
Poker Hands Ranking Chart & Hold’em Top 20 Starting Hand
To learn poker, it is very important to know all about the Poker Terms, Poker hands and their ranking. First of all, you have to know what hand is? Each player receives cards from the dealer, and each player has to make the highest combination of cards from his hole cards and community cards spread on the table to win the pot called hand. The poker hand is usually made up of 5 cards.
The highest hand wins the pot in the case of Texas Holdem, Omaha, 7 card stud, and 3 card poker. In contrast, the lowest hand wins the pot in the case of Razz. In order to practice, you will need WSOP free chips where you can put your theoretical knowledge into practice by seeing what beats what in poker.
Poker Hands Chart
Every Hand of Poker has some rankings which shows its priority over the other hands. By going through this Poker Hands Chart you can understand which hand has the highest ranking and which has the lowest. You can learn Poker from WSOP official Poker Academy.

Poker Deck
A set of 52 cards is usually used in most poker games called a poker deck. The dealer is the one who holds the deck and distributes cards from the deck to each player according to the game’s format.
Types of cards in a poker deck
A poker deck consists of Suits, Ranks and a wild card.
- Suits: There are 4 suits in a card deck. Hearts ♥, Diamonds ♦, Spades ♠ , and Clubs ♣.
- Ranks: There are 13 ranks per suit.
- No of cards: Cards ranged numerically from 2 to 10.
- Face cards: There are 4 face cards. Jack ( J ), Queen ( Q ), King ( K ), and Ace ( A ).
- Wild / Excluding card: Most games don’t use a joker card and exclude it from the deck, while some casual games use Joker as a wild card.
Poker cards value
The value of cards is determined by the value of their rank and sometimes by their suits due to the nature of the game. Each card in a deck plays an important role in hand formation.
- Hands made by suits: Suits make two best / highest hands. One is Royal flush, and the other is Straight Flush.
- Role of Ace: Ace can be used as the highest card in the case of Flush or royal Flush ( A, K, Q, J, 10 ) and can be used as the lowest card in case of straight ( A, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Poker Hands Ranking From Highest To Lowest
Before start playing poker you must understand its hands and learn some Poker Tips and Tricks to become a pro. Here are 11 possible hands can be made in poker and most of the poker games allow these hands combination.
Five of a Kind
It consists of 5 cards of the same rank that can only be made when one wild card is used in a game. Joker can be used as a wild card in most of the cases. It is the best hand that can even beat the royal Flush. For example, ( A, A, A, A, Joker ).


Royal Flush
It consists of five cards of the same suit ( ace of clubs, king of clubs, queen of clubs, jack of hearts and 10 of clubs ). It is the strongest hand that can be made in most of the poker games. It is very rare to come while playing any game like Texas hold’em. The probability of coming a royal flush to any player is 0.000154%. Formula: P(Royal Flush)=2,598,9604=649,7401≈0.000154%
Straight Flush
The 2nd best hand after royal Flush consists of 5 cards of the same suit ranked numerically called straight Flush. In straight Flush there are no face cards in it. It is not as rare as royal Flush so the probability of straight Flush to come is 0.00139%.


Four of a Kind
It consists of four cards of the same rank, and it is the 3rd highest hand after royal and straight Flush. For example, ( 7 of hearts, 7 of spades, 7 of clubs, 7 of diamonds ). The probability of this to come is 0.02402%.
Full House
A full house consists of a Trio ( three cards of the same kind ) and a pair ( two cards of the same kind ). In 5 card games like Texas holdem, if player one has a pair of aces ( A, A ) and the other player has a pair of kings ( K, K ) and the table is covered with community cards having a Trio of 7 ( 7, 7, 7 ) then player 1 wins the pot. It is because the ace ranked higher than the king. The probability of a full house to come is 0.1441%.


Flush | Color
A flush can be made by 5 cards having the same suit. If two players have Flush then the player having the highest ranking card will win the pot. For example, if player 1 has ( 4, 6, 8, k, 10 ) of the same suit and player 2 has ( 3, 7, 9, A, 10 ) of the same suit, in this situation, player 2 wins the pot. The probability of Flush to come is 0.1965%.
Straight | Ladder
It consists of five cards in a straight order numerically. For example, if player 1 has ( 4, 5, 6, 9, k) and player 2 has ( 3, 5, 7, 8, A), then in this case player 2 wins the pot because of the high rank card. The probability of straight to come is 0.3925%.


Three of a kind
It consists of three cards of equal rank but of different suits. If two players have three of a kind then a player having high rank cards wins the pot. The probability of 3 of a kind to come is 2.1128%.
Double/Two Pair
It consists of two cards of equal rank and another two cards of the same rank, making a double pair. It ranked higher above the Pair and high card. The probability of a double pair to come is 4.7539%.


One Pair
It consists of two cards of the same rank. It is a low hand that a player can have. The probability of one Pair to come is 42.2569%.
High Card
The worst hand that can be made, consists of cards having no pair, straight and flush in it. The probability of high card to come is 50.1177%.

Tie-breaker | kickers | Draw
If a draw happens between two players then tie-breakers and kickers are used in order to determine the winner of the pot.
- Kickers: It is a card, not a part of the primary hand combination used to break the tie. Kickers are mostly used in situations like ( one Pair, two Pair, four of a kind, three of a kind, and high card).
- Tie-breaker: Here is a table below showing tie breakers in all situations.
Hands | Tie Breaker |
---|---|
Royal Flush | In case of royal flush if two or players have it then the amount of chips splits equally. |
Straight Flush | The hand with the high ranked card wins (e.g., 9♠-10♠-J♠-Q♠-K♠ beats 8♦-9♦-10♦-J♦-Q♦). |
Four of a Kind | The higher four cards wins (e.g., 4 Queens beats 4 Jacks). If tied, the kicker decides the winner. |
Full House | The hand with the higher three cards wins (e.g., 3 Kings over 3 Queens). If tied, the pair decides. |
Flush | The hand with the highest card wins (compare cards in descending order: K♥-10♥-8♥ beats Q♥-J♥-9♥). |
Straight | The hand with the highest card in the order wins (e.g., 10-J-Q-K-A beats 9-10-J-Q-K). |
Three of Kind | The hand with the higher three cards wins. If tied, compare the kickers. |
Two Pair | The hand with the high ranked card pair wins. If tied, compare the other pair. If still tied, compare the kicker. |
One Pair | The hand with the high ranked card pair wins. If tied, compare kickers in descending order. |
High Card | The hand with the highest card wins. If tied, compare subsequent cards in descending order. |
Poker Hands Probability
Poker Hands | Probability (5-Card) | Odds (5-Card) | Probability (7-Card) | Odds (7-Card) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 0.000154% | 1 in 649,740 | 0.0032% | 1 in 30,939 |
Straight Flush | 0.00139% | 1 in 72,193 | 0.0279% | 1 in 3,589 |
Four of a Kind | 0.0240% | 1 in 4,165 | 0.168% | 1 in 594 |
Full House | 0.144% | 1 in 694 | 2.60% | 1 in 38 |
Flush | 0.197% | 1 in 508 | 3.03% | 1 in 33 |
Straight | 0.392% | 1 in 255 | 4.62% | 1 in 22 |
Three of a Kind | 2.11% | 1 in 47 | 4.83% | 1 in 20.7 |
Two Pair | 4.75% | 1 in 21 | 23.5% | 1 in 4.3 |
One Pair | 42.3% | 1 in 2.37 | 43.8% | 1 in 2.28 |
High Card | 50.1% | 1 in 1.99 | 17.4% | 1 in 5.75 |
What Beats What in Poker?
As we have discussed earlier poker hands chart and hands in order from highest to the lowest. It is very difficult for beginners to understand while playing any poker game like Texas Holdem that what hand beats what in poker? This section is for beginners and explains the related queries about winning hands and poker strategies.
Royal Flush VS Four of a kind, which hand wins?
Royal Flush lies at the top of the poker hands chart and is the best hand that anyone can get, so Royal Flush always wins. If you have a royal flush then you can confidently raise your bet and can go ALL-IN because it is the highest hand in poker.
Straight VS Full House, which hand wins?
This case has two scenarios, if player 1 has straight and player 2 has full House, then player 2 wins the pot because full House is a higher hand as compared to straight.
But if player 1 has straight Flush and player 2 has full House, then player 1 wins the pot because straight Flush is the 2nd highest hand after royal Flush.
Full House VS Full House, which hand wins?
If player 1 has a full house ( 9, 9, 9, 7, 7 ) and player 2 has ( 8, 8, 8, 10, 10), then in this situation, the player having a high-ranked Trio wins the pot. Player 1 wins in this situation because of three 9 in a Trio.
No Limit Texas Hold’em Top 20 Starting Hand
I have listed for you, by thorough research and years of experience, the top 20 starting hands of No Limit Texas Holdem where you can go All-In if you have these cards.

Strongest Poker hands explained
- Royal Flush: The unbeatable hand in poker.
- Straight Flush: Rare but powerful, only beaten by a royal flush.
- Four of a Kind: Strong and usually a winning hand.
Weakest Poker Hands & When To Fold
- High Card Hands: Without a pair or better, these are weak hands.
- Low Unsuited Connectors: (e.g., 7-2 offsuit) are unlikely to form strong combinations.
- Gapped Hands: (e.g., 9-4) make it harder to form straights or flushes.
Conclusion
By going through this article, no one can stop you from winning any poker game if you know the poker rules and hands. I have covered all the queries regarding winning hands, their ranking from highest to the lowest, starting hand ranking in the case of No Limit Holdem and the probability and the odds. So, this article is enough to learn any hands in poker.