’re still learning to play online poker, it might a good idea to keep the poker cheat sheet above as a reference. You can download the image and open it when you are playing poker to keep track of which hands beats which.

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