Guide to Poker Hand Rankings

One of the most underrated difficulties in mastering the game of poker is knowing the different poker hands and, more importantly, which hands rank the highest. In this guide to poker hand rankings, we will go through the different types of hands, where they rank on the chart from strongest to weakest, the probability of each rank, and the number of different combinations there are to make up each specific hand.

Different Poker Hands and their Ranking

Poker hands fall into one of ten different categories, with each one having a different rank in terms of the strength of the hand. Across almost all versions of poker, there is a standard ranking for poker hands (with exceptions being for lowball games and games using a wild card).

Here is a list of the hands in ranking order from strongest to weakest:

A Royal Flush is the strongest poker hand ranking and is thus unbeatable. It is made up of a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit. There are 4 different combinations for a royal flush (Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs and Spades). The probability of making a royal flush is 30, 939 to 1.

A Straight Flush is the second highest hand ranking in poker. This hand consists of five cards in sequences all in the same suit. There are 36 different combinations of this poker hand. The probability of making a straight flush is 3,437.8 to 1.

Four-of-a-kind is the third-highest hand ranking in poker. Also known as 'Quads', four-of-a-kind is made up of the same card value in 4 different suits. There are 624 different combinations of this hand. The probability of making a Four of a Kind is 594 to 1.

The fourth strongest hand in poker is a full house. This hand is made up of a pair of the same card ranking and three of a different card ranking (a combination of a pair and a three of a kind). There are 3,744 different combinations for this type of hand. It has a probability of 37.5 to 1.

A Flush is the fifth strongest poker hand. It comprises five cards in the same suit in any sequence. There are 5,108 different combinations for this hand. The probability of making a normal Flush is 32.1 to 1.

A straight is the next highest poker hand ranking. It consists of five cards in numerical sequence in any suit. There are 10,200 different combinations for a straight. The probability of making a Straight is 20.6 to 1.

Three-of-a-kind is the next highest poker hand ranking. Also known as 'trips', this hand comprises 3 of the same card value, with two unmatched cards. There are 54,912 different combinations for trips. Three-of-a-kind has a probability of 19.7 to 1.

The third weakest hand ranking is two pair. This hand consists of two sets of matching card values, with another random card. There are 123,552 different combinations for a two-pair hand. It was a low probability of 3.26 to 1.

The second lowest poker hand rank is a pair. This hand consists of one pair of matched card values, along with 3 random and unmatched cards. There are just over one million different combinations for this hand. It has a probability of 1.28 to 1.

The weakest poker hand is a high-card hand. This is just a random assortment of cards, with the highest card in the hand being played against other opposing hands which are similar. There are just over 1.3 million different combinations for this, with a probability of 4.74 to 1. It was a slightly higher probability of odds due to getting Ace highs.

Learn How to Play Different Poker Types

Now that you know the different hand rankings, it's time to use this knowledge in different poker types. Check out some of our different poker guides below:

Poker Hand Rankings - Summary

Understanding the different poker hands, and where they rank from strongest to weakest, is the first step to becoming a poker card shark. Knowing the best hands and how to combine them is a surefire way to turn poker into a profitable card game to play at home with family and friends, as well as online on the best poker sites in NZ.