Ranking of Poker Hands

The ranking of poker hands is a fairly basic pre-requisite for any poker player to understand, as it's massively important you understand whether you are holding a likely winning hand. These rankings are based on a completed hand in which players attempt to make the best 5 card poker hand at showdown. In standard poker games like Hold'em or Omaha there is no ranking of suits in determining the best ranked hands however some variations do incorporate the ranking of suits which would normally be hearts (high), diamonds, clubs, spades (low).

Here is an illustrated view on the likelihood of hitting each hand along with the odds of hitting each particular hand.

Royal Flush

A K Q J 10
Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of the same suit. The odds of getting this hand is 1 in 649,740.00.

Straight Flush

9 8 7 6 5
Any five-card sequence in the same suit (e.g.: 8, 9, 10, Jack and Queen of clubs; or 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of diamonds) - a strong hand beaten only by the Royal Flush. The odds of getting this hand is 1 in 72,193.33.

Four of a Kind

K K K K 7
A Poker Hand where four cards of the same value (e.g.: 8, 8, 8, 8; or Queen, Queen, Queen, Queen) or in the example above, four Kings. The odds of getting four of a kind is 1 in 4,165.00.

Full House

K K K A A
Poker hand consisting of three of a kind combined with a pair (e.g.: K, K, K with A, A or similar combination). The odds of hitting a full house is 1 in 694.16.

Flush

K 10 7 5 6
Poker hand consisting of any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence (e.g.: 4, 5, 7, 10 and King of spades). The odds of hitting a flush is 1 in 508.80.

Straight

8 7 6 5 4
A Poker Hand with five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit (or would be straight flush) (e.g.: 7 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 9 of diamonds, 10 of spades and Jack of hearts). The odds of hitting a straight is 1 in 254.80.

3 of a Kind

4 4 4 6 3
A Hand with three cards of the same value (e.g.: 3, 3, 3; or Jack, Jack, Jack). The odds of hitting three of a kind is 1 in 47.32.

2 Pair

10 10 9 9 2
A Hand with two separate pairs (e.g.: 2, 2, Queen, Queen). The odds of hitting two pair is 1 in 21.03.

1 Pair

10 10 A K 2
A hand with two cards of the same value (e.g.: 7, 7). The odds of hitting one pair is 1 in 2.36

High Card

K Q 7 5 2

If a hand contains none of the above combinations (pair and above), it is valued by the highest card there, in the case immediately above the King would be the high card. The odds of a high card is 1 in 1.99 (you will see a few of these).

Poker is a game of betting strategy, and poker odds feature heavily on game theory . It's important to understand odds and the chance of making a particular hand. Here is a simple starter guide on how often each hand will be hit and the corresponding odds of making each hand - highest to lowest

Likelihood and Odds of Each Poker Hand

The following table will give you a view on how many different ways each hand can be made as well as the odds of hitting each hand. Would it surprise you to know that you would only hit a Royal Flush every 649,740,000 hands?