# List of poker hands

(Redirected from Poker hands)

An ace-high straight flush, commonly known as a royal flush, is the best possible hand in many variants of poker.

In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called hands, according to the rules of the game.[1] Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot.[2] In high games, like Texas hold 'em and seven-card stud, the highest-ranking hands win. In low games, like razz, the lowest-ranking hands win. In high-low split games, both the highest-ranking and lowest-ranking hands win, though different rules are used to rank the high and low hands.[3][4]

Each hand belongs to a category determined by the patterns formed by its cards. A hand in a higher-ranking category always ranks higher than a hand in a lower-ranking category. A hand is ranked within its category using the ranks of its cards. Individual cards are ranked, from highest to lowest: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2.[5] However, aces have the lowest rank under ace-to-five low or ace-to-six low rules, or under high rules as part of a five-high straight or straight flush.[6][7] Suits are not ranked, so hands that differ by suit alone are of equal rank.[8]

There are nine categories of hand when using a standard 52-card deck, except under ace-to-five low rules where straights, flushes and straight flushes are not recognized. An additional category, five of a kind, exists when using one or more wild cards. The fewer hands a category contains, the higher its rank.[9] There are ${\displaystyle {\begin{matrix}{\frac {52!}{(52-5)!}}=311,875,200\end{matrix}}}$ ways to deal five cards from the deck but only ${\displaystyle {\begin{matrix}{\frac {52!}{(52-5)!5!}}=2,598,960\end{matrix}}}$ distinct hands, because the order in which cards are dealt or arranged in a hand does not matter.[10] Moreover, since hands differing only by suit are of equal rank, there are only 7,462 distinct hand ranks.[11]

## Hand-ranking categories

 * Only possible when using one or more wild cards ** Category does not exist under ace-to-five low rules
Name Example
Five of a kind*
Straight flush**
Four of a kind
Full house
Flush**
Straight**
Three of a kind
Two pair
One pair
High card

### Five of a kind

Five of a kind, aces

Five of a kind is a hand that contains five cards of one rank, such as 3 3 3 3 3 ("five of a kind, threes"). It ranks above a straight flush but is only possible when using one or more wild cards, as there are only four cards of each rank in the deck.[6] Five of a kind, aces, A A A A Jkr, becomes possible when a joker is added to the deck as a bug, a form of wild card that may act as a fifth ace.[5] Other wild card rules allow jokers or other designated cards to represent any card in the deck, making it possible to form five of a kind of any rank.[12]

Each five of a kind is ranked by the rank of its quintuplet. For example, Q Q Q Q Q ranks higher than 6 6 6 6 6.[6][13]

### Straight flush

A ace-high straight flush

A straight flush is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, all of the same suit, such as Q J 10 9 8 (a "queen-high straight flush").[4] It ranks below five of a kind and above four of a kind.[5] Under high rules, an ace can rank either high (as in A K Q J 10, an ace-high straight flush) or low (as in 5 4 3 2 A, a five-high straight flush), but cannot simultaneously rank both high and low (so Q K A 2 3 is an ace-high flush, but not a straight).[6][13] Under deuce-to-seven low rules, an ace always ranks high (so 5 4 3 2 A is an ace-high flush). Under ace-to-six low rules, an ace always rank low (so A K Q J 10 is a king-high flush).[14] Under ace-to-five low rules, straight flushes are not possible (so 9 8 7 6 5 is a nine-high hand).[7]

Each straight flush is ranked by the rank of its highest-ranking card. For example, 10 9 8 7 6 ranks higher than 9 8 7 6 5, which ranks higher than 6 5 4 3 2. Straight flush hands that differ by suit alone, such as 7 6 5 4 3 is stronger than 7 6 5 4 3, because the suit1 higher than suit 2 .[6][13]

An ace-high straight flush, such as A K Q J 10, is called a royal flush or royal straight flush and is the best possible hand in ace-high games when wild cards are not used.[5][15][16] A five-high straight flush, such as 5 4 3 2 A, is called a steel wheel and is both the best low hand and usually the best high hand of the showdown in ace-to-five high-low split games.[4]

### Four of a kind

Four of a kind, aces

Four of a kind, also known as quads, is a hand that contains four cards of one rank and one card of another rank (the kicker), such as 9 9 9 9 J ("four of a kind, nines"). It ranks below a straight flush and above a full house.[5]

Each four of a kind is ranked first by the rank of its quadruplet, and then by the rank of its kicker. For example, K K K K 3 ranks higher than 7 7 7 7 Q, which ranks higher than 7 7 7 7 10. Four of a kind hands that differ by suit alone, such as 4 4 4 4 9 and 4 4 4 4 9, are of equal rank.[6][13]

### Full house

A full house, aces over kings

A full house, also known as a full boat or a tight or a boat (and originally called a full hand), is a hand that contains three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, such as 3 3 3 6 6 (a "full house, threes over sixes" or "threes full of sixes" or "threes full").[17][18] It ranks below four of a kind and above a flush.[5]

Each full house is ranked first by the rank of its triplet, and then by the rank of its pair. For example, 8 8 8 7 7 ranks higher than 4 4 4 9 9, which ranks higher than 4 4 4 5 5. Full house hands that differ by suit alone, such as K K K J J and K K K J J, are of equal rank.[6][13]

### Flush

A ace-high flush

A flush is a hand that contains five cards all of the same suit, not all of sequential rank, such as K 10 7 6 4 (a "king-high flush" or a "king-ten-high flush").[19] It ranks below a full house and above a straight.[5] Under ace-to-five low rules, flushes are not possible (so J 8 4 3 2 is a jack-high hand).[7]

Each flush is ranked first by the rank of its highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its second highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its third highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its fourth highest-ranking card, and finally by the rank of its lowest-ranking card. For example, K J 9 6 4 ranks higher than Q J 7 6 5, which ranks higher than J 10 9 4 2, which ranks higher than J 10 8 6 3, which ranks higher than J 10 8 4 3, which ranks higher than J 10 8 4 2. Flush hands that differ by suit alone, such as 10 8 7 6 5 and 10 8 7 6 5, are of equal rank.[6][13]

### Straight

A ace-high straight

A straight is a hand that contains five cards of sequential rank, not all of the same suit, such as 7 6 5 4 3 (a "seven-high straight"). It ranks below a flush and above three of a kind.[5] Under high rules, an ace can rank either high (as in A K Q J 10, an ace-high straight) or low (as in 5 4 3 2 A, a five-high straight), but cannot simultaneously rank both high and low (so Q K A 2 3 is an ace-high hand).[6][13] Under deuce-to-seven low rules, an ace always ranks high (so 5 4 3 2 A is an ace-high hand). Under ace-to-six low rules, an ace always ranks low (so A K Q J 10 is a king-high hand).[14] Under ace-to-five low rules, straights are not possible (so 10 9 8 7 6 is a ten-high hand).[7]

Each straight is ranked by the rank of its highest-ranking card. For example, J 10 9 8 7 ranks higher than 10 9 8 7 6, which ranks higher than 6 5 4 3 2. Straight hands that differ by suit alone, such as 9 8 7 6 5 and 9 8 7 6 5, are of equal rank.[6][13]

An ace-high straight, such as A K Q J 10, is called a Broadway straight,[20] while a five-high straight, such as 5 4 3 2 A, is called a baby straight,[21] bicycle or wheel and is the best possible hand in ace-to-five low games (where it is a high card hand, not a straight).[22][23]

### Three of a kind

Three of a kind, aces

Three of a kind, also known as trips or a set, is a hand that contains three cards of one rank and two cards of two other ranks (the kickers), such as 2 2 2 K 6 ("three of a kind, twos" or "trip twos" or a "set of twos"). It ranks below a straight and above two pair.[5]

Each three of a kind is ranked first by the rank of its triplet, then by the rank of its highest-ranking kicker, and finally by the rank of its lowest-ranking kicker. For example, 6 6 6 Q 4 ranks higher than 3 3 3 K 2, which ranks higher than 3 3 3 J 7, which ranks higher than 3 3 3 J 5. Three of a kind hands that differ by suit alone, such as 9 9 9 10 8 and 9 9 9 10 8, are of equal rank.[6][13]

In community card games, such as Texas hold 'em, three of a kind is called a set only when it comprises a pocket pair and a third card on the board.[24]

### Two pair

Two pair, aces and kings

Two pair is a hand that contains two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and one card of a third rank (the kicker), such as J J 4 4 9 ("two pair, jacks and fours" or "two pair, jacks over fours" or "jacks up").[17][25] It ranks below three of a kind and above one pair.[5]

Each two pair is ranked first by the rank of its higher-ranking pair, then by the rank of its lower-ranking pair, and finally by the rank of its kicker. For example, 10 10 2 2 K ranks higher than 5 5 4 4 10, which ranks higher than 5 5 3 3 Q, which ranks higher than 5 5 3 3 J. Two pair hands that differ by suit alone, such as K K 7 7 8 and K K 7 7 8, are of equal rank.[6][13]

### One pair

One pair, aces

One pair, or simply a pair, is a hand that contains two cards of one rank and three cards of three other ranks (the kickers), such as 4 4 K 10 5 ("one pair, fours" or a "pair of fours"). It ranks below two pair and above high card.[5]

Each one pair is ranked first by the rank of its pair, then by the rank of its highest-ranking kicker, then by the rank of its second highest-ranking kicker, and finally by the rank of its lowest-ranking kicker. For example, 9 9 Q J 5 ranks higher than 6 6 K 7 4, which ranks higher than 6 6 Q J 2, which ranks higher than 6 6 Q 8 7, which ranks higher than 6 6 Q 8 3. One-pair hands that differ by suit alone, such as 8 8 10 6 5 and 8 8 10 6 5, are of equal rank.[6][13]

### High card

High card, ace

High card, also known as no pair or simply nothing, is a hand that does not fall into any other category, such as K J 8 7 4 ("high card, king" or "king-jack-high" or "king-high").[17][26] Note that under ace-to-five low rules, straights, flushes and straight flushes are not possible, so such hands are instead high card hands.[7] It ranks below one pair.[5]

Each high card hand is ranked first by the rank of its highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its second highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its third highest-ranking card, then by the rank of its fourth highest-ranking card, and finally by the rank of its lowest-ranking card. For example, K 6 5 3 2 ranks higher than Q J 6 5 3, which ranks higher than Q 10 8 7 4, which ranks higher than Q 10 7 6 4, which ranks higher than Q 10 7 5 4, which ranks higher than Q 10 7 5 2. High card hands that differ by suit alone, such as 10 8 7 6 4 and 10 8 7 6 4, are of equal rank.[6][13]

Under deuce-to-seven low rules, a seven-five-high hand, such as 7 5 4 3 2, is the best possible hand.[27] Under ace-to-six low rules, where aces have the lowest rank, a six-four-high hand, such as 6 4 3 2 A, is the best possible hand.[28] Under ace-to-five low rules, where aces have the lowest rank and straights, flushes and straight flushes are not possible, a five-high hand, such as 5 4 3 2 A or 5 4 3 2 A, commonly known as a bicycle or wheel, is the best possible hand.[7][22]

## References

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