Poker Hands & Poker Sequence Chart

Poker is a game of skill, and knowing your poker hands is the first step to honing your poker edge. To master poker, it’s very important that one must learn the poker hand rankings and poker rules, as this will help you take the lead in the game.

Poker Hand Rankings: Poker Sequence Chart

The ability to determine which poker hand holds the advantage and which one prevails over another is crucial for advancing in poker. Understanding hand rankings is fundamental.

There are 10 hands in poker rankings, which comprise poker sequences, pairs, triplets and cards of a suit. The highest amongst top poker hand rankings is the royal flush and the weakest hand ranking is high card. Let’s understand each poker hand from the strongest to the weakest.

1. Royal Flush

Royal flush is the highest and the strongest ranked poker hand sequence comprising 10-J-Q-K-A of any of the four but same suit. The probability of hitting a royal flush hand is 0.000154% and this is the rarest hand which makes it unbeatable under any circumstance.

Example: (A♦ K♦ Q♦ J♦ 10♦)

What does royal flush beat?

A royal flush in poker remains unbeatable under any circumstance. A royal flush beats all the other hands in poker, which are straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card.

Royal Flush in Poker

2. Straight Flush

Straight flush is the second-highest poker hand, with 9-10-J-Q-K being the highest while the lowest straight flush is A-2-3-4-5. The probability of getting a straight flush is 0.00139%.

Example: (10♠ 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠)

What does straight flush beat?

A straight flush beats four-of-a-kind, full house, flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, two pair, one pair, and high card. Theoretically, you can only win against a straight flush hand if you have a royal flush.

Straight Flush in Poker

3. Four of a Kind

A four-of-a-kind poker hand refers to the same card in all four suits. When there is a tie between players, the highest four-of-a-kind wins. The fifth card in this poker hand is referred to as the kicker. In a scenario where community cards reveal a four-of-a-kind, the player with the highest fifth card, also known as the kicker, emerges as the winner.

Example: (K♣ K♦ K♥ K♠ Q♥)

What does four-of-a-kind beat?

A four-of-a-kind beats a full house, flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, two pair, one pair and high card. However, royal flush and straight flush beat a four-of-a-kind.

Four of a Kind in Poker

4. Full House

A full house poker hand consists of three cards of one rank (three of a kind) and two cards of another rank (two pairs). For example, having three Kings and two Fives forms a full house. A full house is one of the strongest hands in poker.

Example: (A♠ A♥ A♣ K♣ K♦)

What does Full House beat?

A full house beats flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, two-pair, one pair and high card. However, a royal flush, four-of-a-kind, and straight flush beat a full house.

Full House in Poker

5. Flush

Flush poker hand refers to five cards of the same suit in any order. If there is a tie at the poker table, the player with the highest-ranked card wins. If deemed necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and the fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie. However, if all five cards are of the same rank, the pot is split.

Example: (3♦ 5♦ 8♦ j♦ K♦)

What does flush beat?

A flush beats a straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. However, royal flush, four of a kind, straight flush, and full house beat a flush.

Full House in Poker

6. Straight

A straight in a poker game is five cards in sequence, and can be from any of the four suits. With a straight, an Ace can rank as either high (above a King) or low (below a 2).

Example: (5♦ 6♣ 7♦ 8♠ 9♣)

What Does Straight Beat?

A straight beats three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. However, royal flush, four of a kind, straight flush, full house, and flush beat a straight.

Straight in Poker

7. Three of a kind

This poker hand has three cards of the same rank in different suits and two unrelated side cards. But if there is a tie, the highest-ranking three-of-a-kind wins. If players have the same three of a kind, the highest side card, and if required, the second-highest side card wins.

Example: (8♣ 8♦ 8♠ 7♣ k♦)

What does three-of-a-kind beat?

A three of a kind beats two pair, one pair and high card. However, a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, and straight beat a three of a kind.

Three of a kind in Poker

8. Two pair

In poker, two pair is a hand consisting of two sets of pairs. Each pair consists of two cards of the same rank. For instance, having a hand with two Eights and two Queens would be counted as two pair. If there is a tie at the poker table, the highest pair wins.

Example: (7♦ 7♠ Q♦ Q♥ 6♣)

What do two pair beat?

A two pair beats one pair and a high card. However a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, and three of a kind beat a two pair.

Two pair in Poker

9. A Pair

A pair or one pair in poker refers to two cards of the same rank in different suits. In case of a tie, the highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, the highest second pair wins. But, if both players have two identical pairs, the highest second card wins.

Example: (J♦ J♠ 4♠ 8♦ 10♣)

What does one pair beat?

A pair or one pair can beat a high card and the other pair with a low ranking. However, a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, and two pair beat one pair.

One pair in Poker

10. High Card

A high card in poker is the lowest-ranked poker sequence. A high card only wins if you haven’t made any of the above hands. For making a high card sequence, you would have to rely on the highest-ranked card in your hand.

Example: (A♣ 8♥ 7♦ J♦ K♠)

What does high card beat?

A high card can only beat the other high card, which has the lowest number of card ranking in poker hands. However, a royal flush to one pair, all the hands can beat a high card.

High Card in Poker

Poker Hand Rankings & Poker Sequence

Memorising the poker hand ranking is crucial in games like Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Five Card Stud, and various other poker variants. While achieving a royal flush, straight flush, or four of a kind is a rarity in a competition, skillfully playing a modest poker hand can lead to claiming significant pots.

This underlines that success in poker often relies on strategic gameplay and a deep understanding of your opponents, going beyond the sheer strength of the cards you hold.

How to Determine the Best Poker Hand?

In poker, the best combinations consist of a set of cards that form a very strong hand, and ranks quite high on the poker hands chart. But, starting hands or hole cards play a big role in determining the possibility of getting a good five card combination. Here are the top 20 starting cards:

Top Starting Hands

Pocket Aces

The combinations of A♠ and A♥ are known as pocket aces. This hand is considered to be the best among the starting poker hands. If you ever get pocket Aces, congratulations, you have the best-starting hands.

Pocket Kings

K♠ and K♣ make this pair and are also known as ‘Ace Magnets’. Every poker player loves this pair and aims to get as many chips in the pot preflop itself since this is a great starting hand.

Pocket Queens

This is considered to be the third-best starting hand. Against Ace-king suited cards, Queens are likely to win 54% of the time.

Pocket Jacks

Pocket Jacks, also known as Fish Hooks, are among the most popular starting hands in poker. In the No-limit Texas Hold’em variant, this is considered the fourth-best starting hand.

Ace-King Suited

Ace-King Suited is also known as Big Slick and is best played in pots when there are multiple players in the game.

Other Strong Starting Hands

Pocket Tens

If you are holding a 10 of spades and a 10 of hearts, that makes a very strong pair. It opens up possibilities of a ‘Three of a Kind’ and ‘Four of a Kind’, which are generally very strong hands.

Ace-King Offsuit

The Ace-King Offsuit has a very high probability of winning. They can be used to form straights or be part of pairs. Most people holding an offsuit AK will raise to deter others from playing.

Ace-Queen Suited

A suited Ace and Queen have a lot of post-flop playability, with the ability to be part of many hand rankings.

Pocket Nines

Another strong set of cards to hold like the Pocket Tens. You are more likely to play for a ‘Three of a Kind’ with these cards.

Ace-Jack Suited

Another strong pair like the Ace-Queen suited, with great post-flop playability. Players are likely to make big raises with these cards.

King-Queen Suited

Again a strong set of cards which interact well with cards that open on the flop.

Ace-Ten Suited

Not as strong as the King-Queen or Ace-Jack suits, but has strong playability options. Has the potential to form flushes or straights.

Ace-Queen Offsuit

Though they are offsuit, Ace-Queen starting cards can help form straights or be as strong as the Ace-Ten suited cards.

Pocket Eights

A strong pair of cards to start with, since it easily beats the first 6 pairs, plus has the potential to form a ‘Three of a Kind’.

King-Jack Suited

KJ makes a great hand as well, with J playing a connector to form a straight.

King-Ten Suited

A King-Ten suit helps to build many strong hands like flushes, straights or pairs.

Queen-Jack Suited

Queen and Jack fall in the middle of the face cards straight. This makes them strong contenders for good hands, maybe even a flush draw.

Ace-Jack Offsuit

A strong hand to start with, but since the cards are offsuit, the chance of making a flush goes out of the window. But, with the Jack as a connector, chances of making a straight are there.

King-Queen Offsuit

Similar to the Ace-Jack offsuit, again a strong hand.

Queen-Ten Suited

The Queen and Ten make for a strong set of cards, they open up a lot of possibilities with the numbered, as well as the face cards.

How Many Combinations are There in Poker?

There are a total of 1326 possible combinations of starting hands in Texas Hold’em. This includes 78 pocket pairs, 312 suited hands, and 936 unpaired, offsuit hands.

After the flop (the first three community cards), there are 19,600 possible combinations. And in a standard deck of 52 cards, there are 2,598,960 possible unique five-card combinations.

What hands should you play preflop?

Preflop refers to the stage before the first three community cards open up. Preflop sets the tone of the game. Understanding which hands to play empowers you to make strategic decisions that fuel your poker journey.

Preflop isn’t a waiting game, it’s a planning session. Knowing your hand strength lays the groundwork for smart bets and cunning raises, propelling you towards victory. In a game of NLHE, the following hands are considered to be the best hands you should play preflop:

Big Pocket Pairs

A potent starting hand in Texas Hold’em involves holding a big pocket pair, comprising two cards of the same rank. The most powerful pocket pair is one pair of aces (AA), trailed by kings (KK), queens (QQ), jacks (JJ), and so forth.

Big Suited Connectors

Big suited connectors comprise hands that share the same suit and are consecutively connected in rank. Examples of these hands include Ace-King (AK), Ace-Queen (AQ), Ace-Jack (AJ), and King-Queen (KQ).

Big Connectors

Big-connectors, similar to big-suited connectors, lack a shared suit but maintain a consecutive rank connection. For example: Ace-King (AK), Ace-Queen (AQ), Ace-Jack (AJ), and King-Queen (KQ).

Worst Starting Hand in Poker

In poker, especially Texas Hold’em, some starting hands are really bad because they have zero potential to improve. Here are five of the worst starting hands:

• 7-2 Offsuit: This is universally recognized as the worst hand. It offers no straight or flush potential, and one can rarely win with these cards.
• 8-3 Offsuit: Similar to the 7-2 Offsuit, 8-3 has minimal straight possibilities, and very weak high-card value.
• 10-4 Offsuit: No straight or flush prospects with these cards. Stronger starting cards will easily beat them.
• 9-5 Offsuit: This hand is weak because the chance of making a pair and winning with a single pair is very low.
• J-9 Offsuit: While it is not the worst possible hand, and may look tempting, it is easily beatable by J-K or J-Q.

Poker Hands Odds Table

Here’s a probability and odds table for Texas Hold’em poker, showing the probability and odds of being dealt different poker hands. This table is for the initial 5-Card hands from a standard 52-Card deck.

Poker Hand Rankings and Kicker Considerations

In poker, kicker cards are side cards used to break ties when players have the same ranked hand (Example: a pair or a three-of-a-kind). The kicker is the highest card not part of the main hand combination, and it determines the winner if the primary hands are the same between two players.

Poker Hands Where Kicker Apply

Here’s a short list of poker hands, where the kicker card applies, with tied scenarios:

• One Pair: Two players have the same pair, a pair of Kings. The value of the kicker card decides the winner.
• Two Pair: Both players have the same two pairs (Example: Queens and Jack). The kicker (fifth card) determines the winner.
• Three of a Kind: Both players have a three of a kind, then the kicker is used to break the tie.
• Four of a Kind: Both players have the same four of a kind, then the kicker card is used to break the tie.
• High Card: Neither players have a pair and their high cards both match (Example: both players have Ace high cards). Then their next highest card determines the winner.

How to Evaluate Poker Hand Strength During a Game

In poker, evaluating hand strength requires understanding of poker hand rankings, possible combinations the opponent is trying to make, and the betting patterns. There is also a need to assess positional advantages to make informed decisions during each round of betting.

Know the Hand Rankings

Understanding and memorizing the hand rankings in poker is crucial to your chances of winning, making informed decisions on betting, bluffing or folding. It helps to develop effective strategies by knowing the strength of your own hand in comparison to others.

Evaluate your Starting Hand (Pre-Flop)

Evaluate pre-flop starting hands by considering their strength, position, and table dynamics. Premium hands like AA, KK, or AK are strong to play with, while weaker hands should be folded, particularly against aggressive opponents.

Analyze the Community Cards (Post-Flop)

Analyze community cards post-flop by evaluating hand strengths, potential draws and opponent tendencies. Consider whether the cards are coordinated, and how it connects with various ranges.

Example: On a 10♠ 7♣ 3♦ flop, a player with A♠ K♠ hole cards, can semi-bluff by leveraging a potential for a flush draw.

Consider Your Position and Betting

A player’s position in poker impacts strategy by determining the order of play. Players in a late position have an advantage of observing what other players are doing. While early positions are uncertain, the late position player can bluff or raise based on what the rest of the players are doing.

Turn and River Cards

Evaluation of your hand after the turn and river cards open, is very important in a game of poker. You have to reconsider potential draws and betting patterns of opponents. Accurate assessment at this stage helps to understand whether to keep betting, to aggressively raise, or to fold and save the chips.

Conclusion

Understanding the poker hand rankings marks the initial step toward evolving into a successful player. Familiarity with the strongest hands not only enhances your chances of winning but also positions you to outplay your opponents, sharpening your overall poker prowess.

FAQs on Poker Card Rankings :