Hand rankings: what beats what
The ten Hold’em hand types, high to low, plus how kickers and chopped pots actually work.
- evergreen
- basics
In Texas Hold’em you always play your best five cards. Extra hole cards (“kickers”) only matter when they are part of that best five.
Standard ranking (strongest first)
- Royal flush — A-K-Q-J-T suited
- Straight flush — five suited cards in sequence
- Four of a kind — quads; kicker breaks ties only vs other quads boards
- Full house — three of a kind + a pair; compare trips, then the pair
- Flush — five suited non-straight cards; compare highest card down
- Straight — five sequential ranks; highest top card wins
- Three of a kind — trips + two kickers
- Two pair — compare top pair, then second pair, then kicker
- One pair — three kickers in play
- High card — compare down from highest single card
Wheels and aces
A-2-3-4-5 is the wheel straight (five-high). In most games an ace can be high or low for straights, but not wrap around (K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight).
Kickers and chops
If the board plays—say, broadway on the board and both players play it—the pot chops. If both have the same pair on a paired board, the three kickers decide. Always announce mucked cards carefully live; exposing a fold by mistake can change who wins.
Quick study habit
Deal five random boards, give yourself two hole cards, and say the best five out loud in under three seconds. Do that twenty times and rankings stop being a lookup task.