Poker Hand Rankings
Poker hands are compared using a standard ranking system. The Player with the better hand, i.e. the highest ranking hand wins that particular deal. Any hand in a higher rank beats any hand in a lower rank, so a Full House would beat a Three of a Kind and a Four of a Kind would beat a Straight. The standard hand rankings from highest to lowest are:
Royal Flush - The highest possible Poker hand consisting of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 all in the same suit. As we mentioned before, all suits are equal, so all Royal Flushes are equal.
Straight Flush - Five sequential cards in the same suit, for example, Jh, 10h, 9h, 8h, 7h (h = hearts). In the case of multiple Straight Flushes, the hand containing the higher top card wins.
Four of a Kind - This hand consists of 4 cards all in the same rank, with the 5th card being any random card. An example of a Four of a Kind is 6c, 6h, 6d, 6s, Qh. In the case of multiple Four of a Kind hands, the hand with the higher set of 4 cards wins. So 4 sixes would beat 4 threes.
Full House - This hand consists of 3 cards of one rank and 2 cards of another rank, as in the case of 8d, 8c, 8s, Kc, Kh. In the case of multiple Full House hands, the hand with the higher 3 cards wins. So, a hand of 8d, 8c, 8s, Kc, Kh would beat a hand of 3c, 3s, 3d, Ah, As.
Flush - Five cards all in the same suit such as Kc, Jc, 9c, 3c, 2c. In the case of multiple Flush hands, the one with the highest card is the winner. If the highest cards are equal, then the 2nd highest cards determine the winning hand and so on. So a hand of Kc, Jc, 9c, 3c, 2c wins over a hand of Kh, Jh, 7h, 6h, 5h.
Straight - Five sequential cards in a mixed suit; for example, Qh, Jc, 10s, 9c, 8h. In the case of multiple Straights, the hand with the higher ranking card wins. So a hand of Qh, Jc, 10s, 9c, 8h beats a hand of Jd, 10c, 9h, 8s, 7c. If an Ace makes up a Straight, the hand with the higher Ace Straight wins, so a Straight with Ah, Kc, Qs, Jd, 10c wins over a hand of Ad, 2s, 3c, 4h, 5d.
Three of a Kind - This type of hand is informally known as a Triplet or a Trip. It consists of 3 cards of the same rank and 2 other random cards; for example, 7c, 7d, 7s, 4h, Qd. In the case of multiple Triplets, the hand with the higher set of 3 cards wins. 7c, 7d, 7s, 4h, Qd beats a 6d, 6h, 6c, 10s, As.
Two Pairs - Two identical cards or two cards of equal rank make up a pair. So a hand with Two Pairs would have 2 sets of cards of equal rank. A hand with 10d, 10c, 2h, 2s, 2d is considered Two Pairs. In the case of multiple Two Pairs, a hand of 10d, 10c, 4h, 4s, Kd beats a hand of 10s, 10h, 2h, 2s, Ad.
Pair - Two identical cards or two cards of equal rank. The other 3 remaining cards do not match these cards or each other; such as 9c, 9d, Jd, Qh, Ac. In the case of multiple Pairs, the hand with the higher pair wins; so a hand of 9c, 9d, 10d, Jh, Kc beats a hand of 8d, 8s, Qh, Kd, As.
High Card - This is a hand which does not form any of the hand rankings listed above. A typical High Card hand would be 10h, 8s, 5c, 3d, 2s. In the case of multiple High Card hands, the one with the better highest card wins. So a hand of 10h, 8s, 5c, 3d, 2s beats a hand of 9c, 7h, 6s, 5d, 3h.
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