Poker-hand rankings chart (strongest to weakest) and cheat sheet

The poker hand rankings are a useful tool for determining in-game decisions since they classify the power of the various hands you can play.

A standard poker-hand rankings system underlies all variations of the game by rating the relative strength of different sorts of poker hands so that players may choose which is the best.

It’s employed in popular poker games like Texas Holdem and Omaha, as well as poker-based casino games like 3-card poker. If you’re serious about winning, you must understand it.

Poker-hand rankings: from strongest to weakest

1. Royal flush

The royal flush is the finest possible hand in poker and ranks first in the rankings. It consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit, numbered 10 through ace.

2. Straight flush

A straight flush is any five cards in the same suit with successive values that aren’t a royal flush. Only a royal flush or another straight flush with higher-ranking cards may defeat it.

3. Four of a kind

In all four suits, the same card. The highest card among the others on the table or in your hand completes the five-card hand.

4. Full house

A hand consisting of three identical value cards in three distinct suits (three of a kind) and two identical rank cards in two different suits. When more than one player has a full house, the winning hand is the three-of-a-kind with the highest value.

5. Flush

In any sequence, five cards of the same suit are dealt. The flush with the highest valued card is the winning poker hand when two players hold flushes.

6. Straight

Five cards with consecutive number values and several suits. An ace can normally be either high (above a king) or low (below a 2) in the same hand, but not both.

7. Three of a kind

Three cards of the same rank in three different suits make up a poker hand. Aside from the three of a kind, the hand is completed with the two highest accessible cards.

8. Two pairs

Two separate sets of two identical cards. The hand is completed with the highest-ranked remaining card.

9. Pair

A pair of cards in different suits with the same rank. The remaining cards in the hand are made up of the three highest ranking cards.

10. High card

The hand with the lowest rating. Your ‘best hand’ is the top card in your hand. It’s the king of spades in this situation.

This poker-hand rankings cheat sheet, which you may save to your desktop or mobile device, is a useful ally in both physical and online poker games until you’ve memorized the rankings.

Poker hand rankings: ‘Hi’ games, ‘Lo’ games and ‘Hi-Lo’ games

It’s worth noting that not all poker games choose the best hand based on the poker hand rankings’ highest ranked hand. In most game types, poker-hand rankings determine the best poker hand in one of three methods.

Hi or high-hand poker

‘Hi’ games, perhaps the most straightforward application of rankings, determine the best poker hand based on the hand that ranks highest on the chart above.

Commonly played examples include: Texas Holdem, Seven-Card Stud

Lo, low-hand or lowball poker

Lowball poker hand rankings invert traditional poker hand rankings, making the lowest-ranking hand the best possible. Depending on whether the ace is high or low and whether straights and flushes are considered, many versions of low-hand poker exist.

Commonly played examples include: Razz

Hi-lo or high-low split poker

High-low split games are the third approach to poker hand rankings, in which the pot is shared between the player with the highest-ranking poker hand and the player with the lowest-ranking poker hand.

Commonly played examples include: Omaha Hi-Lo

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