Poker hand rankings are the first lesson in learning Texas Holdʼem, and the reason is simple: if you cannot tell what you are holding or whether it beats your opponent, no amount of strategy will help. This guide uses one complete ranking table, real card examples for all 10 hands, and a table scenario to lock in everything from a royal flush down to high card — plus the spots beginners mix up most.
- ✓Texas Holdʼem has 10 hands, from strongest to weakest: royal flush → high card
- ✓The harder a hand is to make, the stronger it ranks — that is the whole logic of the order
- ✓You pick the best 5 cards out of 7: your 2 hole cards plus the 5 community cards
- ✓The most common beginner mix-up: a flush actually beats a straight
The 10 Texas Holdʼem hands from strongest to weakest
The ranking order is not something you memorize by force — probability decides it: the harder a combination is to make, the higher it ranks. A royal flush is almost impossible to hit, so it sits at the top; everyone has a high card, so it sits at the bottom. Start with the full table below, then look at a real example of each hand one at a time.
- ✓Royal Flush — A K Q J 10 all in the same suit, the biggest straight flush of all
- ✓Straight Flush — 5 cards in the same suit and in consecutive order
- ✓Four of a Kind — 4 cards of the same rank
- ✓Full House — three of a kind plus a pair
- ✓Flush — 5 cards of the same suit, but not in consecutive order
- ✓Straight — 5 cards in consecutive order, suits do not have to match
- ✓Three of a Kind — 3 cards of the same rank
- ✓Two Pair — two pairs of different ranks
- ✓One Pair — 2 cards of the same rank
- ✓High Card — when you make none of the above, the highest single card decides it
The most common mix-up: flush vs straight
Of those 10 hands, the one beginners get wrong most often is which of a flush and a straight is stronger. Remember one line: a flush beats a straight. Collecting 5 cards of the same suit is harder than collecting 5 in a row.
In practice: how you build your best hand at the table
In Texas Holdʼem you hold only 2 cards, and there are 5 community cards on the board. Your hand is the best 5 cards you can pick out of those 7. Take this example: you are on the button with A♠K♠, and the flop comes Q♠J♠10♠.
Your 2 hole cards A♠K♠ plus Q♠J♠10♠ on the board make exactly a royal flush. That is how you read hands in Texas Holdʼem: always look at your hole cards and the board together, instead of staring only at your own two cards.
- ✓Check for a flush or a straight first — those two get missed the most
- ✓Then check for a pair, two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or quads
- ✓Read your hole cards and the board together, picking the best 5 out of 7
- ✓If both players have the same hand, compare the main cards and then the kicker (the highest remaining card)
Rule details: can an ace count as 1? Is short deck the same?
In standard Texas Holdʼem, an ace can be the highest card and can also play as a 1 in the A-2-3-4-5 straight. But an ace cannot wrap around both ends, so K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight.
Short-deck poker is worth noting separately. Short deck removes the 2s through 5s, which changes how often each hand appears and can change the ranking order too (in some rule sets, for example, a flush beats a full house). If you are playing short deck, always check that platform’s hand rankings first — you cannot simply apply the standard order in this article.
What is the best hand in poker?
Which is better, a flush or a straight?
Can an ace count as 1?
How do you compare two players who both have one pair?
Are the hand rankings the same in short-deck poker?
Further reading: if you are starting from zero, read “What Is Poker” and “Texas Holdʼem Rules” first; to go deeper on a single hand, see “What Is a Straight,” “What Is a Flush,” and “What Is a Full House.”
