Introduction
Pair, Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind, Full House, Straight Flush,... what are the winning hands in poker and how to make them up? Discover how to challenge your opponents with the best poker combinations! Download our "winning hands" memo now to always have them with you.
Ties and kickers
Poker ranking is all about making the best five-card hand from the seven or nine available (five community cards and your own two hole cards in Texas Hold'em, five community cards and your own four hole cards in Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo). That means in the event of a tie with four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair one pair or high card, a side card or 'kicker' comes into play to decide who wins the pot.
Example: Player A has a poker hand of two pair with 10s and 6s and a Queen as the fifth card. Player B has also two pair with 10s and 6s but a 4 as the fifth card. In this case, player A wins with a Queen "kicker".
With a three of a kind, one pair or high card tie, a second, third or even fourth kicker could come into play to decide the pot. If the kickers can't decide one overall winner, those players involved will have to share the pot.
Royal Flush
Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace of the same suit is the best poker hand.
Straight Flush
Straight with all five cards in the same suit.
Four of a kind
Four of a kind is next highest. It consists of the four cards of any one rank together with any fifth card.
Full House
A full house ranks next; it consists of any three of one kind and any pair of another kind.
Flush
It consists of any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
Straight
A straight consists of any five cards of two or more suits in sequence of rank.
Three of a Kind
Three of a kind are any three cards of the same rank plus two other cards which do not constitute a pair and do not include the fourth card of the same rank.
Two Pair
Two pair, which ranks next under three of a kind, consists of two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and any fifth card which is neither of those ranks.
One Pair
One pair - any two cards of the same rank, together with three other cards which do not combine with the other two to form any of the higher-ranking hands above.
High card
The high card is the highest card that will win the hand if there has not been at least one winning pair.
