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11 rows  In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the. Question 3: In which order are the poker hands ranked? The order of the hands in poker from strongest to weakest are as follows. Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. Question 4: How are poker hands constructed?

• Order Of Strength Poker Hands Template
• Poker Hands Order Of Strength

Hand combinations in poker is a cornerstone, because if you don’t know the poker hand rankings, you are simply going to lose money. Hand rankings in poker is one of the components of the poker rules, because the main goal is to form the strongest card combination available, or either to force your opponent to fold his cards.

This article is the third one in the series of educational materials about poker rules. In this article we will go through the hand rankings in poker, which are used in the most varieties of poker games, including no-limit Texas Hold’em.

This article will teach you:

• What are the hands in Texas Hold'em;
• The names of combinations of poker hands;
• How to know your chances to get this or that particular poker hand/combination;
• What are poker hands in order of strength (from highest to lowest) and many things more.

We’ve also made up a small step-by-step tutorial for you to remember all the combinations in poker and also to decide immediately their seniority:

• Step 1. Print out the table with poker hands in order or a pictures with poker combinations and always keep these images at hand;
• Step 2. Try to remember 10 names of poker card hand combinations and also rules how to collect them;
• Step 3. To make the whole process of remembering things easier try to take part in games for chips or poker freerolls;
• Step 4. Get 888 poker $88 no deposit poker bonus or any other no deposit poker bonus to put your knowledge to use.

Texas Hold'em poker hand combinations for beginners

This lesson should be studied by you in the first place, because it’s pretty hard to imagine a winning (or a break even player) player, who doesn’t know the cornerstone of No-Limit Texas Hold’em - hand rankings. We’re sure you have some sort of understanding of hand combinations in poker (a Texas Hold’em variety), because it’s highest combination - royal flush - is often used in many images with cards.

Anyone who wants to succeed in any case has to study his thing thoroughly, and only then get down into business. In poker it is the same: the first thing a beginner should do is study all the possible card combinations, as well as their strength, and only then proceed to the more advanced rules and especially - playing the game. Don’t be afraid, you will not need to strain your memory, as you did (or still doing) in school. In this case everything is much simpler - only 10 (ten) poker combinations, that differ one from another radically. 10 fingers on your hands - 10 combinations in poker. Everything is pretty simple, isn’t it?

For starters, let’s get acquainted with the strength of cards in poker on their own (from the weakest to the strongest one):

- deuce (weakest card)
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten (can be indicated as either T or 10)
- jack
- queen
- king
- ace (strongest card)

Texas Hold’em: hand rankings/order

Below you can see all possible poker hands combinations. They’re displayed by strength, from the senior combination (the strongest hand) to the minor one (the weakest one). The structure of poker hands presenting is the following: the name of the combination, an example, chances, and combination description in poker. So, let’s get started.

How many card combinations are there in poker? What are their names? What is the weakest/strongest/best combination in poker? What’s the order of poker hands? Answers to these questions can be found in the text below.

Here you can find a brief review of all combinations by seniority (from the weakest one to the strongest):

• High card - the weakest hand in poker
• Pair
• Two pair
• Three of a kind
• Straight
• Flush
• Full house
• Four of a kind
• Straight flush
• Royal flush - the highest hand in poker

Below we’ll give you these combinations in detail with examples and explanations, but in reverse order - from the strongest one to the weakest one.

What is the order of winning hands in poker

You will find the poker hand rankings below. Combinations are ranged in descending order, from the strongest to the weakest one. These card combinations are used for the majority of poker games: Omaha, 27 Draw, Stud, Badugi and etc. That’s why you should keep in mind one thing: once remember these poker hands, you’ll feel confident with the rules of most of the poker games. Each combinations has brief description with examples, so you’ll find it very easy to adopt new information. Let’s get started.

Traditional high poker hand ranks

All poker hands are formed out of five cards, made up of your hole cards and community cards on a board. All the suits have an even strength (no suit is considered stronger than the other).

1. Royal flush | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting this hand in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 0,0002%.

Royal flush is the strongest poker hand in poker. Royal flush is a combination of five consecutive cards of the same suit from ten to ace. In other words - straight-flush from an ace. Royal flush can be of any suit.

• - a hearts royal flush
• - a spades royal flush
• - a diamonds royal flush
• - a clubs royal flush

It’s obvious, that in every given hand a player can only have only one of four royal flushes. Situation, when players have drawn 2 different royal flushes, is impossible. There are situations when the royal flush hits the board as community cards. In that case the pot is always split among the active players at the table equally.

2. Straight flush | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting straight flush in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 0,0015%.

Straight flush is combination of any five consecutive cards of one suite. The strength of straight flushes is determined by the strength of the highest card and does not depend on suit. Sometimes there will be situations when two players at the table will have a straight flush. In that case the winner of the hand will be considered a player with the highest card forming a straight flush. An example will be given below.

Examples of straight flush in poker:

• - the lowest straight flush
• - standard straight flush
• - the highest straight flush, which is also the highest hand in poker (royal flush). It can be said that royal flush is a variety of a straight flush.

Example. Player 1 was dealt , Player 2 was dealt . were dealt on a board. Two players have a straight flush poker hand. How to determine a winner in this hand? Simply enough. Player 2 is the winner of this hand because his highest card in the straight flush is 10 (Player 1 has nine).

If were dealt on a board and players 1 and 2 would have similar starting hands, the pot would be split equally, because the highest possible combination is on a board already, and none of them can have a better hand.

3. Four of a kind | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting four of a kind in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 0,024%.

Four of a kind is just four similar cards (for example - four kings or four threes, plus one other card). The highest four of a kind is four aces, the lowest - four deuces. If four of a kind is dealt on a table, the winner of the hand is determined by highest card (kicker). As you may have guessed, there cannot be more than two four of a kind combinations of different ranks in one hand. In that case (2 four of a kind in one hand) the winner is the player with the highest ranked four of a kind.

Example. were dealt on a board. Player 1 has , Player 2 - . In that situation the winner is Player 2, as he has a combination of , when player 1 has . If Player 1 also had an ace the pot would be split.

4. Full house | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting a full house in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 0,14%.

Full house is 3 cards of one kind plus 2 card of the other kind. If there are two full houses in a hand, the winner is first determined by the rank of set of 3 cards, and then by the rank of pair.

Example. is considered a weaker hand than , but is higher than .

5. Flush | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting a flush in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 0,20%.

Flush is any five cards of the same suit. If two or more players have flush in one hand, the winner is considered a player with the highest card in the flush. If two or more players have similar flush in a hand, the pot is split equally.

Example. Player 1 has , Player 2 has . were dealt on a board. Who will win? Exactly, Player 2, because he has , and Player 1 has . But if would be dealt on a board (with the same pocket cards for Players 1 and 2), the pot would be split equally.

6. Straight | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting a straight in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 0,39%.

Straight is any five consecutive cards. Similar as in the previous example, if two or more players have straight in one hand, the winner is considered a player with the highest card in the straight. If two or more players have similar straight in a hand, the pot is split equally.

Note: An ace can be considered either as a highest, or the lowest card in this combination.

Straight example:

• - the lowest straight (the wheel)
• - standard straight
• - the highest straight

Example. Player 1 has , Player 2 has . were dealt on a board. In that situation Player 2 will win the pot, since he has a straight from eight - , and Player 1 has straight from 7 - .

7. Three of a kind | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting three of a kind in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 2,1%.

Three of a kind (set or trips) is just three cards of one rank. Beginners often think, that set and trips are different hands. In reality they are not, however there is a small difference. Let’s explain it. In any case, either you have a set or trip - on a showdown your hand will be called Three of a kind. So, the only difference between set and trips is the following:

• Set - is a variety of three of a kind combination, i.e., situation when you have any pocket pair and one more card of this rank is dealt to the board. Example. You have , board - .
• Trips - is a variety of so called three of a kind, i.e., situation when you have unpaired pocket cards and there is a pair of cards on a board, and one of your pocket cards are of the same rank to this board pair. Example. You have , board - .

8. Two pair | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting two pairs in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 4,75%.

Two pair is a combination of a pair plus one more pair. If two or more players have two pairs in a specific hand, the ranking of the higher pairs are considered first, if they are equal, the rankings of lower pairs are considered to determine a winner. Example. You have , opponents has . were dealt on a board. In that situation you are the winner, because you have two pairs - , opponent has .

9. Pair | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting a pair in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 42,26%.

Pair is a combination of any pair of cards. If two or more players at the table have a pair, the winner is considered a player with the highest ranking pair. Example. You have . Player 2 has . Player 3 has . were dealt on a board. Player 2 is a winner in this situation, as he has a pair of , you have a pair of , and Player 3 has a pair of .

10. High card or Kicker | Poker Hand Rankings

The chance of getting a kicker (high card) in poker (no-limit Texas Hold’em) equals 50,12%.

The kicker is when you have none of the aforementioned combinations. If all the five cards are equal the combinations are considered equal as well.

Example.

Player 1:

Player 2:

Board:. Who will be considered a winner in this situation? Answer - the pot will be split, as Player 1 has weaker pair than two lying on a board, meaning that Player 1 has two pairs of . Player 2 hasn’t hit the board at all, meaning that he has two pairs of as well. Since the board also has a community card of , this card will be considered a kicker for both players. Consequently, the pot will be split.

Order Of Strength Poker Hands Template

Let’s take a look at the similar example.

Player 1:

Player 2:

Board:. Player 2 will be considered a winner in this situation, as he has two pairs and an Ace kicker. Player 1 has two pairs and a King kicker. is weaker than .

You can refer to our article Poker hands in pictures, where you will find an image with all poker hands by rank and a brief description of each.

Poker hand hierarchy - table

Below we’ve made a special table with all the information above being structured, so that beginner players had no problems with learning new information. The result of our work is a table, which can be nominally called “Table with hierarchy of poker hands”.

Poker Hands Order Of Strength

With the help of this table you’ll find it easier and faster to find differences between poker hands and distinguish them by seniority. As a rule, it takes about several hours to remember all of them. However, to reinforce this information in your head, you may need a little bit more time. That’s why we strongly recommend you to use our table with poker combinations. Don’t hesitate to have a look of the table if you come up with any sort of hesitations.

In the early stages of your poker career, if you really want to learn how to play poker properly, you simply must keep this table at hand. With the help of it you’ll find it easier to understand the gradation of the hands in this card game.

Knowledge base's sections

The best about poker

• Five reasons why I've made money and continue doing this playing poker
  The psychology of poker
• The fundamental theorem of poker
  Poker theorems
• The probabilities of getting specific starting hands on preflop
  Poker mathematics

In this lesson we take a look at the different hands we may hit on the flop. Just what is the strength of those poker hands and how do you play with them to ensure you extract maximum value from your winning hands or don’t fall down a trap? Some may appear stronger than they actually are and there are many factors to consider when deciding how to play with them after the flop.

Flopping Nothing

This will be a common occurrence, and if this happens you will have a decision to make whether to carry on or not.

You have the following options:

• Check or Fold – Check in an attempt to see a free card, but fold to any bet
• Continuation – If we have shown strength before the flop we can make a continuation bet in the hope of taking the pot there and then

Which of the above options we take will depend on the strength of our hand (even though we haven’t hit on the flop) and also the read we get on our opponent, if the read we get suggests he has hit the flop then it is more likely we will fold to any bet, if he appears weak and we think he may also have missed the flop then we may go for the continuation bet and try and take the pot.

Flopping a Draw

The two main drawing hands you will be facing are the Open Ended Straight draw, and the Flush draw.

Now we know from the poker maths section that we will only play draws if the odds are in our favour. So if our opponent acting before us bets then we use our poker maths to work out the odds and only play if the odds are in our favour.

If we are in late position and our opponent checks into us, then we can either just take a free card to try and hit our draw, or we can try and take the pot there and then with a continuation bet if we have shown strength before the flop.

It gets a little more complicated when we have to act early before our opponent, we have very little information on whether our opponent has hit anything on the flop, so all we can do is look at his betting pattern before the flop and decide if the flop fits in with the kind of hand we think he has. Then we have the following options:

• Continuation Bet – If we were the aggressor before the flop we can try and take the pot now with a continuation bet and hope that our opponent has not hit anything on the flop.
• Limitation Bet – This type of bet is to try and limit the amount of the bet in order that we get the correct odds for our draw. Acting first, we would make this type of bet in the hope that our opponent does not raise, if he just calls then we are getting the correct odds to play our draw, if he folds then we take the pot there and then. If he does raise then we now have more information about his hand as he has indicated strength, and we still have the opportunity to get out of the hand if we wish.
• Check – We can also just check and hope for a free card, however we run the risk here of being priced out by a bet from our opponent, but this is fine, if we don’t have the odds then we won’t play.

Don’t chase draws unless you have the correct odds to do so. If you are priced out of it then fold your hand and wait for the correct opportunity. Remember we profit from our opponents mistakes, and if we chase cards when we don’t have the odds to do so, then it is us making the mistake and it will be our opponents who will profit from it.

Flopping a Pair

This should be quite a common occurrence but a pair alone is not a particularly strong hand. There are lots of ways our opponent can have us beat, he may be holding a pocket pair higher than the top pair on the flop, he may have hit 2 pair, he may have hit a set, straight, flush … the list goes on.

Now some of these hands, such as the straight or flush we can rule out from looking at the texture of the flop, but most of the other hands are disguised and we only have the betting patterns of our opponent to try and put him on a hand.

So it is for the reasons above that we play cautiously with only a single pair.

• Top Pair – Despite all the caution above, this is a reasonably strong hand, and there is a reasonable chance that we are in the lead, so we should assume we are in the lead and use a value bet until we get any conflicting information from our opponent that suggests he may have us beat.
• Middle and Bottom Pair – We shouldn’t really be very interested in these, they are very weak hands that are easily beaten. We can make a probe bet here to get some information from our opponent, but at the first sign of strength we want to fold and get out of the hand.

Flopping Two Pair

Two pair is a strong hand and we will be looking to build the pot up now, as we have a very good chance of winning the hand. However we still need to play the hand correctly to not only ensure we win as much as is possible, but also to protect our hand.

It is very unlikely that we are going to improve our hand, we will only improve our hand to a full house 17% of the time, so the chances are that if we are going to win this hand then we will do so with two pair.

So we have to keep an eye out on the texture of the flop for opportunities for our opponent to improve their hand to one that can beat our two pair, and in those situations make sure our opponents don’t have the correct odds to call draws.

There are 3 types of two pair we can flop.

Top Two Pair

We are almost certainly leading at this stage, It is unlikely that our opponent has hit top or middle set (as we are holding two of the cards available), there is a small chance that they have hit bottom set, but we can be reasonably confident that we are in the lead.

So our goal here is to build the pot up and extract as much money from our opponent as possible. I would recommend a simple value bet here, and would bet slightly more if there is any indication of a straight or flush draw on the texture of the flop.

Bottom Two Pair

We will use similar aggression here to Top Two Pair. In this situation we are hoping that our opponent has flopped top pair, as our opponent will only have 5 outs in which to beat us and will probably be prepared to put some money into the pot.

Top and Bottom Pair

Surprisingly out of the three, we are most vulnerable with Top and Bottom pair. This is because if our opponent has top pair then he has an extra out with the chance the middle card could pair on the board which would counterfeit our top and bottom pair giving us both Top two pair, and the likelihood of our opponent having a higher kicker.

E.g. We hold A 5 and our opponent holds A Q, the flop comes down A 9 5, now if any 9 comes on the turn or the river our two pair is now counterfeited and both us and our opponent hold top two pair, but we only have a 5 kicker and he has a Q kicker so he has the winning hand.

We still hold a very strong hand with Top and Bottom pair, however because of this extra out our opponent has, we will play this hand very aggressively and make our opponent pay to see any further cards. We are quite happy to take the pot now without any further risk. I would recommend a pot sized bet here.

Flopping a Set

A Set is where we hold a pocket pair in our starting hand, and we hit the third card on the flop to give us three of a kind. This is a really powerful hand mainly because it is very disguised and our opponent most probably won’t have a clue that we have hit a set, and may well think he is in the lead with a weaker hand.

So again we want to get as much money into the pot without scaring our opponent off, whilst also protecting our hand against any possible draws that could beat us.

• If there is a Straight or Flush Draw on the flop – Bet aggressively and make sure we don’t give our opponent the correct odds to call, if they do then they have made a mistake, and in the long run we will profit from it.
• If we think our opponent has hit something – Lead out betting with a value bet or a slightly higher bet, then we are hoping that our opponent, who may have hit top pair and be thinking he is in the lead, raises us.
• If we think our opponent hasn’t hit anything – In this situation we may want to continue to disguise the strength of our hand by checking in the hope that this will induce a bluff from our opponent, who otherwise wouldn’t of put any money into the pot if we had bet. If we do end up giving our opponent a free card here, this is not a problem as we are hoping that our opponent hits some sort of hand, which doesn’t beat us, but which encourages him to put some money into the pot on the next round of betting.

Flopping Trips

Trips is where a pair comes down on the flop and we hold the third card in our hand to make 3 of a kind. The only difference between Trips and a Set is that Trips is not disguised and our opponents will be aware not only of the possibility that we have the third card in our hand but also the possibility of a full house.

This will mean that our opponents will be much more reluctant to commit chips into the pot, so we want to try and ensure we don’t scare them off.

However a lot of players often attempt a bluff when they see a pair on the board, so quite often we can slow play this sort of hand in the hope of inducing a bluff from our opponent. The other option is to make a small bet similar to a probe bet and see if any opponent bites.

As always check the texture of the flop for any draw possibilities and if there is any, then always play your hand aggressively to protect it.

You shouldn’t expect to win a very large pot with Trips, as it is so obvious. However against a bad player who has hit top pair or similar we may get lucky.

Flopping a Straight

Again, this is a very strong hand, but the straight possibility will also be very obvious to our good opponents.

There are two types of straight we can flop:

• Smart End – Highest possible straight (e.g. Our Hand 9, 10 – Flop 6, 7, 8)
• Dumb End – Lowest straight (e.g. Our hand 4, 5 – Flop 6, 7, 8)

In general it is better to bet these hands rather than slow play:

• Smart End – I recommend a bet here rather than slow playing, because there are so many scare cards (for your opponent) that can come on the turn which will prevent him betting later on, so we should try and get some money in the pot now if we can. A value bet of about ½ the pot is good here, or a little more if you are playing against a loose opponent or you think your opponent has hit top pair or similar.
• Dumb End – Here we should play very aggressively to protect our hand and also test if our opponent has the smart end of the straight. if you get raised he probably has it, if you get called this may also be a sign he has it and is slow playing it. About a pot sized bet here would be about right.

Flopping a Flush

It is very unlikely that you will flop a flush (1 in 119 times), it is much more likely that you will flop a draw to a flush. When you do flop a flush it will be very hard to get action as people will be very unwilling to bet when 3 cards of the same suit come down on the flop.

Our best chance of winning a decent pot here is if our opponent has hit a lower flush than ours

• Nut Flush / High Flush – slow play and hope that your opponent has hit or will hit a lower flush.
• Lower Flush – play more aggressively to protect your flush against anyone holding a draw to a better flush. If you get raised or your opponent bets into you aggressively you have to consider that he may have a higher flush than you, and you may need to throw the hand away.

Flopping a Full House

A great flop for you! However, once again your opponent may be wary because of the pair showing on board.

The best way to play a full house is to make a small to medium sized value bet and hope that your opponent has caught something on the flop which tempts them to play.

Against a very tight player who will fold to any bet, slow play and hope he catches up a little on the turn which will tempt him to bet.

If there is a draw on, then we want to try and give the right odds for our opponent to call, so make sure your bet is small enough to give those odds. If our opponent hits their draw then this could lead to a very big pot for us, with our Full House still in the lead.

Flopping Four of a Kind

Well first thing is to stop jumping up and down and concentrate on how you are going to get the biggest pot out of this monster hand.

Generally the best way here is to slow play and hope that someone gets involved in the pot betting with a weaker hand or with a bluff. If someone does bet into you, then just call, don’t reveal your strength yet. After the turn or river we can start to look to raise and build the pot up a bit more.

Poker Bankroll Challenge: Stage 5

• Stakes: $0.02/$0.04
• Buy In: $4 (100 x BB)
• Starting Bankroll: $63
• Target: $20 (5 x Buy In)
• Finishing Bankroll: $83
• Estimated Sessions: 5

Use this exercise to consider the real strength of your hand and how to extract the maximum value out of all pots where you have the winning hand. Don't forget the other foundations of your strategy though, we are building step by step and you should now be consolidating all your new knowledge in the way you play at the tables.