The Ten Poker Hand Rankings

One of the first things that a potential poker player needs to know is the poker hand rankings. Whether you want to play Texas Hold 'em, Caribbean Stud or any other poker variations, these rankings determine the winner and the losers on the card table.

Now we'll go ahead and establish the ranking of poker hands. Obviously, the higher poker combinations will beat everything else under it. There are ten hand combinations in poker, and they are enumerated below. These are arranged from the lowest to the highest hand standing.

The lowest is a "high card". It's when two or more of your cards don't make a combination. For example, if you have a three of hearts, five of clubs, ten of diamonds, king of diamonds and an ace of spades, your single high card is the ace.

The second is a "pair". That's two cards of the same rank. When you have a queen of diamonds and a queen of spades, it means you have a pair of queens.

The next is "two pairs". This is two pairs of different ranks. For example, a pair of queens and a pair of jacks make two pairs.

The next is "three of kind". This is three cards of the same rank. For example, three sixes make three of a kind.

This is followed by a "straight". That's five cards in sequence and of different suits. For example, a two of hearts, three of spades, four of clubs, five of diamonds and six of clubs make a straight.

The next in the ranks is a "flush". That's five cards not in sequence but are of the same suit. For instance, a two of diamonds, five of diamonds, six of diamonds, nine of diamonds and king of diamonds make a flush.

The next is a "full house". That's three of a kind plus a pair. For example, three fives and a pair of jacks make a full house.

The next is "four of a kind". That's four cards with the same rank. So a king of diamonds, a king of hearts, a king of clubs and a king of spades make four of a kind.

This is followed by a "straight flush". That's five cards in sequence and of the same suit. Accordingly, a five of clubs, six of clubs, seven of clubs, eight of clubs and nine of clubs make a straight flush.

The highest poker hand ranking is the "royal flush". This rank is exclusive to five cards composed of an ace, king, queen, jack and a ten in sequence. All of which are of the same suit. So, an ace of clubs, a king of clubs, a queen of clubs, a jack of clubs and a ten of clubs make a royal flush.

It's important to know the order of hand rankings in poker. Every expert poker player has started off learning what poker hand beats what. There are ten poker hand rankings, the lowest of which is a single high card and the highest is the royal flush. Remember that when you play against someone who also has the same hand rank as yours, the individual ranks are used. So, a pair of queens will beat a pair of threes. Recognizing the hand you have or what potential combination it can make is the basic foundation for making a decision to raise, to check or to fold in a poker game.