This page is dedicated to explaining the different values and how they rank in comparison to one another to aid you in knowing when you should raise, check or fold. Here we will show the best hand in poker but we won’t list poker sites.
Poker Hands Ranked
Below you will find a complete poker hands chart that are eligible to win in most poker games and in order of value, starting with the highest hand, the royal flush and the high card at the lowest end:
Best Hand in Poker
As seen above, the two best hands in the game are poker flushes. What is a flush? A flush is a set of cards in the same suit which are in a sequence. However, there is a difference between a Royal and Straight flush.
A Royal Flush is the highest hand in poker, it will see you get a hand that consists of the five highest valued cards, 10, J, Q, K, A, all matching in suits, i.e. the suited card being Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts or Spade.
Naturally, this is an incredibly difficult feat. Statistically speaking, there is a 1 in 649,740 chances of getting this.
While that might sound high, it’s certainly not impossible. Especially when you consider the number of poker games that happen on a daily basis it isn’t even that high of a number.
This is followed in value by a Straight Flush. This, again, are five-card combinations in the same suit but doesn’t require the cards to be the highest value. As such, a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is also considered one. However, the higher the ranking of the cards the more that flush is worth.
However, the higher the ranking of the cards the more that flush is worth.
And so, if say you got 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and somehow, someone managed to get 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 then you could still lose. However, if it is the same values, but not the same numbers, then it would be a tie.
The odds of achieving any straight flush are pretty high sitting at 1 in 43316, the chance of two people getting it, are in fact, not altered. However, it would be incredibly unlucky and is what is known as a “bad beat.”
Knowing the poker hand rankings is very important but do not overlook the Poker Odds to see where these hands stand.
What Beats What In Poker
While above you can find the poker hand rankings, there are a few more commonly queries. For example, a full house vs a straight flush, or straight vs flush are common confusions among players.
Some of these common online poker questions are:
- Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes - Does a poker full house beat a flush?
Yes. - Does 3 of a kind beat 2 pair?
Yes. - Does a full house beat a straight flush?
Yes. - Does two pair beat three of a kind?
No. - Does 3 of a kind beat a straight?
Yes.
What beats a full house?
A full house in poker can be beaten by either a four of a kind, a straight flush or a royal flush. What is a full house? A full house is three of a kind with a pair, so three cards which the same value and 2 separate cards also with the same value
For any other queries about what beats what, you can see the poker ranks shown above.
The Worst Hand In Poker To Start With
When it comes to the worst starting hands in Texas Holdem poker, it would be a 2 and 7 that were in two different suits. This is because they prevent you from getting a straight or a flush immediately.
The best-case scenario is you get a pair of 7s or a pair of 2s, but even then, this isn’t great. There may be a possibility to draw a three of a kind, this is still pretty rare and, in this situation, the best poker strategy would be to fold.
Following on from this, the next worse hands to start with are 2-8, 3-8, 2-9 and 2-6 all of which are not the same suit, for similar reasons.
However, the higher one of your cards is, the more it may come in handy if you are forced to play the high card but the chances of no-one else have something better in this situation are low.
Poker Hand Rankings Overview
Making sure you have the knowledge of everything on this page will help you get off to the right start when playing poker. You should never enter a poker room without having this knowledge down, as it will lead you to make the wrong calls time and time again.
We, therefore, advise you to revise the poker hand rankings. One thing we haven’t touched on here is bluffing. This is pretending you have a high ranked hand when in actuality you don’t. This is another integral thing to consider, but again this requires a knowledge of the poker hand rankings in order to benefit from it.
FAQs
1. What’s the best hand in poker?
The best poker hand a player can get is the Royal Flush, which consists of A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit.
2. What are the odds of getting a royal flush?
A poker player can expect to be dealt a royal flush once in roughly every 13 hands, on average. Even though the frequency of being dealt a royal is great, the odds of drawing it are not so good.
3. What are the odds of getting a straight flush?
You have 1 in 72,192 chance of hitting a straight flush or 0.00139% chance of hitting a straight flush on average. To calculate our odds of hitting a straight flush, divide the total number of straight flush hands (36) by the total number of possible hands (2,598,960).
4. Do I need to bet if I have a bad had?
Yes, you are always required to bet in order to play a hand and this is also called ante, which is a stake put up by a player before receiving cards.
5. How many poker hands are there?
There are several variations of poker but you can count 10 poker hands in Texas Holdem.
6. What are the poker variants?
The most popular variant of poker games nowadays are Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi (and Hi-Lo) and 7-Card Stud, followed by 2-7 Triple Draw, 5-Card Draw, 5-Card Omaha, Badugi, HORSE, Razz, Chinese Poker, Short Deck and Pineapple.
7. Can I try poker games for free?
Yes, some online casinos allow you to try a few poker games but usually you are not able to play live poker tables though.
8. How can I learn more about poker?
If you are interested in playing poker, leaning more about poker odds, and also find the best poker sites to try your skills, then take a look at our Poker Guide.