Poker Hand Rankings

Poker Hand Rankings describe the combination of cards in a players' hand. Their ranking from the highest to lowest possible hand determines the winner. Rankings are based on the value of the cards and, depending on the hand, their suits.

• No matter which variation of poker you're playing, the hand rankings will be the same. Even a lowball version of the game in which you try to draw the worst hand is based on the following system:

• There are four suits - diamonds, hearts, spades and clubs.

1. The suits are of equal value.
2. Suits come into play in flushes and straights. The type of flush or straight you have and its worth is dependent on whether the cards in your hand are of the same or different suits.

Suits: Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs

• Every card is marked by a letter or number which determines its rank.

1. The highest ranking card is the Ace (A).
2. There are numbered cards (2-10) and face cards.
3. The face cards include the Jack, Queen and King (J, Q, K).
4. The Ace (A) can stand-in as the lowest card in the hand A-2-3-4-5.
5. The cards are ranked from highest to lowest as follows: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
6. The rank of cards will help determine the winner of a tie when two players have similar hands.

Card Rank: Highest (Ace) to Lowest (2).

• Just as individual cards have ranks, hands or combinations of cards have ranks. These hand rankings determine who is the winner of a round of poker:

1st: Royal Flush: Five highest ranking sequential cards of the same suit. 2nd: Straight Flush: Five sequential cards of the same suit. 3rd: Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank. Any suit. 4th: Full House: Three cards of the same rank, plus two of the same rank. Any suit. 5th: Flush: Any five cards of the same suit.

6th: Straight: Five cards of sequential rank. Any suit. 7th: Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank. Any suit. 8th: Two Pair: Two pairs of cards of the same rank. Any suit. 9th: One Pair: Two of the same cards. Any suit. 10th: High Card: When no one has a pair or higher, the highest card wins.

• If you are playing a variant of poker which uses a "wild card," a "five of a kind" hand is possible. The "wild" card is typically a joker or a random card called at the beginning of the game. Five of a Kind is the highest ranking hand. It even beats the almighty Royal Flush.

Five of a Kind: Four of a Kind plus a Wild Card.

• When there is a tie between hands with the exact same cards, the "kicker" or the highest ranking card that does not make up the hand serves as a tiebreaker. For instance, an A-A-K-6-8 beats A-A-9-5-3 because the King is higher than a 9.

Kickers: King beats the 9.