 Poker: Ranking of Poker Hands
There are 52 cards in the
pack, and the ranking of the individual cards, from high to low, is
ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There is
no ranking between the suits - so for example the king of
hearts and the king of spades are equal.
A poker hand consists of five
cards. The categories of hand, from highest to lowest, are listed below. Any
hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category (so for example
any three of a kind beats any two pairs). Between hands in the same category
the rank of the individual cards decides which is better, as described in
more detail below.
In games where a player has
more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand, the remaining
cards do not play any part in the ranking. Poker ranks are always based on
five cards only.
Some readers may wonder why I
deal with the case of (say) two threes of a kind of equal rank. This
obviously cannot arise in standard poker, but such comparisons are needed in
some other games using poker combinations - for example
poker menteur - and
in games with wild cards.
1. Royal Flush
This is the highest poker
hand. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all in the same suit. As
all suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.
2. Straight Flush
Five cards of the same suit in
sequence - such as  J-10-9-8-7.
Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is
higher. An ace can be counted as low, so
 5-4-3-2-A
is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the
lowest type of straight flush. The cards cannot "turn the corner":
 4-3-2-A-K
is not valid.
3. Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank -
such as four queens. The fifth card can be anything. This combination is
sometimes known as "quads", and in some parts of Europe it is called a
"poker", though this term for it is unknown in English. Between two fours of
a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is higher - so
3-3-3-3-A is beaten by 4-4-4-4-2. It can't happen
in standard poker, but if in some other game you need to compare two fours
of a kind where the sets of four cards are of the same rank, then the one
with the higher fifth card is better.
4. Full House
This consists of three cards
of one rank and two cards of another rank - for example three sevens and two
tens (colloquially known as "sevens full" or more specifically "sevens on
tens"). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines
which is higher. For example 9-9-9-4-4 beats
8-8-8-A-A. If the threes of a kind were equal, the rank of the
pairs would decide.
5. Flush
Five cards of the same suit.
When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. If
the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if
those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. For example
 K-J-9-3-2
beats K-J-7-6-5
because the nine beats the seven.
6. Straight
Five cards of mixed suits in
sequence - for example Q-J-10-9-8.
When somparing two sequences, the one with the higher ranking top card is
better. Ace can count high or low in a straight, but not both at once, so
A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid
straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. 5-4-3-2-A
is the lowest kind of straight, the top card being the five.
7. Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank
plus two other cards. This combination is also known as Triplets or Trips.
When comparing two threes of a kind the hand in which the three equal cards
are of higher rank is better. So for example 5-5-5-3-2
beats 4-4-4-K-Q. If you have to compare two threes of a
kind where the sets of three are of equal rank, then the higher of the two
remaining cards in each hand are compared, and if those are equal, the lower
odd card is compared.
8. Two Pairs
A pair is two cards of equal
rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks
(otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make
the hand up to five cards. When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand
with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards - so
J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the
jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are
compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats
8-8-5-5-K. Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are
compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.
9. Pair
A hand with two cards of equal
rank and three other cards which do not match these or each other. When
comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better - so for
example 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. If the
pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if
these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal
too compare the lowest odd cards. So J-J-A-9-3 beats
J-J-A-8-7 because the 9 beats the 8.
10. High Card
Five cards which do not form
any of the combinations listed above. When comparing two such hands, the one
with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second
cards are compared; if they are equal too the third cards are compared, and
so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4
because the jack beats the ten.
When playing games in which
the lowest hand wins, there are some modifications to the ranking. These may
not be universal, so should be discussed in advance when starting a game
with new players. As far as I can tell, the most usual rules are:
-
straights and flushes do not
count as combinations
-
aces count as low, below the
twos
-
a hand is always considered
to belong to the highest category into which it fits - for example
7-7-7-5-5 counts as a full house - not (for example) as a pair
with three odd cards that happen to be equal.
With these rules the best low
hand is 5-4-3-2-A, which does not count as a straight in this case.
Notice that because aces are
low, a pair of aces is the lowest, and in this context therefore the
best pair, beating a pair of deuces.
Variations that I know of
include:
-
recognising straights and
flushes: in this version the best hand is 6-4-3-2-A of mixed suits;
-
playing with aces always
high: in this version (with straights and flushes also counting) the best
low hand is 7-5-4-3-2 of mixed suits.
In standard poker
there is no ranking of suits. If two hands are identical apart from
the suits of the cards then they count as equal. In standard poker, if there
are two highest equal hands in a showdown, the pot is split between them.
However, Franco Pratesi has
informed me that in Italy there is a generally accepted ranking of suits in
poker. The ranking is: hearts (high), diamonds, clubs, spades (low).
These ranks are used to break ties between otherwise equal hands. Other
players in different places use other suit rankings - for example Ken Pikus
(kpikus@chemonics.com) and John (jqv77@hotmail.com) report that their
circles play with the ranking spades (high), hearts, clubs, diamonds
(low); Rudolf Lercher (WLNLER@rlb-noe.raiffeisen.at) and his
friends play with the ranking hearts (high), diamonds, spades, clubs
(low).
Note that if you do play with
a suit ranking, it is not at all obvious how it should apply when comparing
hands with mixed suits, and careful discussion in advance is needed to avoid
unpleasant arguments later. For example, using the Italian ranking, which of
the following would you expect to be higher:
Hand A:
8-8-J-9-3
or Hand B: 8-8-J-9-3
?
Apparently in Italy the
majority view would be that hand B is higher because the
J beats the
J - when two hands are equal in rank, the
comparison is between the highest card which is not part of
the combination. A surprising consequence of this rule is that
K-Q-7-6-2
beats K-Q-7-6-2.
The combination is "high card", so the kings are ignored. You compare the
highest card that is not in the combination, and the higher
queen wins!
A wild card is a particular
card, often a joker, which can be used to substitute for any card the holder
wishes, even a duplicate of a card the holder already has. Several cards may
be designated as wild - for example all the twos. This must be agreed in
advance.
The hand ranking is the same
as described above, except that it is now possible to have five of a kind -
five cards of the same rank - in which of course at least one will be
represented by a wild card. Five of a kind is the highest combination,
beating a Royal Flush.
Bluffing
and Semi-Bluffing
Poker Tells
Online versus Casino Poker
Types of Poker Players
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