Poker hand rankings
From best to worst, with how often each turns up in a five-card deal. There are 2,598,960 possible hands, calculated as the number of combinations of 52 cards taken 5 at a time. The counts below add up to exactly that.
| Hand | What it is | Ways to make it | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Royal flush | 10-J-Q-K-A, all one suit | 4 | 0.000154% |
| 2. Straight flush | Five in a row, all one suit | 36 | 0.00139% |
| 3. Four of a kind | All four of one rank | 624 | 0.0240% |
| 4. Full house | Three of one rank, two of another | 3,744 | 0.144% |
| 5. Flush | Five of one suit, not in order | 5,108 | 0.197% |
| 6. Straight | Five in a row, mixed suits | 10,200 | 0.392% |
| 7. Three of a kind | Three of one rank | 54,912 | 2.11% |
| 8. Two pair | Two pairs | 123,552 | 4.75% |
| 9. One pair | One pair | 1,098,240 | 42.3% |
| 10. High card | None of the above | 1,302,540 | 50.1% |
About half of all five-card hands are high card hands, and another 42% contain exactly one pair. Two pair or better occurs in roughly one hand in thirteen.
How ties are broken
Two players can hold the same kind of hand, and the ranking above doesn’t settle it. The rule is to compare the cards that make the hand, then whatever is left over, in descending order. Those leftovers are the kickers.
- Pairs. K-K-9-6-3 beats K-K-9-6-2. The pairs match, the nine and six match, and the last card decides it.
- Two pair. The higher top pair wins first; if those match, the second pair; only then the kicker.
- Full house. The three of a kind decides it, always. Eights over deuces beats sevens over aces.
- Flushes. Compared card by card from the top. Suits never break a tie in standard poker.
If every card that matters is matched, the hand is a genuine tie and the pot is split. This tool says so rather than picking someone arbitrarily.
The ace plays both ways
An ace can be the highest card or the lowest. A-2-3-4-5 is a straight — often called the wheel — and it’s the lowest straight, five-high, so it loses to 2-3-4-5-6. The same ace is the top card in 10-J-Q-K-A.
What an ace cannot do is bridge the two. K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight; it’s ace-high and nothing more. Getting this wrong in either direction is the most common fault in hand-ranking code, which is why both cases are tested here.
How five card draw is played
- The dealer deals five cards to each player, one at a time, going clockwise.
- Players look at their hands. Betting happens here in a real game.
- Each player may discard up to three cards and draw replacements, hoping to improve. Standing pat — keeping all five — is allowed.
- A second round of betting follows in a real game.
- Hands are shown, and the best one wins.
This tool deals the opening hands and settles who is ahead. It doesn't handle betting or the discard round, so it's best for settling a ranking question, practising reading hands, or playing a quick showdown when there are no cards to hand. For individual random cards, see the Random Card Generator.
Frequently asked questions
What beats what in poker?
From the top: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. This is the standard five-card poker hand ranking.
Does a flush beat a full house?
No. A full house beats a flush, because full houses are rarer: 3,744 ways against 5,108.
Who wins if two players have the same pair?
The other three cards decide it, compared from highest to lowest. K-K-9-6-3 beats K-K-9-6-2 on the last card. If all five cards match in rank, the hand is tied and the pot is split.
Is A-2-3-4-5 a straight?
Yes, and it's the lowest one — the ace counts as low, making it five-high, so it loses to 2-3-4-5-6. K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight, because the ace can't be high and low at once.
Does one suit beat another?
No. In standard poker all four suits are equal, and identical hands in different suits tie. Some house rules use suit order to break ties for side purposes, such as who deals, but not to decide a pot.