Five cards in a sequence in the same suit are called a straight flush. If two straight flushes compete, the hand with the highest-ranking cards in the flush sequence wins. For example, a hand composed of A-K-Q-J-10 (Royal Flush) beats a hand composed of K-Q-J-10-9. The royal flush is the highest standard hand and beats all other hands.



Four of a Kind

Any four cards of the same rank form four of a kind. If two players have four of a kind, the hand with the four higher cards wins.

Full House

Three of a kind and one pair form a full house. The full house with three of a kind with highest-ranking cards wins against another full house with lower ranking three of a kind.

A hand of any five cards all of the same suit is called a flush. A flush with the highest-ranking cards beats another flush hand. If the highest cards from each players hand tie, the next highest-ranking cards determine the winner, and so on.

Straight

A hand of any five cards in sequence, but not of the same suit is a straight. The straight with the highest-ranking cards at the head of the sequence is the winner against another straight hand. The highest possible straight is A-K-Q-J-10. The lowest possible straight is 5-4-3-2-A.

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank, such as three 8s, form three of a kind. The highest-ranking three cards wins against another three of a kind. Three aces are the highest; three 2s are the lowest.

Two Pair

Two cards of the same rank and two matching cards of any other rank form two pair. The hand with the highest-ranking pair wins against another hand of two pair. If the highest-ranking pair ties, the hand with the second highest-ranking pair wins. If all the pairs in both hands tie, the hand with the highest-ranking fifth card wins.

One Pair

Any two cards of the same rank form one pair. The hand with the highest-ranking pair wins against another hand of one pair. If both hands have the same pair, the highest ranking unmatched card in the hand determines the winner. If the highest-ranking unmatched cards tie, the next highest-ranking unmatched cards are compared, and so on.

High Card

A hand with no matched cards is called high card. The hand is commonly referred to as the “runt!” With two competing high card hands, the hand with the highest-ranking card wins. If the highest-ranking unmatched cards tie, the next highest-ranking unmatched cards are compared, and so on.

Other Poker Hand Rules Rules For Aces

In a straight, the Ace can rank either high or low, depending on the card sequence. The ace is high in the sequence A-K-Q-J-10. Aces rank low in the sequence 5-4-3-2-A. You cannot use the ace to wrap a lower sequence with a higher sequence, such as 3-2-A-K-Q. Aces rank high in all other hands except an ace is low in a low hand (high/low) game.

Poker Hand Resolution

All poker hands are resolved using the best 5-card hand. The exceptions are in games such as three card poker and Pai Gow Poker where 2 and 3-card hands are used to resolve the hands.