Fundamentals
Poker hand rankings: from one pair to a royal flush
Good decisions start with recognising your cards. Learn the order of poker hands and how ties are broken.
A poker hand always contains five cards. What changes between variants is how you choose those five cards. This guide uses the traditional high-hand rankings found in Texas Hold’em and Omaha at Black Sheep Poker.
Poker hands, strongest to weakest
- Royal flush: A, K, Q, J and 10 of one suit. This is the highest possible straight flush.
- Straight flush: five consecutive ranks of the same suit, such as 9♠ 8♠ 7♠ 6♠ 5♠.
- Four of a kind: four cards of one rank, such as four queens, plus a fifth card.
- Full house: three cards of one rank and two of another, such as three kings and two eights.
- Flush: five cards of the same suit that do not form a straight.
- Straight: five consecutive ranks, with different suits allowed.
- Three of a kind: three cards of one rank and two other cards.
- Two pair: two pairs of different ranks and a fifth card.
- One pair: two cards of one rank and three other cards.
- High card: if none of the combinations above applies, start with the highest card.
How are ties broken?
Compare the main combination first. A pair of aces beats a pair of kings. If both players have a pair of aces, compare the highest remaining card, known as the kicker. Continue through the remaining cards from highest to lowest until there is a difference.
With two pair, compare the higher pair, then the lower pair, and finally the kicker. With a full house, compare the three matching cards first, then the pair. For a straight, compare the top card. An ace can be high in 10-J-Q-K-A or low in A-2-3-4-5; the latter is a five-high straight.
Suits do not break ties in Texas Hold’em or Omaha. When the best five cards have identical ranks, eligible players split the pot. A player can only share in pots they are entitled to contest.
An example at the table
Suppose the board is A♣ K♦ 8♥ 4♠ 2♣. You hold A♦ Q♠ and another player holds A♥ J♣. Both have a pair of aces. Your best hand is A-A-K-Q-8; theirs is A-A-K-J-8. Your queen beats their jack at the first different kicker.
Now imagine a board of A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠. In Texas Hold’em, everyone still in the showdown can use all five board cards and split the pot. This does not work in Omaha: you must use exactly two hole cards and exactly three community cards.
A simple way to practise
Open a bot table and name your hand after every new community card. Also think about the hands your opponents could make. A strong hand on the flop may become less convincing on the turn or river.
Black Sheep Poker uses play chips. They cannot be bought, withdrawn or exchanged for money or prizes. Use your games to learn the flow of a hand and try different decisions.