Every poker hand consists of five cards, the top hand wins. When two hands are matching apart from the suits, they are considered equal. If there are two highest equivalent hands in a showdown, the pot is split between them.

Hands are ranked as follows (from high to low):

A royal flush is a five card sequence from Ten to Ace (T,J,Q,K,A) in the same suit it is an ace-high straight flush. It is the best possible hand in poker.

There are only four of them: T ♠ J ♠ Q ♠ K ♠ A ♠ , T ♥ J ♥ Q ♥ K ♥ A ♥ , T ♣ J ♣ Q ♣ K ♣ A ♣ , and T ♦ J ♦ Q ♦ K ♦ A ♦ As all suits are equivalent, all royal flushes are equivalent.

A straight flush is any five card sequence in the same suit.

Example 1: 9 ♠ T ♠ J ♠ Q ♠ K ♠

Example 2: A ♣ 2 ♣ 3 ♣ 4 ♣ 5 ♣

Ranking between straights is determined by the rank of the high end of the straight. Since example 1 has an ace-high end and example 2 has a five-high end, example 1 is a higher hand than example 2. As in a regular straight, you can have an ace either high 9 ♠ T ♠ J ♠ Q ♠ K ♠ or low A ♣ 2 ♣ 3 ♣ 4 ♣ 5 ♣ . However, a straight may not ‘wraparound’. A hand like Q ♥ K ♥ A ♥ 2 ♥ 3 ♥ is not a straight flush.

A four of a kind is composed of four cards of the same rank plus one high card (any unrelated card).

Example 1: 3 ♠ 3 ♣ 3 ♦ 3 ♥ J ♠

Example 2: Q ♠ Q ♣ Q ♦ Q ♥ 2 ♦

Between two four of a kinds, the hand with the higher-rank four of a kind wins. Example 2 (four queens) is a higher hand than example 1 (four threes). If, in a game like hold’em where there are five shared cards, there are two four of a kinds with the equivalent rank, then the hand with the higher high card wins.

A full house consists of three cards of equal rank plus two cards of equal rank (a pair).

Example 1: 9 ♠ 9 ♣ 9 ♦ J ♥ J ♣

Example 2: 4 ♣ 4 ♦ 4 ♥ 5 ♦ 5 ♠

When comparing full houses, the hand with the higher-rank of the three cards wins. In our example above, example 1 (nines full) is a higher hand than example 2 (fours full). When there is a tie between the rank of the three cards, the hand with a higher-rank of the pair wins. For instance, A ♣ A ♦ A ♥ T ♦ T ♣ is a higher hand than A ♠ A ♥ A ♣ 8 ♦ 8 ♠ .

If you have a hand with five same-suited cards, you would hold a flush.

Example 1: A ♦ J ♦ 8 ♦ 5 ♦ 3 ♦

Example 2: A ♣ J ♣ 6 ♣ 3 ♣ 2 ♣

If there is more than one flush, the winning hand is determined by the rank order of the highest card, or cards. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. Example 1 has a rank order from high-to-low of A-J-8-5-3 while example 2 has a rank order of A-J-6-3-2. Since there is a tie on the highest card, ace, and a tie on the second highest card, jack, the hand with the higher-rank of the third highest card wins example 1′s A-J-8 beats example 2′s A-J-6.

A straight is five mixed suited cards in sequence.

Example 1: 9 ♠ T ♣ J ♦ Q ♥ K ♥

Example 2: 3 ♣ 4 ♣ 5 ♦ 6 ♥ 7 ♠

When comparing two straights, the hand with higher end card wins. Example 1 is a K-high and example is a 7-high example 1 is a better hand. An ace may either be high (T-J-Q-K-A) or low (1-2-3-4-5), but may not be ‘wrapped around,’ such as J-Q-K-A-2. If two straights have the same value (A-K-Q-J-T vs. A-K-Q-J-T), pot is to be split.

A three of a kind contains three cards of one rank and two high cards (not a pair, otherwise, the hand becomes a full house).

Example 1: K ♠ K ♣ K ♦ Q ♥ 8 ♠

Example 2: 7 ♠ 7 ♣ 7 ♦ 9 ♥ 2 ♦

The hand with the highest three cards of equal rank wins. Since the trip Ks in example 1 is higher than the trip 7s in example 2, example 1 is the higher hand. If there is a tie on the three cards of equal rank, then the winning hand is determined by the rank order of the highest high card, or cards. 6 ♠ 6 ♣ 6 ♦ J ♥ 8 ♦ beats 6 ♠ 6 ♣ 6 ♦ J ♥ 5 ♠ .

A two pair is composed of two two-cards of equal rank plus one high card.

Example 1: T ♠ T ♣ 8 ♦ 8 ♥ 3 ♣

Example 2: T ♣ T ♦ 4 ♥ 4 ♦ 9 ♠

The highest pair rank determines the winner (for example, KK22 beats QQJJ.) If both hands have the same high pair, the rank of the second pair determines the winner. Example 1 and example 2 ties on the high pair, but since example 1 has the higher second pair, example 1 wins. If both players hold the same two pair, then the rank of the high card determines the winning hand. If the hand is identical, then players split the pot.

One pair consists of two cards of equal rank plus three unpaired cards.

Example 1: J ♠J ♣9 ♦6 ♥ 4 ♠

Example 2: 7 ♠ 7 ♣ A ♦ J ♥ 5 ♦

When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair wins. The pair of J in example 1 beats the pair of 7s in example 2. If the pairs are the same, the rank of the high card is compared. If the highest high card is the same, the next highest high card will be compared. If the next highest high card is the same, then the last high card determines the winner. If the hand is identical, then players split the pot. A hand with 6 ♦ 6 ♣ A ♥ T ♥ 4 ♠ beats 6 ♥ 6 ♣ A ♦ 7 ♠ 5 ♠ .

A high card is five mix suited unrelated cards, which doesn’t qualify as any one of the above hands.

Example 1: A ♠ J ♦ T ♠ 7 ♦ 3 ♥

Example 2: A ♠ J ♠ 7 ♥ 6 ♦ 5 ♥

The rank order of the high cards determines the winning hand. When players tie on the highest high card, the next high card is compared, and so on. The rank order of example 1 is A-J-T-7-3 and the rank order of example 2 is A-J-7-6-5. Example 1 and example 2 both tie on the highest and the second highest high card. However, the third highest high card example 1 beats the one in example 2. Example 1 is the better hand.