The easiest way to learn a poker hand is to see it. The examples below use standard Hold’em rankings with no wild cards. Read from strongest to weakest, then practise naming the category before comparing individual card values. That order prevents many first-game misunderstandings.
- Compare the category first, then the card ranks.
- A flush beats a straight.
- Suits do not decide a tie in standard Hold’em.
Start with the category
A straight has five consecutive ranks. A flush has five cards of the same suit. A straight flush satisfies both conditions at once. A royal flush is the ace-high straight flush, running from ten to ace; it is not an extra card or a different-sized hand.
Full house means three of one rank plus two of another. Four of a kind means four cards of the same rank. For the lower categories, look for three matching ranks, two pairs or one pair before deciding the hand is simply high card.
Strongest to weakest: ten familiar patterns
- 01Royal flush
- 02Straight flush
- 03Four of a kind
- 04Full house
- 05Flush
- 06Straight
- 07Three of a kind
- 08Two pair
- 09One pair
- 10High card
When the categories match
Compare the ranks that define that category first. A full house of 8-8-8-2-2 beats 7-7-7-A-A because the three matching cards are compared before the pair. In two pair, compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, then the remaining card if needed.
That remaining comparison card is often called a kicker. With high-card hands A-K-9-6-3 and A-Q-J-8-4, the aces tie and the king beats the queen. Compare complete five-card hands: a sixth card does not provide another tiebreaker.
Two details worth remembering at the table
An ace can be high in 10-J-Q-K-A or low in A-2-3-4-5. The latter is a five-high straight. Q-K-A-2-3 does not form a straight: the sequence cannot wrap around the ace.
If two players have the same best five-card hand, suits do not make one hand stronger in standard Hold’em. While learning at POKER Maid CASINO Jupiter OSAKA, ask for the hand category to be explained after the action is complete, and avoid revealing another player’s private cards during play.
Questions, answered
Is a royal flush different from a straight flush?+
It is the highest straight flush: ten, jack, queen, king and ace of one suit.
Does a higher suit win?+
Standard Hold’em does not rank suits to break a tie between equivalent five-card hands.
General game explanations are separated from store information. Ask staff about the procedure used at your table.
Official store information ↗@mc_jupiter ↗General rules reference ↗Photo credits ↗
