Poker - Rank of Hands

Everything you could possibly need to know about the game of poker, including what beats what.

Poker Rank of Hands, With Odds

Straight Poker, Nothing Wild

The list that follows is given in order of strength - that is, the first hand listed (Royal Flush) beats anything below it, and so on.  Also included are the statistical odds of such a hand being dealt. 

  1. Royal Flush.  This is the highest-ranking straight flush there is, namely: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 in the same suit.  Odds: 1 in 650,000.
  2. Straight Flush.  Five cards, all of the same suit, in order.  Example: 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Hearts.  Odds: 1 in 65,000.
  3. Four of a Kind.  Four of the same card, in different suits.  Example: four Queens.  The fifth card doesn't matter.  Four Aces beat every other four of a kind.  Odds: 1 in 4,000.
  4. Full House.  Three of a kind, plus two of a kind.  Example: three jacks and two 7's.  The hand with the highest three cards wins over any other Full House.  Odds: 1 in 700.
  5. Flush.  Five cards all of the same suit, not in sequence.  Example: 3, 5, 6, 9 and King of Clubs.  Odds: 1 in 500.
  6. Straight.  Five cards in sequence, but of mixed suits.  Example: 3 of Hearts, 4 of Clubs, 5 of Spades, 6 of Clubs, 7 of Diamonds.  Odds: 1 in 250.
  7. Three of a Kind.  Example: three Jacks.  Naturally, if two players both have three of a kind, the player with the higher three of a kind wins.  Thus, three Aces beats three 4's.  Odds: 1 in 50.
  8. Two Pair.  Example: two Kings and two 3's.  Hand with the highest pair wins.  If there's a tie, hand with the highest remaining card (fifth card) wins.  Odds: 1 in 20.
  9. One Pair.  Example: two Queens.  Odds: 1 in 2.33.
  10. No pair.  This hand is judged by the highest card held.  

 

Poker-Size Playing Cards vs. Bridge-Size Playing Cards

A standard deck of playing cards is a standard deck of playing cards, right?  Wrong.  The "standard" deck of 52 playing cards actually comes in two widths: poker-size and bridge-size.  Bridge-size playing cards are slightly narrower than poker-size playing cards.  For poker, use poker-size playing cards. 

 

Resources On This Website

Poker Quotations

"Poker is by far the most popular card game throughout the world today, measured both by the amount of money that changes hands daily and by the number of players."
    -- John Scarne, Encyclopedia of Card Games

"For American males under 18, baseball may be said to be the national pastime.  When they grow up it becomes poker."
    -- Carl Sifakis, The Encyclopedia of Gambling

 

Types of Poker Games

There are a number of variations of the game known as poker.  Space does not permit us listing the rules of each kind, but these can be found in various reference books.  What we have attempted to do is list a few of the various types of poker:

 

 

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