Poker hand rankings

An absolute must for anyone who wants to become a decent poker player, or just wants to win, is, of course, knowing the different poker hands and their respective ranking. The poker hand rankings that are commonly accepted today have existed since the 1890s.

By definition, a poker hand always consists of five cards. However, there are some exceptions in some variants of poker, but we will ignore those for now.

Something which is common in Sweden is that people think Hearts, or sometimes Spades, are the highest suit. But, this isn’t true – all the suits are worth the same. For example, if two people have the same suit, the pot is normally split.

The hands presented below show the ranking, from best to worst.

1. Royal Straight Flush

Ace – King – Queen – Jack – 10 in the same suit.

2. Straight Flush

A five card straight, all in the same suit (which is not as high as a Royal Straight Flush)

3. Four of a Kind

Four cards of the same value

The fifth card is unimportant and can be any value.

4. Full House

A Three of a Kind and a Pair

5. Flush

Five cards from the same suit

6. Straight

Five cards in a row (Aces can be high or low)

7. Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same value

8. Two Pairs

Two Pairs

9. Pair

Two cards of the same value

10. High card

The hand shows none of the combinations above