Rank of Hands

The rank of hands remains the same no matter which type of poker game you play.

In a nutshell, a poker hand consists of five cards. Poker hands fall into one of several categories, such as flush, straight, or two pair. The player making the highest ranked five card hand out of the seven cards (the five community card plus his own two hole cards) wins the pot. It doesn’t matter if he uses four of the community cards on the board and one hole card or both hole cards and three from the board. Sometimes even the five communal cards may rank as the best hand. Then all the players share the pot since they all have that hand!

The following is a list of texas hold'em poker hand rankings from strongest to weakest:

Royal Straight Flush

This is the daddy of all hands and even if you play often, you will rarely see one. It's similar to a hole in one in golf. It is made of up all of the same suite, ten through Ace. It is a straight and a flush and the royal part comes from it being made up of the highest cards too.

Straight Flush

While not as magical as the royal straight flush, the straight flush still is a rariety.  It is made up of 5 cards of the same suite ranked in succession. In the unlikely event that two people have a straight flush its the straight flush which starts the heighest card that wins.

Four Of A Kind

This is self-explanatory. A four of a kind ocurrs when you have all the cards of one type.

Full House

A full house happens when you have both three of a kind and also a pair. To determine if one full house higher ranked then another, first look at the three cards of the same kind. The one that is larger wins. If they both are the same then you'll have to compare the two cards.

For example: Jacks full of fours (JJJ, 44) beats 9s full of Aces (999, AA)

Jacks full of tens (JJJ, TT) beats Jacks full of nines (JJJ, 99)

Full houses in texas hold'em are nice hands and you will most likely see someone show one down everytime you play.

Flush

A flush occurs when you have five of the same suite. If the cards were also in succession (like a straight), then it would be a straight flush. To determine which flush wins if there are more then one in a hand, then the person with the highest card in their hand wins. In the example to the right, the person has a ten high flush. This would beat someone with a nine high flush and below. Flushes are pretty common in hold'em.

Straight

straight occurs when a player has five cards in ranked succession.  Note that an Ace can play both as a high card or a low card.  Note the two examples to the right. Straights are also very common in hold'em.  

Three Of A Kind

Three of a kind is a nice hand. There are two different names for three of a kind hands and it depends on whether you have two of them on the board, or a pair in your hand. They both rank the same but to be a savy player you should know the difference. If you have a pocket pair and hit one on the flop then it is called a "set". If you have two cards on the flop and only one in your hand then it is called three of a kind.

Two Pair

Two pair is when your best five cards create a pair twice. That seems easy enough right? When comparing two hands both with two pair then the larger one always wins.

For example:
AA 22 would beat KK JJ
88 33 would beat 77 66

One Pair

One pair is the hand you'll be getting the most and trying to win with the most. Top pair is usually the hand you'll be betting and trying to win some pots with. When more then one person has the same pair, then the "kickers" come in to play. Remember texas hold'em uses the best five cards so the following is true:

Ah, Ac, Jc, 6d, 4d would lose to Ad, As, Jd, 6c, 5d
Notice how the 5 beats the 4 (best five cards makes a hand).

High Card

The high card hand is the lowest non pair hand. Sometimes Ace high can win, but in the low limit games it is very rare. In the example to the right, the high card is K. So you would have "king high". You would beat someone if they had "queen high" or below but even a pair of deuces would beat you!